Coromal Element Evolution 2019 Review

Being the biggest RV rental business in the country is no longer enough for Brisbane-based Apollo Tourism & Leisure, which is now trying to take a serious slice of the caravan retail market with the introduction of a new range of Queensland-built Coromal caravans.

With European lightweight Adria RVs and locally-built Winnebago caravans and motorhomes already within the Apollo stable, the 34-year-old RV industry giant has been rolling out new Brisbane-built Coromal models since early-2019, after taking over production of the well-known Coromal brand from Perth-based Fleetwood.

Built in the same Brisbane production facility as Winnebago caravans and motorhomes as well as Apollo’s rental fleet, the Coromal range so far extends to a number of Pioneer and Element ‘Evolution’ touring and off-road vans, with entry-level Appeal and range-topping Princeton vans due to arrive later this year.

Apollo is also promising to re-introduce the Windsor brand at some stage, although is yet to confirm whether Windsor camper trailers, hybrid campers or toy haulers will be part of the mix.

So what’s different?

At first glance, apart from the bold ‘Proudly built by Apollo’ stickers, the 2019-built Coromal caravans appear identical to the cutting-edge Coromal ‘Evolution’ vans released by Fleetwood last year

And at the moment, at least, they are pretty much carbon copies, using the same lightweight 550-grade steel welded and bolted chassis, Ezy-Tow suspension, automotive side window glass and one-piece composite walls, roof and floor.

However, Apollo says it's made some ‘under the skin’ improvements to the way the Coromal vans are built at the new factory, including revisions to plumbing and wiring as well as changes to the way the all-composite body is sealed, to reduce the chance of water ingress.

Apollo has also addressed some minor compliance issues, which has resulted in the Brisbane-built versions recently achieving RVMAP accreditation. The new vans are also backed by an extensive warranty, which includes a five year structural guarantee.

Room to move

Our first camping experience in a new Apollo-built Coromal caravan was in a fresh-off-the-production line Element Evolution 696 RTV, a big 23ft family luxury van that retails for just over $80,000.

While we didn’t get to check how water tight the new body sealing process is during our dry overnight stay on the Sunshine Coast, we did tow the big tandem axle van over some bumpy, pot-holed dirt roads and it appeared to hold up well.

Designed for semi off-road use, the Evolution 696 was fitted with the optional RTV pack which includes Coromal’s Ezy-Tow Sport independent wishbone suspension with leaf springs, bigger 16in alloy wheels and all-terrain tyres, 12in electric brakes, AL-KO pin coupling and a 75mm chassis lift.

While the extra ground clearance and off-road hitch were reassuring over some deep ruts, the extra height of the van made it more susceptible to cross-winds and passing trucks at highway speeds, although it did track quite nicely at speeds up to 95km/h behind the Ford Ranger tow vehicle.

The close to nine metre long family van also proved a handful when forced to do a tight turn around some trees, so it might not be the best choice if you're planning to get well off the beaten track.

However, if you do go down some overgrown tracks the auto glass windows should resist scratches better than more traditional RV Perspex windows, while the Raptor-like vinyl wrap along the lower body sides, together with front vinyl padding and window cover, provide some further protection from the elements.

Well insulated interior

The RTV-spec Element Evolution has a similar, albeit unpainted lightweight 550-grade steel welded and bolted chassis to the top-spec off-road Pioneer Evolution XC, along with one-piece 30-50mm composite walls, roof and floor, and distinctive auto-style rear spoiler.

Like the similarly constructed Winnebago vans, the Coromal's fully insulated composite body including tightly sealed tinted windows helped maintain a comfy inside temperature throughout the night for sleeping, despite a noticeable drop in outside temperature.

There's a good amount of external storage options including a front toolbox that housed two 9kg gas bottles in one of the compartments, and a carpet-lined and LED-lit tunnel boot big enough to swallow a heap of outside gear.

Other external features included a Carefree roll-out awning, pull-out entry steps, picnic table, external 240V/12V/USB sockets, outside speakers and two awning lights, with  a three-arm bar at the rear that held the spare steel wheel.

Family living

Family caravan interiors have come a long way in recent years, and with a big 6900mm x 2470mm body to play with, Apollo has done a good job of providing a spacious and well-equipped layout to keep the family happy.

The parents get a north-south queen bed with plenty of space as well as open and closed storage options around it, including a handy ‘cubby’ hole with twin USB/240B sockets and reading lights on each side.

I found the lightweight memory foam mattress pretty comfortable to sleep on, and it lifted up easily to reveal a big storage area underneath including two pull-out drawers. Some of the storage space at the back was taken up by electrical items including the 100Ah battery, breakaway unit, battery charger and solar controller

The adjustable arm for the 22in TV/DVD was located along the offside wall facing the bed, next to a vertical cupboard displaying anRV Media audio touchscreen unit, with more electricals including battery and water monitors neatly stored inside.

