Golf Savannah DL 2005 Review

Golf is undoubtedly a caravan manufacturer that has cut itself a well founded niche in the Australian market. Under the direction of Hugh and Lyn Isermann, Golf's range - from the base-level Starliner to the luxurious Linwood - has a model for every caravanner.

With the amount of vans on the road needing to be towed by a large 4WD, Golf has made a point of pitching the Savannah at Commodore/Falcon and small 4WD owners. The Savannah doesn't have the extra strengthening features of the offroad Outback, nor the luxury items of Linwoods, which all saves weight.

In a market where many vans are getting heavier that's not a bad move, especially as the Savannah still sports many upmarket features like Golf's Posi-Track independent suspension and the trademark quality interiors, which are often just good to look at!

Golf offered CW a 19ft 9in (6.63m) Savannah dl van, which we collected from Arrow Caravans in Brisbane. It had a nameplate Tare weight of 1820kg which, when loaded with about 300kg of gear, would bring it very close to the maximum towing weight of a Ford Falcon (2300kg) and just over that of a Holden Commodore (2100kg).

Bare essentials
Golf vans generally have a very smooth look about them and with its aerodynamic front, the Savannah is no different; with a fully fibreglass exterior it is a streamlined-looking van indeed. Adding to the 'clean' look of the van is the drawbar, because nothing is mounted there except a mains pressure tap. The gas cylinders, which normally feature on a caravan drawbar, are hidden in the boot. Out of sight behind the external panelling are the insulated roof and walls.

One thing this Savannah does have is a substantial amount of hopper windows - all are the tinted acrylic variety and a Euro-style security door with a top half opening window. Around at the rear, the tail lights are neatly mounted in a fibreglass moulding, except for the high-mounted stop light.

The Savannah is built with an aluminium frame and sits on a Duragal chassis that rides on the aforementioned Posi-Track suspension system - coil springs, shock absorbers and trailing arms are the basic component parts for the four-wheel setup, all of which are braked. Unless you crawl underneath the van, the only part of the suspension you really see are the lightweight alloy wheels.

Lost in space
With a number of windows and a large Heki hatch above the kitchen/dinette area, this a very light and bright van inside. The Savannah's is a spacious and open layout, mostly because the bulky shower/toilet cubicle is fitted into the rear offside corner. If you are a person who sometimes suffers from a little caravan claustrophobia, this is the layout for you.

With a rear door entry, the Savannah has a front north-south double bed, a mid-station dinette on the nearside and a kitchen that is split along the offside and across the rear.

The overhead lockers have Golf's stylish curved-back design and with all timberwork finished in a light timber stain, the interior is quite stylish. All windows have integrated blinds and insect screens and, except for the kitchen, they have net curtains, with the material “curtains” serving as decoration only.

If there is one thing this particular layout design lends itself to, it's a spacious kitchen area with a substantial amount of benchtop space. The stainless steel sink/drainer has a bench all to itself across the rear, with both plentiful cupboard and drawer space, as well as a slide-out pantry and overhead lockers. The shelf underneath the lockers is a nice touch.

On the other side of the bathroom cubicle is the rest of the kitchen with a four-burner Spinflo Minigrill, with yet more benchtop space alongside. Immediately underneath the benchtop is a Sharp microwave oven. This is not a bad location because often microwave ovens are located in positions that are too high to use safely or else are low enough to cause back ache!

Under both the Minigrill and microwave oven are cupboards, plus the usual overhead lockers above, although the one above the hob is partly taken by a fume extractor. Sitting a short height above the floor, the 110 litre Dometic fridge sits at the end of the kitchen bench, the top of which might seem a good location for a TV, but the overhead locker space above has been left empty for that purpose. A slide-out TV fitted here will be easily seen from both the bed and dinette.

The dinette is really only built for two, with the wheel arch protruding slightly into the foot well area. Flat foam is used for both the cushions and seatbacks, but to make things more comfortable and to improve the look, cloth 'inserts' have been added. While there are storage areas under both seats, the forward seat area is partly taken by the wheel arch.

Sitting on a slatted wooden base, the 4ft 6in x 6ft 3in (1.4m x 1.9m) double bed has an innerspring mattress, which can easily be lifted up to access the area underneath. On either side of the bed are the usual hanging wardrobe, bedside shelf, drawer and floor locker, as well as a couple of overhead lockers above the bed.

At the foot of the bed in both corners are small diagonal cupboards, the nearside one being full height with a mirrored door - these come with a plus and minus: they add to the general storage but reduce walk-around space.

Compact is the best word to describe this moulded fibreglass bathroom, however it does have the essential flexible hose shower, Thetford cassette toilet and wash basin. Lighting is supplied by a 12V downlight or by the fan hatch during daylight hours.

Utilities
Lighting is a mixture of 240V and 12V, there being round, ceiling-mounted 240V lights in addition to a couple of strategically-mounted halogen downlights and 'golf ball'-style reading lights for both the bed and dinette. If a 12V fuse blows, the fuse panel is located in the nearside wardrobe.

Water is either 12V pumped or mains pressure delivered and gas comes from either a 9kg or 4kg cylinder. I like this little idea - you have a gas reserve but there's some weight-saving with a smaller cylinder. A Truma gas/240V water heater efficiently raises the temperature of the water for washing and showering.

Power points are located at either end of the offside kitchen bench plus one at the nearside end of the rear kitchen bench. I wouldn't mind having an extra power point for my laptop, somewhere near the dinette table.

Natural ventilation is supplied by the multiple windows, a Heki marine-style hatch above the dinette and a four-seasons hatch above the double bed. The air cooled variety is powered by a roof-mounted Dometic air-conditioner.

Entertainment is provided by an AM/FM radio/CD player fitted near the entry door, with speakers located at both ends of the van.

The bottom line
Our 19ft 9in (6.63m) Savannah dl was quite a charming van, with plenty of open space inside.

Its general fit-out (and price) put the Savannah towards the higher end of the caravan market, but that's certainly going to interest the buyer who is looking for a van with a quality design and feel.

While this particular rig fits just under the maximum towing weight of a Commodore or Falcon, slightly smaller Golf units will do so comfortably, making sedans an attractive proposition for people who don't want to get around in a heavy 4WD.

Arrow Caravans: 38 Radley Street, Virginia, Qld 4014, (07) 3865 1922, web: http://www.golfcaravans.com.au/

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