Elddis. The latest addition to the Affinity range is a classic twoberth layout with a shower room of generous proportions

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Test Caravan 17,999 MIRO 1183kg MTPLM 1310kg REVIEW Elddis Affinity 482 i The latest addition to the Affinity range is a classic twoberth layout with a shower room of generous proportions f light

The new Affinity 482, though, will prove you wrong. This caravan s MTPLM is only 1310kg, yet its equipment extends to Alde central heating, an alarm system and even a television.

The 482 is a traditional two-berth layout, with parallel settees and a galley-style kitchen which invites you to incorporate the dresser into the kitchen as a whole.

Refinement comes in the form of the spec, the weight-plate speaks for itself and the elegance arrives courtesy of some classic purples and creams, with lighting designs to enhance Elddis Caravans t

The shower room, though, is where you find not just elegance, but space Showering The shower, by caravan standards, is enormous. It s almost circular, and 70cm in diameter.

Inside the wardrobe, three deep shelf spaces hide on one side, with the table store on the other; the top of this unit forms an additional shelf.

1 Test Caravan 17,999 MIRO 1183kg MTPLM 1310kg REVIEW Elddis Affinity 482 i The latest addition to the Affinity range is a classic twoberth layout with a shower room of generous proportions f light weight and a high level of spec are your goals in picking your next tourer, you might imagine that one or both of those aims would have to be compromised. The new Affinity 482, though, will prove you wrong. This caravan s MTPLM is only 1310kg, yet its equipment extends to Alde central heating, an alarm system and even a television. It has an external gas barbecue point, a satellite point; connections, too, for a solar panel, and there s a mains socket on the outside. The 482 is a traditional two-berth layout, with parallel settees and a galley-style kitchen which invites you to incorporate the dresser into the kitchen as a whole. Elddis launched the Affinity range at the start of the 2013 model year with the slogan refined, lightweight elegance, a description with which we wholeheartedly agree. Refinement comes in the form of the spec, the weight-plate speaks for itself and the elegance arrives courtesy of some classic purples and creams, with lighting designs to enhance Elddis Caravans t w elddis.co.uk 30 Caravan Buyer mellow-shade, quality cabinetry. The shower room, though, is where you find not just elegance, but space Showering The shower, by caravan standards, is enormous. It s almost circular, and 70cm in diameter. The depth of the shower room floor space is 1.2m at its deepest point. The shower room contains the wardrobe and it has two rails, both 1.07m long. Inside the wardrobe, three deep shelf spaces hide on one side, with the table store on the other; the top of this unit forms an additional shelf. There s more clothes storage space in this wardrobe than a couple would ever need on tour! Apertures in a wooden casing allow warm air from the Alde central heating system to rise beneath a wide towel rail. There s an additional double towel hook high up alongside the washbasin. Cabinets are on the wall above the toilet and under the basin. And there s a neat arrangement for the toilet roll, incorporated into a shelf unit alongside the lower cabinet. tested by Val Chapman photography John Chapman TEST LOCATION Woodland Waters, Ancaster, Grantham, Lincolnshire Mellow woodwork dominates the decor and creates a lovely quality look

2 IDEAL FOR Discerning caravanners looking for light weight The real cost 18,494 The cost of transporting an Elddis to retailers is 495; this will be added to the price of the caravan May

3 Elddis Affinity 482 The caravan is only 4.8m long but the lounge is delightfully spacious 32 Caravan Buyer

Alde heating idc stability control 2 berth This is a kitchen for caravanners who consider making meals to be a feature of their holidays; you d never be short of space here Sleeping The settees are 1.

Storage The hinge-down doors to the settee lockers are full length, which is important as, with this layout, it s here that you will want to stuff your duvets or sleeping bags, and pillows; getting

This is where you ll find the mains socket for use outside or in your awning; you feed the cable (for a table lamp, for example) through a small indentation in the locker frame, in exactly the same

Inevitably, this indentation provides a ventilation hole into the bedding locker (unlike the one for the hook-up cable, which goes into the battery box).

A small amount of masking tape would cure the problem, though; this is not one of the caravan s normal ventilation apertures.