One obvious omission for the price is one of the latest 'smart' management systems or all-in-one digital displays now fitted to many of its rivals. Apollo said it was considering adding a Redarc or BMPro unit like that  fitted to its Winnebago caravans.  Lithium batteries are currently available as an option.

Family-size kitchen

The Evolution 696’s kitchen is above-average in both size and facilities, incorporating decent benchspace and storage options including some wide and deep soft-close drawers that should swallow larger pots as well as other cooking and eating utensils.

The Coromal van also ticked the box with its large stainless sink and family-friendly 190 litre three-way fridge/freezer, although the microwave located directly above might be a stretch for some people.

There was also a four-burner cooktop and grille but no oven, although there's room to fit one in the place of a cupboard.

While missing out on the triple hinged overhead locker doors fitted to the up-spec Pioneer Evolution, the timber ply cabinetry in the RTV Element is still secured firmly thanks to additional aluminium-reinforced fixing points. The rear wall separating the ensuite and bunk area is also bolted to the main body for extra rigidity.

Our only concern with the quality of the fixtures and fittings were the 'magnetic' catches used to keep the shower and toilet doors shut, but they remained in place after a few kilometres of bumpy travel.

Fit and finish overall was hard to fault and probably a step up from the Fleetwood-built van we reviewed last year. Although being a rough-road van I’d like to see some ‘scuff’ plates to protect the glossy furniture where it meets the floor, and the bare ply inserts inside the overhead lockers look a bit low rent (Apollo said it's considering a remedy for this).

Child’s play

The Element 696 comes standard with a four person cafe dinette, which could struggle to fit all the family with limited foot room closest to the window. However, Apollo said a more family-friendly L-shaped dinette would be available as an option. The easy-cleaning leatherette upholstery is a good choice for young families though.

Buyers can also choose from two or three bunks with foam mattresses, and the option of adding a convertible, two-person dinette with the two-bunk version.

Our three-bunk review van was missing child barriers for the front of the bunks, as well as the windows, although we were assured they are standard equipment. Each 70kg-rated bunk had a padded bedhead with storage net and reading light.

Another family-friendly feature on the 696 Element was the large 4kg front-load washing machine located along the back wall (instead of the usual 2.5kg top-loader), although the bigger machine does eat into some valuable kids' wardrobe space.

Also designed for busy families is a somewhat unique ensuite set-up, which includes separate rooms (and separate doors) for the wash basin/toilet and shower cubicle.

“One of the things with a family van is everyone wanting to go to the toilet and have a shower at the same time, so separating that is a really good thing for the family,” is how Apollo marketing manager Simon Kerr explained it.

The only issue with this set-up is that the toilet seat must be swivelled ninety degrees to the right in order to sit on it, blocking access to the sink at the same time, although it's not a deal breaker.

The fibreglass shower cubicle looks big enough for all family members, and is nicely finished including a stainless steel corner mount and solid door.  There's a concertina door with magnetic catch to shut off the kids' area at night, although a solid sliding door would be even better to block out the light and noise.

The Element 696 was also fitted with plenty of LED down lights plus three roof hatches and centrally-mounted roof-top air-conditioner for the main living areas.

Summing up

Judging by our short camping and towing experiences and a tour of the factory where they're built, the latest line of Brisbane-built Coromal vans are set to become a serious contender in the growing full composite caravan market.

As it is the Element Evolution 696 delivers decent value at just over $80,000 for a family-friendly, rough road van, but if you don’t need all the interior space or don’t plan to head too far off road you can save some money with a less pricey Touring version or the smaller 636 bunk version.

Specs: 2019 Coromal Element Evolution RTV696 

Overall length: 8850mm
Body length: 6900mm
Body width: 2470mm
Overall height: 2950mm
Interior height: 1980mm
Tare: 2430kg
ATM: 3080kg
Ball weight (Tare): 225kg
Body: Fibreglass composite walls, roof, honeycomb panel floor
Chassis: FRV high-tensile steel, rivetted
Suspension: Tandem axle independent wishbones, leaf springs
Wheels: 16x7in CSA alloys, Bridgestone Dueler 265/75 AT tyres
Brakes: 12in electric drums
Fresh water: 2 x 82L
Grey water: Optional
Gas: 2 x 9kg
ESC: AL-KO
Battery: 1 x 100Ah (standard)
Solar: 1 x 150W roof-top mounted, 30amp regulator
Hot water: Camec instant gas
Cooking: Camec 3+1 cooktop, grille
Microwave: 25L
Fridge: Dometic AES 190L three-way
Air-con: Dometic Freshjet, roof-mounted
TV: 22in RV Media TV/DVD
Ensuite: Separate shower and toilet
Lighting: LED
Washing machine: Camec 4kg front-loader
Price: $80,325 (drive-away, Qld)
Supplied by: Apollo Caravan & RV Sales, Northgate, Queensland
More info: Coromal Caravans