Coromal Magnum Transforma MT 450

WHAT WE LIKED

• Kitchen facilities including large 150 litre fridge option
• Good storage space and nice open interior feel
• Can be towed by many family sedans

NOT SO MUCH

• Only one water tank, despite XC Pack
• No powerpoint for dinette
• No mesh rack up front

The Magnum Transforma is a good example of a trend that’s emerged in the RV world over the last decade. As the variations in basic caravan and camper trailer designs have increased, it’s come to the point there’s now literally "something for everyone".

Mark Glencross of Brisbane’s City Caravan Centre would be the first to agree. Not only is he a Coromal dealer, he has a young family, and something like the Transforma MT450, with its pop-top roof and fold-out bed-ends, is ideal.

"It’s great for families," he said. "It offers a relatively small rig for towing and parking, yet it has a very liveable interior. Its lighter weight means the family car can be used as a tow vehicle.

"Another great feature is the optional (rough road) XC Pack that can be added to give more flexibility when travelling," he offered.

TRAVELLING LIGHT

As already mentioned, the weight of the Transforma (ATM 1700kg) allows for a wide range of tow vehicles, including Commodore and Falcon sedans. Even my around-town vehicle, a recently acquired diesel Subaru Forester (maximum tow rating 1600kg) could be used with a Transforma without the XC Pack fitted.

Towing height and length (for an XC-fitted rig) are pretty good at 2.22m (7ft 3in) and 6.2m (20ft 4in), respectively.

One of the benefits of a design like the Transforma is that it resembles a camper trailer in some ways, but has solid walls all-round and takes less than 10 minutes to set-up for basic overnight use.

Hard tops for the bed-ends also do a good job of keeping rain and condensation out. I particularly like these bed-ends because they can be easily opened, allow good ventilation and keep the respective bed users a comfortable distance apart.

STICKING WITH TRADITION

Built in the Coromal fashion, the Transforma (in our case fitted with the XC Pack) has a SupaGal 150mm-railed chassis with rear bumper. It rides on an upgrade of Coromal’s standard Ezy-Tow independent suspension and comes fitted with 16in alloy wheels.

The business end features a Treg poly block coupling which, despite largely working well, are a little tricky to hitch up because both coupling and vehicle tow hitch have to be level. Something like a Hyland ball coupling might be easier to hook up to.

Aluminium has been used for the frame and cladding, including the roof. Sliding windows are standard Coromal, as is the screened door.

A front boot is impractical with this design, so there’s just one external bin door, on the offside, that gives access to the front storage area.

POPPING THE TOP

Setting up the Transforma is a relatively easy process: unclip the roof locks, set the awning to ‘open’, lower the spare wheel mounting at the rear, lift up the roof ends, and fold out the bed-ends.

Naturally, there’s some fine tuning to be done, but with all the basics accomplished, the pop-top is just about ready to use.

On the inside, the layout is quite simple. A kitchen bench runs along the offside, the dinette sits opposite, and a large cabinet is housed in the front nearside corner near the door. This cabinet contains a few essentials, such as the microwave and split system air-conditioner, plus two cupboards and three drawers – not a bad use of that little space.

One of the benefits of pop-tops for people who don’t like tighter spaces is that with the roof up and the screened gusset windows open, there’s plenty of space, fresh air and natural light.

TOP-NOTCH KITCHEN

It’s no surprise that kitchen designs in a pop-top of this size get a little tight, but this one scrubs up well in terms of space, and it’s bigger than some we’ve seen in $300K-plus motorhomes.

Fitted into the benchtop are a Smev four-burner cooktop/grill and a stainless steel sink with drainer. Fitted into the forward end is a 150 litre three-way fridge. This fridge size is actually an option, but is better suited to a family than the standard 90 litre unit.

Kitchen storage consists of three cupboards, five drawers (one a large wire basket) and two floor lockers.

Fitted into the rear is a non-kitchen wardrobe with floor locker, and the area above the fridge is also non-kitchen – in addition to the AM/FM radio/CD player, the 240V/12V and antenna connections mean the space can be utilised for a flatscreen TV.

We should also point out that the radio is fitted with a 3.5mm socket for an iPod or MP3 player, and the 12V socket is a heavy-duty two-pin connection, not the usual cigarette lighter style.

Fitting a family table into a rig of this size is a little tricky, but the L-shaped dinette and table does give a bit of flexibility, and getting an extra chair or stool in isn’t difficult. There’s the usual under-seat storage, but the wheel arch takes up some of the space.

The rear bed measures 1.85 x 1.5m (6ft 1in x 4ft 11in) and is slightly larger than the front bed at 1.85 x 1.3m (6ft 1in x 4ft 3in). The dinette can also be used as a single bed.

Both bed-ends have screened windows all-round and internal curtains for privacy. There are no fitted lights, though, so LED torch/reading lights might be a good idea.

Extra storage is available in the compartments in front of both bed-ends, with part of the front space taken by the 100Ah house battery.

VERDICT

Not only can this pop-top Magnum be towed by a wide variety of vehicles, it’s also very user friendly for a family on a budget. It can even be used by two couples, as long as they get on all right!

It might not be particularly large, but the Transforma has quite a few things going for it and offers a great option in the ever-transforming (we know, bad pun) RV market.

COROMAL CARAVANS MAGNUM TRANSFORMA MT 450

Overall length: 6.2m (20ft 4in)
External length: 4.5m (14ft 9in)
External width: 2.25m (7ft 4in)
Interior height: 1.98m (6ft 6in)
Tare: 1310kg
ATM: 1700kg
Advised ball weight: 120kg
Frame: Aluminum
Chassis: SupaGal
Suspension: Ezy-Tow independent
Cooktop: Smev four-burner and grill
Fridge: Dometic RM2553 150 litre
Microwave: LG
Shower/toilet: No
Lighting: 12V fluorescent/halogen
Gas: 2 x 4kg
Fresh water: 60 litre
Price as shown $47,035 (tow-away, Qld)
Supplied by: City Caravan Centre, Qld
Website: Coromalcaravans.com.au