Lotus Sprint GP

Sharp Shooter

Caravan World (the dealer, not this magazine) has been in business for many years, and is located at Woombye, not far from Qld's Sunshine Coast.

Under the direction of Ros and Merv Flynn, Caravan World has come to specialise in supplying large shower/toilet caravans suitable for rough road and offroad travel.

A couple of years ago, Caravan World took on the Lotus range, allowing the retailer to tailor vans according to its clients' needs.

"Many of our customers are having retirement dreams and want a van with everything on board," Ros Flynn told us.

"Our customers come from all over Australia and we even get a few from New Zealand.

"Two of our most recent models are the Uptown and the Sprint GP. They attracted considerable interest at the recent Queensland Caravan, Camping and Touring Holiday Show."

Having seen them for myself at the show, I decided to borrow the Sprint GP for run. It must have been those embroidered towels with "Caravan World" on them that cemented my decision.

SLEEK EXTERIOR
Built on a SupaGal chassis, the Sprint GP is made up of a timber frame with aluminium cladding for the sides and roof and moulded fibreglass for the front and rear, giving the van a very streamlined look.

The drawbar is built from 6in x 2in (150mm x 50mm) rails, which run back to the front suspension mounts. The suspension is a Simplicity tandem-axle load sharing configuration.

The front boot is somewhat unconventional; it's part of the front moulding and incorporates two 9kg gas cylinders into its design. The cylinders are semi-enclosed in a compartment to reduce movement and sit on a wire grill that provides good ventilation. This arrangement takes up some boot space but keeps the gas cylinders under cover and out of sight.

At the rear, a bumper bar with looped ends sports the spare wheel. I liked the way the moulding incorporates the tail lights. It avoids the ‘square look' of other caravan designs.

If parking space is tight, keep in mind that rear bumper bars that hold a spare wheel can add considerably to a van's length, in this case an extra 13in (330mm).

Apart from the front boot, there are no spare external storage areas. The rest are dedicated to the usual items – Thetford toilet cassette, Suburban hot water heater and, right at the offside, a compartment for the 100Ah house batteries.

External living is taken care of by the A&E awning, three external lights, external speakers and a hinged picnic table.

CONTEMPORARY LIVING
Stepping through the door reveals a front bedroom and rear bathroom layout. The kitchen is mostly on the nearside, while the dinette rests on the offside. The latter is upholstered in leather. It has a contemporary feel, with what looks like two arm chairs joined as one and a multi-fold table in between.

It's a neat way of having a dinette and the next best thing to a lounge. Indeed, it has a comfortable look about it. In addition to the overhead lockers above, there are also two drawers underneath the seats.

General lighting is produced from an overhead fluorescent and two halogen reading lights.

At the rear, the full width bathroom is reflective of the upmarket caravan market. With a shower cubicle on the nearside and a Thetford cassette toilet on the other, it is nontheless spacious. The rest of the rear wall of the bathroom is occupied by a substantial vanity cabinet. In addition to the wash basin, it has four large drawers and two overhead lockers. A larger wall mirror is good for bathroom users but tricky for photographers!

All the windows have integrated blinds and screens, as well as Roman blinds under the timber pelmets.

Up front, the bedroom is characterised by large windows on each side and a smaller one in the front wall. Together with the Four Seasons hatch above, there is no shortage of light or ventilation.

Measuring 6ft 1in x 5ft (1.9m x 1.5m) the innerspring mattress sits on a metal-framed bed base complete with curved timber slats. It all lifts up, assisted by gas struts, to give access to the compartmented storage area beneath.

Around the bed head is the usual cabinet work of overhead lockers, side wardrobes and bedside cabinets. The bedside shelves are a little larger than usual and there is also a shelf behind the bed. Halogen reading lights and an overhead fluorescent illuminate the area.

At the foot of the bed, a small amount of additional storage is provided by a full height diagonal cupboard on the offside and a set of small diagonal shelves opposite.

TWO TUBS IN THE KITCHEN
The kitchen bench takes up a fair bit of nearside wall space. It comes fitted with a four-burner cooktop and grill, stainless steel sink with two tubs and drainer, and a microwave set at eye height. Storage space is quite generous with two large cupboards, two overhead lockers and two lockers under the grill. However, there are only two cutlery-sized drawers.

Given the space, a couple of larger drawers would not go astray.

Fitted to the wall near the doorway, the rotating arm for the flatscreen TV ensures it can be seen from both bed and dinette. Antenna and DVD player connections are close by.

A 186L three-way fridge sits opposite the kitchen bench between the dinette and bathroom. The mix of highly reflective benchtop, "etched copper" laminate for the fridge and kitchen area walls, plus lead-lined windows on the overhead lockers, gives the van a classy look.

If you don't like dark hues, lighter colours are available.

THE BOTTOM LINE
Ros Flynn told us many caravan buyers visit the Caravan World yard looking for a van with a high level of appointment. There's no doubt, that with the exception of a washing machine (not that I really want one), the Sprint GT fits that category.

With an ATM of just over 2590kg, it can be towed by a reasonable selection of tow vehicles, including ours, a Toyota Land Cruiser tray truck. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it did the job!

Caravan World, Nambour Connection Road, Woombye Qld, 4559, (07) 5442 1600, www.caravanworld.com.au

For more information, including your nearest dealer, phone Lotus Caravans on (03) 9303 9300.