Michael Browning•12 Nov 2017

REVIEW

Adria Action 361LT

Microlight Euro model redefines the compact caravan

Every so often a new vehicle arrives that makes you question the concept of a caravan and its use. The funky little 3.6 metre internal length, Adria Action 361LT is one of them.

For a start, it’s probably not seen as aa ‘caravan’ by most of the younger couples and singles that will form its major customer base when it goes on sale in the first quarter of next year.

‘Weekender’ was the closest word we could come up with to define it, yet that suggests something much less permanent and well equipped than the little Adria is.

In conventional terminology, this is a very light, full-height and fully-equipped small caravan than can be towed by a Toyota Camry or any number of compact SUVs.

Easy to push around

Let’s qualify this: a tare weight of 960kg, an ATM of 1400kg and a ball weight of somewhat less of 100kg; an external body length of just 4010mm (13ft 2in); a full internal kitchen, hot water service, a combined internal shower/toilet and vanity bathroom and even a modular reverse cycle air conditioner.

Priced around $40,000 when it goes on sale, it’s going to cause a lot of people to re-think their larger, heavier caravans that require a change of vehicles to haul and more space than the average apartment dweller has available to store.

And like many younger travellers, who bypass the ‘bus and backpacker’ stage and go straight to cheap flights and hotel rooms when they travel, the 361LT with its instant accessibility and all-weather comfort is going to appeal to many young couples more than flapping canvas and guy ropes. Call them soft – they’re the ones laughing!

Big on features

Now the Adria 361LT is certainly not the first European micro caravan to find its way to Australia, but its combination of size, standard features and price comes closer to the mark than any other aspirant we have seen before.

It’s all a matter of timing. When the 361LT first appeared in Australia back in the mid-2000s, it was ahead of its time. The market wasn’t yet ready for the lightweight Euro invasion.

British brands like Bailey and Swift were regarded with suspicion (would they last?) while Slovenia’s Adria was considered ‘too weird’ to be on any serious shopping list. People imagined they would travel the unbeaten Outback roads more than they actually do.

Now, things have changed. ‘Family cars’ like Holdens and Falcons are no longer made in Australia and buyers have turned away from V8s and large 4WDs in droves.

Caravanning is still popular amongst families and retirees, but a new lifestyle market has emerged for couples without children and for the growing number of single travellers, particularly females.

Back in vogue

So, when Apollo Motorhome Holidays became the new Australian distributor of Adria in 2014, the 361LT went back on the wish list. It had its first public showing at the Brisbane Caravan Show in June this year, with the response strong enough for Apollo to place a first order with the Slovenian factory for a batch to be built in January 2018.

Like other Adria models, they’ll be built on a special ’Australian’ line, where items specifically suited to our local conditions and buyer preference are incorporated. For example, the inlet and outlet power points on the door side of the prototype we reviewed will be located on the opposite side of production Australian models to meet our regulations, while an exterior water filler for the standard 50-litre tank will be added.

But apart from its cute style and ‘J-Lo’ derriere, the thing that has already excited most potential buyers is its combination of size and features.

Although likely to be priced similarly to the Adria’s best-selling Altea 402PH Sport that currently accounts for about 40 per cent of all Adria Australian sales, Apollo sales people don’t believe that many potential buyers will be torn between the two, despite the Altea’s extra 60mm body length, fixed rather than convertible lounge bed and additional interior room.

“Buyers see the Altea 402 as a lightweight proper caravan,” is how Apollo explains it. “The Action 361LT offers a different lifestyle.”

No Nana van

What supports this lifestyle decision is that while it doesn’t look like something your grandparents would park on the coast for summer holidays, the smaller Adria comes fully loaded with all the comfort features of a full-size van.

For a start, it’s a fixed roof model with a generous 1950mm (6ft 5in) of headroom; not a camper trailer that you need to wind up, pull out and then assemble the door, nor a pop-top, so no fiddling with latches, levers and tucking in baggy roof skirts.

But weighing just 960kg and fitted as standard with AL-KO over-ride brakes, you only need a tow bar and a simple wiring connection to tow it – forget about the cost of buying and fitting an electronic brake controller.

We towed it with a muscular Ford Ranger crew cab, but to be honest, we needed to keep checking the rear-view mirror to ensure it was still hitched. Even a RAV4 would find it easy work.

Through the barn door

Step inside, via the two-piece fibreglass ‘barn door and to your right you’ll find a small, but effective kitchen, with a glass-topped two gas burner cooktop, an adjacent stainless-steel sink with hot/cold mixer tap and enough space to prepare and plate up a meal for two or more.

