Coronet FS2

When hands-on Coronet Caravans' owner and managing director Andrew Phillips decided to restore a 1965 Coronet a few years ago, he was shocked to realise that he was still making his internal furniture the same way as founder Ian Farren did more than 40 years earlier.

It was a reality check that he heeded and after considering and rejecting various European options, he headed for the US and set up a supplier agreement for the solid poplar ‘paper-wrapped' timber that has replaced old school ‘stick furniture' in all Coronet products since mid 2013.

This was not as easy as it sounds for a small volume semi-custom builder like Coronet, which in Phillips' hands since 1991 only produces two caravans a week on average, split evenly between pop-top and hard-top models.

So finding a quality coated poplar supplier happy to deal in small volumes was an important move.

He then stepped back and took a long, hard look at his caravan designs and found they were visually dated.

“All I have ever done since I started in the trade in my ‘teens is build caravans”, he explained, almost apologetically, although some of the ‘Johnny-come-latelys' in this crowded industry would love to claim that credibility.

“I needed help on the marketing side with a fresh set of eyes.”

So he lured former CTIA Victoria chief Peter Wright out of planned retirement. The result is the best of several worlds in the latest Coronet range, which combines smart new graphics with quality, modern construction.

With Wright's guidance, Coronet now has a new name ‘Coronet RV', a smart, user-friendly website – coronetrv.com.au – and has introduced its 'XT' range of ‘rough terrain' models.

But this review is on their best-selling on-road caravan, the ‘Fashion Statement' FS2.

While available in 15 separate models – the four largest only as dual axle full height caravans – the most popular FS2 is the 5.95m (19ft 6in) external length FS2-5950 that is normally supplied with a G&S-made 100mm x 50mm galvanised chassis with a drop hanger and sells with full rear ensuite and standard Al-Ko electronic stability control as a hard-top caravan for $53,990 ex-Melbourne.

The similarly sized and equipped pop-top FS2 5950 with its unique folding hard-wall ensuite, is a bargain-priced $49,990.

However with its semi-custom volume, there's plenty of room for custom input and the FS2 reviewed here was a base 5950 model fitted with the optional, larger 150mm x 50mm chassis to allow even more load-carrying capacity, and with its slightly longer body length was hence re-badged as the FS2 6150.

At a tare of 2133kg for a fully-equipped tandem axle caravan, the FS2 6150 is not a heavyweight, but with the larger chassis it's rated to carry 767kg, which means it has the under-pinnings of a larger van and hence is suitable for long-distance touring and carrying all the things that a traveler might want to take on an extended trip.

From the outside it looks much longer than its six-metre body, thanks largely to the attractive, longitudinal grey, white and silver body graphics with black highlights and huge side windows that make it a standout in any caravan crowd.

Otherwise it's conventional by Australian caravan standards – ribbed aluminium cladding over a Meranti timber frame with polystyrene foam insulation, a gently-raked front panel, rear entry door and abrupt rear panel, with the spare wheel mounted on a body-protecting steel bumper and conventional beam axles and leaf springs underneath.

But even here, the FS2 manages to look a little different. The heavily-gusseted G & S chassis incorporates a stainless steel stone tray on its A-frame, and the twin gas bottles are shrouded in a heavy duty vinyl cover to project them from stone peppering.

There's a light on the front bodywork below the slim, but adequate front boot and the standard Al-Ko ESC sender is located on the other side of the double latch bracket that secures the centrally-mounted jockey wheel, leaving plenty of room for weight distribution bars to be fitted.

Inside, the differences continue. New on the latest FS2 full height caravans is the rear corner ensuite that faces you as you enter. This space-saving layout allows a semi-circular shower, a small vanity with mirror, and optional top-loading Camec washing machine fitted in this tight, but well-designed space.

I'm not a fan of the concertina doors of the type that closes the ensuite off from the rest of the van, but it's the most practical, space-saving solution for this layout.

It permits the fitting of a large 190-litre Thetford three-way fridge-freezer in the wall immediately to the right of the entry door, freeing up considerable living space further forward.