4 Alde heating idc stability control 2 berth This is a kitchen for caravanners who consider making meals to be a feature of their holidays; you d never be short of space here Sleeping The settees are 1.88m long; if you re taller than that, you ll prefer to make up the double bed (the base is slats that draw out from under the two drawers at the front) your double bed will be 2.04m long. Storage The hinge-down doors to the settee lockers are full length, which is important as, with this layout, it s here that you will want to stuff your duvets or sleeping bags, and pillows; getting them in and out is easy. On the nearside there is an exterior hatch to the under-settee locker. This is where you ll find the mains socket for use outside or in your awning; you feed the cable (for a table lamp, for example) through a small indentation in the locker frame, in exactly the same way that you take your caravan s hook-up mains cable outside through its locker. Inevitably, this indentation provides a ventilation hole into the bedding locker (unlike the one for the hook-up cable, which goes into the battery box). In winter we think you d notice it, as it s large enough to allow cold air in, especially if the wind is on the nearside of the caravan as we discovered during our test week. A small amount of masking tape would cure the problem, though; this is not one of the caravan s normal ventilation apertures. Upper storage is plentiful, with four head-height lockers around the lounge. A big virtue of this layout is its wide dresser on the nearside. This unit contains a lower cabinet that s around 80cm wide, two drawers are above and, at the top, there s an additional cupboard, 54cm wide, above the microwave. Between the door and the dresser is a shelf unit, nicely curved, and with a top section that s slightly lower than the dresser top. Somehow, this functional piece of furniture gathers a lot of style points. Dining When you pull out the extension of the central drawer unit top, the main part drops down, to make a level surface that, at 65cm wide and 81cm deep, is more than adequate as a table for two. There is the freestanding table, of course, for more elaborate meals or if you re entertaining; it s easy to get at, siding in and out of a wide aperture within the wardrobe. Lounging It may seem obvious, but one virtue of a simple two-berth layout, compared with short fixed-bed caravans designed for couples, is that the settees are long. That means feet-up, stretch-out relaxing is a given. Upholstery is firmly comfortable, with quite solid front-end armrests. The plain creamy-fawn fabric is a delight, edged with purple piping that also edges the curtains and appears on the four scatter cushions that have enough floral interest to contribute to the colour scheme, yet not enough to look in any way fussy. The television that comes with the caravan has a mounting bracket within the dresser area, so it doesn t take up surface space. It s a 16-inch Avtex model, incorporating a DVD player, Freeview, a CD player, and a USB port, so that you can use it to record and play-back programmes. Your in-caravan entertainment equipment doesn t stop there. The Affinity s radio incorporates a CD player just in case you want an alternative to playing your CDs via the TV (!); ipod connectivity is also provided. It s perhaps when you re relaxing in the lounge that you ll take time to WHAT WE LIKE The large kitchen The large dresser The large shower room The Alde heating The stability control system WHAT WE DON T LIKE The cable hole in the under-bed access locker door that will allow cold air to enter the caravan but we know you can easily stop the cold air entering, because we did! technical stuff BERTHS 2 LENGTH BODY 4.8m OVERALL 5.37m WIDTH 2.23m HEADROOM 1.95m WEIGHT MIRO 1183m MTPLM 1310kg The shampoo shelf attached to the riser bar is very neat! The microwave is flush-fit into the lockers above the dresser Over-locker lights are in the shower room as well as the living space This is the size of a domestic wardrobe! May

Elddis Affinity 482 TOW MATCH Caravan weight MTPLM: 1310kg To tow this caravan at 85% you need a car kerbweight of: 1541kg Never tow a caravan heavier than your car s kerbweight.

It s programmable, so you can set it to come on to make sure your caravan is warm when you arrive back after a day out. And you can power it on gas, or electricity, on 1, 2 or 3kw settings.

The dresser opposite gives you another 95cm of surface. This is a kitchen for caravanners who consider making meals to be a feature of their holidays; you d never be short of space here.

5 Elddis Affinity 482 TOW MATCH Caravan weight MTPLM: 1310kg To tow this caravan at 85% you need a car kerbweight of: 1541kg Never tow a caravan heavier than your car s kerbweight. We recommend towing a caravan no more than 85% of the kerbweight At 100% 1310KG consider the virtues of the Alde heating system that distributes warmth evenly throughout the caravan. It s programmable, so you can set it to come on to make sure your caravan is warm when you arrive back after a day out. And you can power it on gas, or electricity, on 1, 2 or 3kw settings. On 3kw you will have to take care to avoid using other appliances at the same time; the microwave or an electric kettle will almost certainly trip out the pitch s supply if you use them while you are drawing 3kw for the heating systems. AUDI A3 1378kg FORD FOCUS 1501kg At 85% 1541KG mondeo estate 1654KG FREELANDER KG HONDA CRV 1890KG KIA SORENTO 2008KG land rover 2583KG 34 Caravan Buyer Kitchen The kitchen is 1.68m long. The dresser opposite gives you another 95cm of surface. This is a kitchen for caravanners who consider making meals to be a feature of their holidays; you d never be short of space here. Storage, too, is brilliant, with a 38cm wide two-shelf cabinet between the fridge and the oven and grill, plus two drawers above it and, of course, the large dresser opposite. Above the kitchen, a suite of three cabinets gives you a central one fitted for tableware, a smaller one, plus a tinted plastic fronted drinks cabinet containing metal clips for six goblets and two bottles. Hob equipment includes a mains hotplate. Affinity sinks are interesting in design; they have a small drainer area (just large enough for two mugs) by the tap. And they re large, at 32cm x 39cm. All in, this is a practical kitchen with a lot of good features. Lighting is among those praiseworthy features, with four spotlights giving good illumination on the surface. Towing No surprises here the lightweight Affinity made minimal impact on the acceleration of our Kia Sorento, even on slight inclines along our Lincolnshire lanes-and-main-road test tow route. It was a joy to tow. Affinitys are equipped with the stability system called idc (Intelligent Drive Control); it s the BPW chassis equivalent of the AL-KO ATC system. Both act in a similar way, by detecting the first signs of a sway before it has the chance to develop and correcting it by electronic application of the caravan s brakes. The dresser will give you extra kitchen surface if you need it Upholstery is plain with just a burgundy edging for detail The towel rail is immediately above the heating vent, so drying is guaranteed here Surface to the left, right and in front of the sink give a good meal-prep area BUY THIS IF... You want a classic two-berth that s light in weight and big on quality and equipment. ALSO CONSIDER... Sterling Eccles SE Topaz, similar layout, at 18,149 and 1282kg MTPLM. options to go for... An Omnivent extractor fan, at 159, wrap-around seating at 179 (and you keep the chest of drawers), plus four upholstery options including leather. OUR VERDICT Light in weight and spacious, the 482 is a very attractive proposition. There s something unseen about 2013 Elddis caravans a new construction method developed by Elddis in conjunction with German company Henkel, better know for its work within the aviation industry. The method is called SoLiD, standing for Strong, Light, Dry which is why we see a weight plate of only 1310kg on this caravan, and a 10-year warranty to back up Elddis s confidence in its longevity. There s another hidden feature of Elddis caravans that s bound to enhance confidence in water-impact terms. All Elddis models have a GRP underskin, providing a waterresistant barrier to the caravan floor. There is, thus, more to the brilliant 482 than meets the eye; if you re looking for a classic two-berth, this is surely one to consider.

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