A large top-hinged opening window behind the cooker sheds plenty of light on your work and provides excellent ventilation, while a pantry on the left, a cupboard and three large angled drawers below and two drawers and a lower cupboard under an adjacent bench on the other side of the door, provide plenty of food and utensil storage.

OK, there’s no griller or microwave oven, but if you’re on a powered site you can always plug in a small toaster.

Straight ahead as you enter, is a full-height door that conceals a surprisingly useful combined shower/cassette toilet bathroom. Like you seen in many smaller campervans, a large, but shallow basin drops down above the toilet and the mirrored doors reveal good storage space.

The large clear opening window in the ensuite will be replaced by a frosted one on production models to protect the modesty of Australian users.

Seating for six

Turn left in the Action and you’re confronted by a large, airy six-seater lounge with a central dining table, with the standard 19-inch HD LED/DVD TV mounted on the wall to your left and an 80-litre gas/electric fridge on top of a storage cabinet to your right.

Drop the table in between the lounge after dinner; re-arrange the foam backing cushions; pull the cassette block-out blinds and arrange two pillows, a fitted sheet and a quilt and you have a king-size bed that spreads the full 2080mm (6ft 10in) internal width of the van.

OK, it’s not as convenient as having a permanent bed, such as you’d find in the larger Altea 402, but the benefit is that you’re towing a significantly smaller vehicle around and the conversion from lounge to bedroom should take an organised couple no more than five minutes tops.

Two large front opening windows, one extending well into the roofline, plus a separate roof-hatch above the central galley area, provide plenty of light, but can be sealed off from bugs with sliding screens and from prying eyes by standard sliding block-out blinds.

Similarly, bugs can be kept out by the sliding flyscreen door, while air can be admitted via the barn-style, two-piece main door.

Climate control too

Still hot – or cold? Turn on the modular (and from past experience quite quiet) 2.4kW Truma Saphir reverse cycle air conditioning system that’s housed under a lounge seat and let it rain or shine.

While all these features are impressive in a van this size, that’s not the end of it. A built-in Bluetooth sound system is ready to connect to your phone, while a total of 10 internal LED lights – including two flexible reading lights – allow you to control the lighting to suit your mood.

No-one at Adria is pretending that this is a long-term touring caravan and certainly with a single 100AH battery and just 50 litres of fresh water capacity, you’d be stretching things to make two consecutive nights of free-camping unless you top up the tank.

But that’s not the Action 361LT’s market. In most cases it will be a weekender that will probably be plugged into 240-volt power and connected to town water in a beachside caravan park, while small enough to be housed in a self-storage garage in between outings for its apartment-dwelling owners.

Alternatively, it may be a travelling home for the growing group of single women who are now travelling, offering the security of a hard-walled caravan, without the inconvenience and cost of a large 4WD tow car.

We liked:

>> Ultra lightweight and compact size

>> Full-size caravan features

>> Very easy to tow and set-up

Not so much:

>> Lounge needs to be converted to a bed

>> Not grille or microwave

>> Question mark over durability of lightweight drawers and cupboard latches especially over rougher roads

Verdict

With its combination of size, style, features and price, Adria could be on a winner here with the Action’s 361LT’s second Australian coming,

Adria Action 361LT

Overall length: 5194mm (17ft)
External body length: 4010mm (13ft 2in)
External body width:2196mm (7ft 2in)
Travel height: 2545mm (8ft 4in)
Interior height: 1980mm (6ft 5in)
Tare weight: 960kg ATM: 3300kg
Payload: 440kg
Ball weight: 100kg (maximum)
Body: Sandwich one-piece fibreglass walls and roof
Chassis: AL-KO hot-dipped galvanised steel
Suspension: AL-KO independent rubber torsion with shock absorbers
Brakes: Over-run drum braking system
Stability Control: AL-KO anti-sway coupling
Wheels: Alloy with 185-14 tyres
Fresh water: 1 x 50l tank
Battery: 1 x 100Ah AGM
Solar: No
Air-conditioner: Truma Saphir reverse cycle, modular
Gas: 1 x 4.5kg
Cooking: Two gas burner internal cooktop
Fridge/freezer: 80-litre, 3-way gas/electric
Microwave: No
Toilet: Cassette
Shower: Combination shower/toilet/vanity
Lighting: LED
Price: $40,000 approx. (on sale early 2018)
Supplied by: Apollo Motorhome Holidays, Northgate, Qld

More info: Adria Australia

Adria Action 361LT

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