Abbey Spectrum 2005 Review

By Malcolm Street

For many years the Australian caravan industry has almost exclusively consisted of locally-made caravans. There are a number of reasons for this, mostly being the geographical distance and ability of the local industry to meet the almost unique needs of caravanners in Australia.

Thanks to globalisation in recent years a number of components from European suppliers have appeared in Australian vans. It is not surprising then that a few fully imported vans, mostly from Germany but built for the UK market, have arrived and are creating a great deal of fuss. There's been such interest in fact, that a British-built van has also appeared - the Abbey Spectrum.

Prestige Caravan Imports is responsible for bringing the Abbey Spectrum to Australia. While spending considerable time in an Abbey during a tour of Britain a few years ago, owners Rodney and Helen Coleman decided they liked the van so much that they brought it back to Australia with them, along with the local distributorship.

In case you have never heard of Abbey caravans, they are part of the giant conglomerate Swift Group, which has under its banner Abbey, Ace, Bessacar, Sprite and Sterling caravans, as well as Ace, Bessacar and Swift motorhomes.

Rodney and Helen made available a Spectrum 540 for CW's inspection and interesting it was, too. There's no doubt that what first attracts the eye is the different 'look' of the Abbey compared to Australian vans: sleek-looking and with characteristics like the sloping front and large windows, its design stamp clearly says, "Made in the UK", because while few Australian caravans have these features, they are common in Britain.

An interesting feature of the Spectrum is its weight - with an ATM of 1750kg, it is well within Commodore/Falcon/Magna towing territory and being 22ft (6.7m) long, it is not only an easy tow but very comfortable to live in as well. On our brief towing test, the Spectrum behaved very well indeed, despite the absence of a weight-distribution hitch.

Like many of its European contemporaries, the Spectrum sits on an Al-Ko galvanised steel chassis that comes with an Al-Ko Euro hitch and ratchet-style handbrake. None of the chassis is visible from normal angles, including the drawbar because it's hidden under a moulded fibreglass cover. The spare wheel sits on a bracket underneath the van - it was a little low in my view and anyone contemplating a few bush tracks might like to consider an alternative location.

GRP (glass reinforced plastic - fibreglass to you and me) is the material of choice for the walls, roof, front and rear of the Abbey. The walls, roof and floor have a bonded structure with a Styrofoam insulation core, whereas both front and back are fully moulded items.

The name Seitz will be familiar to most but the door is a more unusual item, at least it is for Australia. Based on a 'stable door' design, it has a top and bottom half and a full-height insect screen. In addition the door has a moulded magazine shelf on the inside.

Not everyone will like the door setup, as it's a little different from what is usually offered, but it's an interesting option.

Although there are two 9kg gas cylinders in the front boot, there is still room for other items to be stashed there. In addition to the front boot there are two external lockers along the nearside, one containing the house battery and electrical connections and the other with room for a toolbox. The boot also has a gas connection for the all-important barbecue. Along the offside there's a locker door for getting into the storage area underneath the bed.

Like all the vans CW has seen from northern climes, the Spectrum interior has 'Euro' written all over it, from the window-surrounded lounge at the front to the quaint breakfast bar: if you were feeling particularly lazy, but organised the night before, you could even have breakfast in bed.

Layout features of the Spectrum 540 include a rear bathroom, front lounge area, offside kitchen and offside north-south bed.

The Europeans have demonstrated their flair for using space - some apparently odd-looking design concepts often have two or three different functions. Interior light is plentiful with both large windows and three hatches - two large Seitz hatches at either end and a smaller hatch in the middle above the kitchen area. All the cabinetwork is stained in Pennsylvania Cherry and has a pleasant ambience. Except for the kitchen, all windows have full curtains.

