New Age Manta Ray Escape 2025 Review

After joining forces with JB Caravans, Melbourne's New Age Caravans is moving with the times and going 'timber-free', ditching its popular Meranti-wood framed models for a new rot-resistant construction path. This means a full composite line-up from 2025 for New Age's entry-level touring vans, while its more upmarket off-road, off-grid models will get tougher TIG-welded aluminium frames clad with aluminium composite panels.

Similar to that offered by big-selling rivals Jayco, Snowy River and Crusader, New Age's on-road caravans will now feature thick fibreglass sandwich panels for the roof and walls, together with a honeycomb composite floor. While its more hardcore off-roaders will boast the type of tough alloy skeleton pioneered by legendary Queensland off-road manufacturers Bushtracker and Kedron, and more recently popularized by Melbourne-based 'tuff-road' caravan brands including Titanium, Urban and Legend.

Along with the construction changes, New Age's Melbourne factory is ramping up production from five to seven-plus vans a day and, like JB, is making moves into the booming motorised RV sector, with an Iveco-based prototype (above) spotted recently at New Age's Epping, Victoria facility providing a hint of what's to come.

Meanwhile, a proportion of New Age's 180-strong workforce continues to build vans under contract for Coromal, while others are currently busy converting used Toyota HiAce delivery vans to budget campers for JUCY Rentals...

For this review, however, we're focussing on one of the first New Age 'sandwich panel' vans off the production line: a MY25 upgrade of one of its most popular and affordable full-size luxury on-road vans, the 19ft Manta Ray Escape.

The good news for buyers is that despite the adoption of thicker and better insulating composite panels, the price of the 2025 Manta Ray Escape when it's officially launched later this year, remains the same as the MY24 timber-frame variant.

New Age released the cut-price Escape variant around 12 months ago for an eye-catching $79,990, with the aim to deliver well-equipped but more affordable couple and family van options, while including all the recent interior updates such as soft close hinges, European cupboard and door handles, bedroom alcoves with wireless charging pads, and LED strip lighting throughout.

To help keep the price down, the MY25 Manta Ray Escape gets a few lesser features like a BMPro SwayControl instead of the more sophisticated Bosch Trailer Safety Control fitted to other New Age vans, along with a cheaper audio unit and just the one AGM battery.

However, it still offers a very decent standard kit including a rooftop air conditioner, four burner cooktop and grille, big fridge and freezer, twin roof hatches, a large-screen Smart TV and antenna, digital touchscreen manager, separate shower and toilet, and a washing machine.

Incidentally, the Manta Ray hardtop model is also available with 16ft and 18ft couple ensuite layouts, albeit not in entry-level Escape trim, and New Age says it will be releasing more Manta Ray variants soon including a smaller toy-hauler as an alternative to the 22ft Xtreme Utility.

New Age vans of late with their Walkinshaw-design exteriors have a distinct look, and the MY25 Manta Ray Escape certainly pops out with its clean, predominantly white and black colour scheme and sharp graphics. Gone are the previous version's bright-blue front and rear panels, but for some buyers that won't be such a bad thing.

Supplied by Camec, the fibreglass sandwich panels (25mm thick for the side walls and 35mm for the roof, front and rear panels) feature a closed cell XPS foam core, with a gel coated European GRP white satin exterior finish (matte white internally). The floor is a one-piece composite honeycomb panel, and the panels are joined together using a combination of MS polymer silicon adhesive and mechanical fasting.

What hasn't changed on the Manta Ray Escape is the Walkinshaw-design galvanised six-inch chassis with extended five-inch A-frame, AL-KO leaf spring suspension, 50mm ball coupling, removable jockey wheel, drop-down corner stabilisers, 10in electric drum brakes, and 15in alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres. There's also a two-arm rear bar, with the spare tyre slotting into a rear wall recess.

As a new pre-delivery check for leaks and to improve quality control, New Age has commenced internal positive-pressure testing of all vans at the factory, in lieu of the previous external water-spray test. All New Age vans come with a three-year manufacturer warranty and one-year roadside assistance.

As an on-road van, the Manta Ray Escape offers limited off-road shielding, bar some more durable lower plastic side protection and gal sheeting for the poly water tanks. Ground clearance is also reduced by a number of low-hanging items underneath, including some exposed poly pipes and the chassis-mounted boxes for the battery and water pump.

We didn't get to travel too far nor camp overnight in the new van, but we did yank on a few cabinetry doors and thump some walls and it all appears solidly built and well put together, at least for its intended purpose. We also like that the conduits for internal electrical wiring -- often an unsightly feature on composite vans -- were largely tucked away behind furniture.