The best measure of this extra space is the large preparation and service space in the kitchen, which is much more generous that you will find in most 20ft caravans, while still leaving plenty of room to walk around the island queen-size bed in the van's nose.

Fit the cutting board over the deeply dished sink when it's not required and you have even more bench-space. And the standard Daewoo microwave is housed at a good, safe and sensible height above the sink.

The café dinette opposite the kitchen is a good size, but like most of its ilk is only designed to house two people in comfort on each side of its tri-fold table.

It's upholstered in an attractive diamond-patterned fabric and on first acquaintance the seat cushions feel firm, rather than luxurious. However the high-density foam used will doubtless keep its shape for many years.

The interior has a great sense of space, thanks not only to its clever layout, but also the huge windows (‘huge' gets several mentions in this review) lining either side. Combined with the light tonings on the floor, bench tops and ceiling, they flood the interior with natural light, helped by two rooftop hatches.

The other standout feature of the FS2 6150's interior is the huge (there's that word again!) cupboard space. The three-quarter hang-up robes on each side of the bed are huge, the cupboards that line the roof above the bed and extend along both sides of the van are huge and there are large cupboards in the bathroom, on the door-side of the café dinette and above the fridge on the back wall.

It's not hard to see how you would accommodate nearly 700kg of payload if you truly couldn't leave home without it!

There's even good storage space under the bed alongside the fully-boxed hot water service and deep cycle battery, while the front boot and half tunnel hatch behind it will swallow most of the stuff like wheel chocks, hoses and matting that you'd rather not bring inside.

I'd personally like a bit more exterior space, as there's not enough room for the folding table and chairs that you might want to pull out for a lunchtime stop in these outside lockers.

It's not perfect in a few other areas either and we found a few simple things, like one of the cupboard doors fouling the towel rail in the toilet and the vulnerability of the rear body panel to damage from the toilet hatch door, that need to be adjusted.

But this was the first FS2 built with the new rear corner ensuite layout and Andrew Phillips took notes and promised these items would be fixed and we felt confident they would be.

That's the benefit of dealing directly with someone who has done nothing but build caravans all his life…

WE LIKED:
>> Quality construction
>> Novel space-saving corner ensuite
>> Large kitchen bench space
>> Huge internal storage space

NOT SO MUCH:
>> Limited external storage
>> Lack of solid door to ensuite
>> No rear bumper

VERDICT

The Coronet FS2 caravan ticks most of the boxes of a larger and more expensive touring caravan. It's very well made with great attention to detail, has a very livable layout at the expense of a slightly squeezy rear corner ensuite, with loads of light through its extra-large windows and has huge interior storage space.

For around $57,000 delivered in Victoria, it's right up there with Australia's best value for money caravans.

CORONET FS2 6150 

Travel length: 8.31m
External body length: 6.15m
External body width: 2.44m
Travel height: 2.87m (with air-con)
Interior height: 1.975m
Tare weight: 2133kg
ATM: 2900kg
Ball weight: 243kg
Body: Meranti timber frame/aluminium cladding/polystyrene foam insulation
Chassis: 150mm x 50mm G&S Duragal
Suspension: Tandem beam axle with leaf springs
Brakes: Al-Ko 10-inch electric
Stability Control:  Al-Ko ESC standard
Wheels: 15in alloy
Fresh water: 2 x 80L
Battery: 1 x 100Ah deep cycle
Solar: 125W roof-mounted
Air-conditioner: Air Command Ibis reverse-cycle
Gas: 2 x 9.0kg
Cooking: Four-burner gas/electric Thetford Caprice Mk III cooktop, grill and oven
Fridge: 190-litre Dometic three-way
Microwave: Daewoo
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Shower: Separate fibreglass cubicle
Lighting: LED
Price (Ex Melb): $56,990 delivered in Victoria
Options fitted: 150mm diameter chassis, front-load Camec washing machine, roof-mounted solar panel.
Supplied by: Coronet RV, Bayswater, Vic