In the kitchen, the offside bench has a full Belling stove with a 'dual fuel' cooktop, ie, three gas burners and one electric hot plate, grill and full oven. The round, stainless steel sink is supplemented by an attachable plastic drainer and wooden chopping block cover. It's an arrangement that makes full use of the limited benchtop space. The underbench area consists of a cutlery drawer, small cupboard and larger cupboard. On the opposite side of the Spectrum is the rest of the kitchen, a large Dometic 135 litre two-door fridge/freezer with Daewoo microwave oven above.

Above the kitchen bench are the usual overhead lockers, one with a feature not often seen - plate and cup racks! Also slightly different at the front end of the kitchen bench is a low cabinet with drawer and gas/electric-blown heater (this is a little clue that reveals the van's origins!). In the air space above is a glass door 'cocktail cabinet', complete with bottle and glass holders.

Between the kitchen bench and the bed is one of those multi-use storage areas. At first glance it looks like a cabinet with a lower cupboard, bench space and hanging cupboard (the space can be extended by lowering the rear flap).

Above, the hanging cupboard has roller shutter doors on both sides and a sliding/rotating base for a TV, as well as powerpoint and antenna socket. Below the cupboard is where the fold-up dining table lives when not being used.

Instead of a club lounge around the three sides, or two side lounges, there's a lounge across the front and along the nearside with a much narrower 'bench' seat on the offside. Fully sprung seats allow for comfortable reclining, although large windows mean the seats have low backs. Generally, the end result is a very comfortable seating area for two, with an 'occasional seat' for visitors. Naturally the lounge can be folded down to make up an extra bed by pulling out the wooden slatted bases and it's quite large at 6ft 10in x 4ft 7in (2.08m x 1.39m).

In the main bedroom, the bed is along the offside, thus giving a reasonably wide walkway to and from the bathroom. Measuring 6ft 4in x 4ft 6in (192cm x 138cm), the innerspring mattress is chamfered towards the foot of the bed. A concertina curtain can be pulled across the doorway to give privacy.

Storage in the bedroom consists of four overhead lockers plus several 'knick knack' shelves, including above and below the nearside window. Tucked into the corner beside the fridge is a large hanging cupboard with a smaller cupboard underneath.

Across the rear of the Spectrum is a quite impressive bathroom: the first sight to greet you upon walking through the door is a space-age-looking circular shower. Being circular means a bit of space-saving and the sliding glass doesn't have to swing open.

The mid-station vanity sink has a cupboard underneath and an opening window behind. A large mirror is on the wall opposite.

Tucked into the rear offside corner, the Thetford cassette toilet is surrounded by a cupboard directly above and a large circular cupboard beside it. In fact, there is no shortage of cupboards in the bathroom because even behind the bathroom door is a narrow-shelved airing cupboard - no space is wasted.

As today's caravans become more expensive, it is not surprising to find an alarm fitted to the Spectrum: remote-operated, it also comes with an anti-tilt setting. While mentioning security, the Spectrum comes with a 'one-key-fits-everything' locking system, which is definitely a plus in our eyes.

Also operated via remote control is the 12V lighting system. Lights are a mixture of halogen down and reading lights, as well as some circular fittings and a couple of flashy-looking fittings in the lounge.

There's not a huge number of powerpoints but those located at either end of the kitchen bench should be okay for the kitchen and lounge areas, although one front nearside would be good.

Our review Spectrum had no air-conditioner, but a roof-mounted unit can be fitted where the small hatch is above the kitchen. The gas-fired/electric-blown heater is a standard fitting.

The bottom line
How will the Spectrum fare in our country? It is a very state-of-the-art rig, packed with features and with some clever innovations built in - these will go over very well Down Under. That said, given its relatively low chassis, the van may not cope with Australian bush tracks too well.

However that won't really be a deterrent for vanners looking for a bit of travel sophistication, who want to tow with their sedan vehicle and plan to stay mainly on the black top. CW predicts that the Spectrum will not become a mass market caravan, but will certainly find itself a comfortable niche, one of plenty in the Australian caravan market.