We didn't get to properly test the acoustic or thermal insulation properties of the new composite body either, although traffic noise from a busy nearby road was nicely muted when sitting inside with the van closed up. It also maintained a pleasant internal temperature for around an hour or so, despite the midday sun beating down and just the entry door open for ventilation.

Externally, the 19ft Manta Ray Escape also comes with a full length Dometic roll-out awning, drop-down picnic table, electrical and TV connection points, a pull-out entry step and an annexe light on the onside, while there's another LED light fitted to the offside wall.

Also part of the Escape package is a drawbar tap and a mains pressure inlet, an Anderson plug to run a portable solar panel, a rear camera, external speakers, two 9kg gas bottles and a gas bayonet, while external storage is confined to a forward tunnel locker with waterproof lining, LED light and Walkinshaw-branded jack.

Water storage extends to a 110 litre fresh water tank and a 110L grey water tank, while the basic 12V power system includes a 110Ah AGM battery, 200W rooftop solar and a BMPro battery manager with touchscreen display.

This is New Age's most popular layout, and it's easy to see why once you spend a bit of time inside the 19ft van. Also worth noting is the fitment of both external and internal grab handles near the security door, if you require a little bit of extra help getting in and out of the van.

There's space to freely move around the queen bed up front, which gets a comfy coil spring mattress and wrap-around padded bedhead. You can also easily access bedside storage areas including a large underbed cavity, overhead cupboards, side robes, drawers and the alcoves with their 12V/240V sockets and wireless phone chargers.

The cafe dinette gets a sturdy tri-fold table and supportive cloth covered seating, with more storage in a small under-table cupboard and twin under-seat drawers that pull out and double as additional seats or footrests (cushions are included). There's another pantry-style cupboard located low-down to the left as you enter the van.

There's ample kitchen benchspace, on both sides of the large stainless sink with drainer and mixer tap, with a four gas-burner cooktop and grille, rangehood, microwave and 170L three-way fridge/freezer also part of the kitchen set-up. You get plenty of kitchen storage options too, including over- and under-bench cupboards, larger pot drawers and a full height pantry cupboard.

The rear ensuite is tight for floorspace but there's everything you need including a solid sliding door, cassette toilet, a vanity with bowl sink and mixer tap, mirrored 'medicine cabinet' and other open and closed storage. While the wall-mounted washer and separate fibreglass shower cubicle with solid door and fan hatch, also tick the boxes.

Other handy items throughout the van include a BMPro Trek3 panel to keep an eye on battery and water levels, with the BMPro BatteryPlus35-II-HA main unit located in an overhead cupboard. A holder for the air-con remote control is mounted on the wall to the right as you enter, alongside a large magazine pouch.

The Manta Ray Escape also boasts a smart interior fit-out, with the review van's coastal beach house-theme extending to grainy timber-look flooring and pine benchtops, matte white furniture fascias with contrasting black handles, hidden 'glow' lighting, and what's fast becoming New Age's signature-look: a subway-tile kitchen splashback.

The 19ft Manta Ray Escape was already an enticing deal, but now that it's built more like a well-insulated truck fridge box than your traditional Aussie 'stick 'n tin' caravan, it's an even better buy for the same price.

The circa three tonne maximum weight and low slung tandem axle configuration, should also make it a safe choice behind many dual-cab utes and larger wagons. You certainly don't need the extra pulling power of a big American truck, like the Chevy Silverado we used during our photo shoot!

With European-style full composite caravans fast becoming the norm in the mainstream Australian RV market, the Manta Ray Escape is also a smart choice if you want to future-proof your purchase and enhance resale value.

Price: $79,990 RRP
Travel length: 8000mm
Body length: 5700mm (19ft)
External body width: 2500mm
Travel height: 3050mm
Internal height: 2030mm
Tare weight: 2380kg
ATM: 3080kg
Ball weight (Tare): 120kg
Body: Fibreglass sandwich panels for the roof and walls (25-35mm), honeycomb floor
Chassis: Galvanised six-inch with extended five-inch A-frame
Suspension: AL-KO roller-rocker leaf spring with 50mm ball coupling
Brakes: 10in electric drums
Stability control: BMPRO SwayControl
Wheels: 15in alloy with LT235/75R15 all-terrain tyres
Water: 110L (fresh), 110L (grey)
Battery: 1 x 100Ah AGM
Solar: 1 x 200W rooftop panel
Air-conditioner: Gree 240V rooftop
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: Gas/electric
Cooking: Thetford four-burner gas cooktop, grille
Fridge: Thetford 170L three-way fridge/freezer
Microwave: NCE 240v
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Washing machine: NEC 3.0kg front load
Lighting: 12V LED
TV: 28in Smart TV and Cowfish antenna
Audio: Clarion Bluetooth with internal/external speakers
Supplied by: New Age Caravans, Epping, Victoria