First look: Golf Savannah Maxxi 2018

Travelling by caravan with the whole family is not everyone’s idea of the perfect adventure holiday, but for those who want to, there’s now the new Golf Savannah Maxxi 584.

Despite an external body length measuring 5860mm (just over 19ft), the Maxxi 584 opens up like Swiss Army Knife to reveal a front queen, a rear double bed, a large lounge/dining area and two rear bunks that can be configured as a second dinette.

To cater for all the family and/or friends, the Golf Savannah Maxxi 584 gets a separate shower and toilet ensuite, plus a separate exterior shower and two kitchens – inside and outside – along with two separate fridges.

Then, to make sure that everything goes smoothly, you can option air bag springs for its Cruisemaster independent trailing arm tandem suspension and still tow it legally behind a Prado or Pajero.

Lighter family van option

It’s an appealing package for many people who otherwise would need to hitch a 23ft behemoth behind a heavy-duty 4WD to move this much human cargo.

The way this particular Golf Maxxi does it is simple – everything folds out.

For a start, there’s the drop-down ‘expanda’ beds at either end. Undo two external catches to release the top-hinged hard lids, lift up the corresponding tent sections and hang them from the underside of the lids using elastic bungee straps.

Then unfold the two-part, centre-joined innerspring mattresses inside and you have accommodation for two couples in a few minutes.

Slide the two retaining bolts, spread out the four-part hinged base of the upper of two rear bunks, drop the small lower table, re-arrange the foam cushions and you have a further two single beds.

Then press a switch to the left of the front entry door and the café dinette slides out at floor level from the Maxxi’s off-side, driven by a 12v motor.

Family size kitchen

Feeding everyone shouldn’t be a problem either in the Golf Savannah Maxxi 584, with a standard 186-litre three-way internal Thetford fridge/freezer, plus a separate 30-litre Dometic drinks fridge drawer that slides out from the end of the external kitchen, whose twin gas burners and sink with its hot/cold mixer tap supplement the more substantial internal Swift 500 Series’ 3 + 1 gas/electric hobs, griller and microwave oven inside.

Many family vans are forced to put the shower and toilet together to make room for bunks, but the Maxxi does this in a simple, but effective way with a transparent sliding shower screen shielding the shower’s water from the adjacent toilet/vanity area.

But if the weather is warm, you may prefer to send the kids outside to enjoy the van’s standard external shower.

OK, six may be a bit of a crowd, but the Golf Savannah Maxxi 584 can make it work better than most.

Although some might consider it unnecessary, the slide-out lounge actually plays a big part in this, as it releases a considerable amount of interior space that makes the Golf Maxxi feel a lot bigger than it really is. At the very least it allows occupants to pass to the rear sleeping quarters or ensuite without interrupting dinner preparations – very important on a long trip when it’s too wet or cold to be outside.

Glossy good looks

Starting outside with all apertures closed, the Golf Savannah Maxxi 584 is quite a handsome van to my eyes. Being a full-height off-roader it’s relatively tall at just under 2900mm (9ft 5in) but it looks right proportionately.

The front is less angled than most because it incorporates the drop-down front queen bed, but the good thing is that you can set it up without fouling the truck-mesh stone screen and with the Maxxi still hitched, so you can make quick overnight stops on your travels to distant holiday places.

With the front taken up by a bed and the first left hand side locker occupied by the van’s standard slide-out kitchen, the only external storage is the small rear tunnel boot. However access to this from the door side is restricted by the van’s jack and wheel-brace.

A stone-tray on the A-frame, rear of the two standard 9kg gas bottles, would be handy to store things like hoses, the jockey wheel, etc. while travelling, but that space is already occupied by the horizontally-mounted spare wheel.

Well equipped underneath

Our review Golf Savannah Maxxi 584 also looked the goods underneath though, thanks to its optional Cruisemaster XT airbag spring suspension, which replaced the steel coils that comes standard.  From travelling experience I know what a difference airbags make to the way a caravan rides and how much less road shock is transferred to everything inside it.

A bonus feature of the Cruisemaster system is that the van can be raised or lowered side to side when parked to level out uneven surfaces. A hose with a gauge is supplied to allow you to raise or lower tyre pressures using the system’s air compressor and the snap-on outlet adjacent to the entry footwell.

