Michael Browning•12 Oct 2017

REVIEW

Australian Off Road Matrix Pop-top

Lower-profile version broadens appeal of flagship single axle off-roader

To pop, or not pop your top?

It’s a

question often facing potential caravan purchasers and the choice between a full height caravan or pop-top largely boils down to where you want to travel and your storage options.

However, it's rare to have the choice of identical layout, full height and pop-top models in the same range.

On-road, there are such options in Jayco’s Starcraft range, while Coronet also offers buyers this option in otherwise identical caravans. Off-road, the choices are fewer, with Australian Off Road’s Matrix IV the standout example.

NOT SO SKINNY

When it was introduced back in 2009, the Matrix was uniquely short and narrow for a full-height off-road caravan, although MDC’s new XT12 HR has now eclipsed those compact dimensions.

Many people loved the original Matrix for its beautiful finish, high-quality construction, handsome interior appointments and instant set-up. However other potential customers told AOR the fixed roof limited destinations and it wouldn’t fit under their existing carport.

The same would-be customers were less attracted to AOR’s higher-volume Quantum pop-top models because the ‘Qs’ were geared for tropical outdoor living, while the Matrix with both its combined shower-toilet, full kitchen and fridge inside, was more cool-weather friendly.

So, as part of the Matrix’s mid-life Series IV upgrade in 2015, AOR tested the water with a pop-top version.

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT

Queensland couple Bruce and Lyn Whittle knew from first sight it was just what they wanted. Theirs was the first to be built and if you saw one at 2015 caravan shows in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, it was probably theirs.

The Whittles previously had a Quantum and were very happy with it in almost all situations. However, they got caught in very bad weather on trips to South Australia and Tasmania - which made it impossible to cook outside for several days - and they felt the option of internal cooking in such situations would be preferable.

Yet, when conditions allowed, they preferred to cook and spend their holiday time outside so they did not want to rule out the al fresco option alltogether. As a bonus, they liked the advantages of towing a lower profile camper like their previous ‘Q’, along with its off-road manoeuvrability when it came to tight tracks with low branches.

Quite simply, as they saw it, the Matrix Pop-Top let them have the best of both worlds, plus as a bonus, it was cheaper. While a Matrix IV Hardtop currently costs $109,900, the Pop Top version costs $6,000 less at $102,900.

That differential will widen from November 1 when a scheduled AOR price rise will take the Matrix IV Hardtop up $5,000 to $113,900, while the PT will only rise $3,000 to $105,900…so get your order in quick if you want to save money.

SAME BUT DIFFERENT

Although visually similar at a quick glance to the latest fibreglass-bodied Quantum Series IV, the Matrix PT is comprehensively different in many major respects.

Like its full-height sibling, the PT’s all fibreglass body has been re-positioned forward on the chassis and has a new chiselled, more aerodynamic front clip, with flanking jerry cans behind a mesh stone-shield, a revised profile with re-positioned aluminium-framed Aussie Traveller windows and a slightly fuller tail panel. Combined they give more interior living and exterior storage.

In other exterior changes, the cavernous front boot created by the new nosecone replaces the A-frame storage box of earlier Matrix models, while the twin 4.5kg gas bottles have been relocated out of sight behind a vented hatch in the caravan’s left rear corner.

The Whittles’ Pop Top also has a generator box fitted alongside the single spare wheel on its back bumper, but in the absence of a generator, the box is utilised as extra storage place for messy travelling items, such as hoses.

Inside, the centre-mounted door is 50mm wider for easier access, the Queen-size bed has been pushed further forward to create 170mm more living space at the two-seater dinette; there’s a new switch and gauge panel; the standard fridge is a larger 110-litre EvaKool compressor model and a new, positive-pressure dust sealing system is fitted.

Underneath, the PT gets the same weight-reduced steel Supagal chassis of the full height Matrix IV, to which a 15mm thick fibreglass floor is now glued and then bonded to its adjoining walls as a structural element, while the PT’s twin 140-litre fresh water tanks, and the 125-litre black water tank for its standard macerator toilet, are also identical to full-height van model.

Dometic’s Saphir modular air conditioning system is standard on the Hardtop, but is an option on the PT. Bruce and Lyn decided not to tick that box, believing the airflow through the PT’s large roof skirt was sufficient for the places they wanted to travel to and, in any case, they didn’t plan to carry a generator. To compensate in hot weather, they carry a portable 12V Sirocco fan to supplement the fixed one fitted as standard in the PT.