Roomy interior

Inside, via a solid Dometic door, there’s a surprising amount of room in the Maxxi before you start expanding it and everything from the kitchen to the ensuite can be accessed easily at lunchtime stops. In contrast, you need to deploy the slide-out lounge before you can get inside some similar caravans.

When you do, the ‘slide’ takes less than 30 seconds to extend. If you’re all part of the same family – or just friendly – six people can squeeze around the rectangular dining table, as leg room is not restricted by the tandem-axle wheel box.

However, it would be handy if additional flip-up load-bearing footrests could be incorporated into the dinette seat ends (as they are on some other vans), as you could then seat two more at the table while still leaving room to access the rear of the van.

Another nice feature is the large opening window in the lounge, which allows good airflow through the interior when the mesh windows in the two bed modules are unzipped open.

Kitchen ticks most boxes

The kitchen bench space is not overly large for a caravan that might need to cater for six occupants, but it’s adequate. Some family travellers might also want an oven, but the griller, microwave and outside cooktop should have feeding time covered, while there’s an external gas bayonet to plug in a Weber Baby Q if more food-power is required.

A Thule wind-out awning, twin roof-mounted 80W solar panels, two 95AH batteries and twin 90 litre fresh water tanks should keep occupants away from mains power for several days.

One thing that no-one can accuse the Maxxi of lacking is pantry space, with a huge full-height five-shelf unit pulling out from beside the fridge and a two-tier pantry in the right hand side of the kitchen unit supplementing it.

Cupboards line the upper walls for additional storage, while their counterparts under the sink are pot-friendly.

One comment here is that the review Maxxi was much tidier inside its cupboards than previous Golfs we have reviewed as the result of Victorian maker Avan deciding to ‘tidy-up’ its act for 2018.

Rearguard action

The rear of the caravan contains sleeping room for four more people in the form of a drop-down rear double bed and twin single bunks that sit one above the other along the door-side wall. Alternatively, this can be configured as a kid’s dining or play area.

The bathroom opposite is compact, but of a good size, with the toilet and vanity area separated from the shower by a sliding clear plastic curtain. This addresses the common complaint about combo shower-toilets of water splashing onto the toilet and floor.

The use of lightweight ply for all the cupboards and interior furnishings certainly keeps weight down, although it doesn’t have the solid feel that some caravan buyers appreciate. The door hardware and upholstery fabrics also have a utilitarian, rather than a plush feel.

However, the benefit of this lightweight approach is seen in the Golf Savannah Maxxi 584's relatively low tare weight of around 2200kg as tested –  good for a family van with its level of accommodation and features.

Yet with a load carrying capacity of just 400kg on top of this, families will have to travel fairly light if they plan to keep the twin 90-litre fresh water tanks full and those cavernous pantries and fridges stocked!

Summing up

Built at Avan's Pakenham, Victoria factory, the Golf Savannah Maxxi 584 is an excellent touring option for the adventurous family, with great indoor/outdoor living options at a competitive price.

Golf Savannah Maxxi 584 Slide-Out

Travel length: 7600mm
External body length: 5860mm
External body width: 2470mm
Travel height: 2850mm
Tare: 2100kg
Ball weight (Tare): 220kg
ATM: 2500kg
Payload: 400kg
Body: Composite 'Vaculite' aluminium composite walls
Chassis: Hot dipped galvanised, 150mm x 50mm steel chassis and A-frame
Suspension: Cruisemaster XT airbag spring, trailing arm tandem independent
Brakes: Off-road electric drums
Wheels: 15in alloy
Freshwater: 2 x 90L
Battery: 2 x 95Ah AGM
Solar: 2 x 80W roof-mounted panels
Gas: 2 x 4.5kg
Cooking: 4 burner (3 gas + I electric) Swift 500-Series cooktop, plus grill and microwave oven. Separate slide-out exterior kitchen with two-burner gas cooktop
Fridge: 186L Thetford 3-way
Bathroom: Combined shower, toilet and vanity
Washing machine: No
Lighting: LED throughout
Price (as reviewed): $74,990 tow away, Qld
Supplied by: Golf Super Centre, Burpengary, Queensland
More info: Golf Caravans