The bonus of this arrangement is extra storage space in the right-hand side lower exterior locker which would otherwise have housed the A/C.

DISCS ALL ROUND

However, like the full-height Matrix, their PT is fitted with AO-KO’s iQ7 power disc brake system, with its compressor located neatly in the right hand front side of the boot.

One item which separates all AOR pop-tops from the pack is the way they latch down and seal, with the roof making contact with the body of the van in no fewer than 22 separate places [and held down securely by six over-centre latches], adding to its off-road rigidity. In fact, so good is the top’s seal, the PT’s door must be open or Samson couldn't pop the lid – ditto for the pulling it down.

Like the Quantum, the top’s ‘vinyl skirt’ is larger than those fitted to most other pop-tops, making it easy for a person of average or smaller height to unlatch the roof without resorting to steps. This is very handy and time-saving when setting up or breaking camp.

Also, the awning on the Pop Top spans more real estate than the one fitted to the tapered-roof van version, providing more useful rain cover for the optional slide out two-burner and stainless-steel sink kitchen fitted to the Whittle’s Matrix.

Inside, the PT is every bit as stylish as its full height sibling, with the Queen-size north-south bed on the left of the door and the living area and kitchen on the right.

Like all Australian Off Road products, everything is beautifully finished, with the attention to detail and quality of the materials used allowing AOR to justify the premium price charged for Matrix models.

The switch panel to the right of the door opening covers all the PT’s major functions, from the health of its charging system, the level of its water storage, its central and water heating systems, fuses and sound system all easily accessible in a cabinet which also houses the interior Evakool fridge.

An impressive benchtop terminating in the Pop Top’s three-burner internal gas cooktop, adjacent stainless-steel sink and drainage tray are highlights of the internal kitchen.

STORAGE OPTIONS APLENTY

Despite the absence of the overhead cupboards of the full-height Matrix, internal storage is still adequate for lengthy trips, with five long and large drawers with push-button travelling locks and large handles beneath the kitchen benchtop and a nest of three clothes drawers beneath the foot of the bed. Working on the principle that if you have more space you will probably fill it with non-essentials, interior storage is adequate, rather than generous.

Opposite the kitchen is a shallow, leather-trimmed café dinette which the Whittles have had adapted to form an emergency single bed by having AOR supply a matching cushion made to span the gap between the lounge seats when the dining table is removed.

The right hand rear corner is devoted to the PT’s ensuite, which houses both the macerator toilet and a telephone nozzle-style shower. It’s cosy, but works well enough for off-road trips, although a separate wash basin and mirror would be nice.

Like its full-height sibling, the PT has proved impressively dust-proof, following refinement of the exterior dust and water cover which clamps over the lower vented section of the entry door when travelling.

The Whittles reckon their PT tows as well as the Hardtop, having hauled both behind their Land-Rover Discovery 4.

Like the Whittles, which Matrix you choose really comes down to camping/travelling preferences. There are obvious advantages to both models, but whatever your choice you will get a stylish, well-appointed and very capable off-road vehicle, albeit at a premium price.

WE LIKED:

>> Overall package and exterior storage
>> High built quality and finish
>> Low wall height for unlatching.

NOT SO MUCH:

>> Premium price
>> Lack of bathroom mirror/basin

VERDICT

The Pop Top version of the Matrix IV offers even more versatility for serious off-road travellers. It's pricey but you get what you pay for...

Australian Off Road Matrix Series 4 Pop Top

External body length: 5450mm

External body width: 1950mm

Travel height: 2330mm

Interior height: 2055mm

Tare weight: 1960kg

ATM: 2400kg

Ball weight: 199kg

Body: Lightweight fibreglass with insulated walls and pop top roof

Chassis: 150mm x 50mm SupaGal steel

Suspension: AOR independent trailing arm suspension with twin EFS off-road shock absorbers per wheel

Brakes: 12-inch disc brakes with power booster

Wheels: 17-inch off-road steel wheels with 265/70-17 tyres

Fresh water: 2 x 140l fresh plus 1 x 125-litre black water tanks

Battery: 2 x120AH D/Cycle

Solar: 2 x 150W roof-mounted panels

Fridge: 110-litre 12/240v Waeco

Air conditioning: Optional Dometic Saphir modular

Microwave: Optional (not fitted)

Toilet/Shower: Combined fibreglass shower and marine mascerator toilet

Lighting: LED

Base price: $102,900

Supplied by: Australian Off Road, Caloundra, Qld

Australian Off Road Matrix Pop-top

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