New Age Manta Ray Expedition 2024 Review

Big-selling Melbourne manufacturer New Age continues to expand its caravan line-up, with the launch of a new budget-priced Escape model last year followed by the recent release of tougher Expedition variants for buyers who want to head further off the bitumen.

Available on Manta Ray couple's and Road Owl family vans for $8000 more than the standard semi off-road Adventurer, the new Expedition upgrade adds a unique exterior look and tougher body construction, plus more battery and solar power, to give owners a bit more confidence when heading off down dusty Outback highways and away from civilization.

There are six options available when it comes to the new Expedition range: five full-height ensuite caravans including 16ft, 18ft and 19ft Manta Ray couple's variants and 19ft and 21ft Road Owl family bunk variants, along with 16ft Manta Ray and 18ft Road Owl pop-tops.

Here we're looking at the 18ft Manta Ray Expedition full height couple's van which shares most of its standard internal and external features with the Manta Ray Adventurer including Cruisemaster's DO-35 coupling and XT independent coil suspension.

Whereas current retail pricing for the entry-level leaf sprung 18ft Manta Ray starts at $83,990, and $92,990 for the semi-off-road Adventurer version, the 18ft Manta Ray Expedition kicks off at $100,990 RRP. The review van was also fitted with optional Cruisemaster airbag suspension, an upgraded toolbox, and a Gusto DRS to take the price to $111,990 (driveaway NSW).

Along with the unique exterior look which includes a new decal kit and exterior colours, the Expedition upgrade adds more underbody protection, filament sprayed wheel arches, bolted furniture, a composite floor, new flat profile windows, and a lithium battery system including an additional 200w solar panel.

Like other New Age vans, the Manta Ray Expedition is backed by a three-year manufacturer warranty and one-year roadside assistance (check the T&Cs on the New Age website for full details).

The 18ft New Age Expedition two-berth caravan is built on a Walkinshaw-design hot dipped galvanised chassis including a 6in A-frame and main chassis members, with a Cruisemaster DO-35 coupling, AL-KO jockey wheel, corner stabilisers and painted two arm rear bar, with the spare tyre sitting in the rear mould recess.

The insulated Meranti timber frame is clad in smooth aluminium composite panels and black checker plate, together with a fibreglass roof, one-piece honeycomb floor and flat profile tinted windows also part of the Expedition package.

New Age launched the Expedition at the 2024 Melbourne Supershow in eye-catching multi-coloured hues, but pared it back at the Sydney Supershow with single tone Sandy Taupe and Olive Green display models.

The review van's 'Desert Storm' look, with contrasting black wheels, dark tinted windows and signature rear mould, certainly make it one of the more striking New Age vans to hit the road in recent times, and even more so behind the matching Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 tow vehicle (also from the Walkinshaw stable).

The New Age Manta Ray Expedition comes standard with an A-frame toolbox, but the optional black checker plate toolbox fitted to the review van offers a bit more versatility with its two compartments (one holding the twin 9kg gas bottles) and two jerry can holders, behind the stone mesh guard and drawbar tap.

The other external storage area is a large tunnel boot with LED light and drain plug, while items along the onside wall include an ATV Sunburst roll-out awning, two awning lights, Fusion Bluetooth speaker, a gas bayonet, tri-lock security door, LED lit grab handle and twin pull-out entry steps.

There are also some electrical outlets to plug in the TV near the picnic table which includes an additional fold-out tray and side mounted portable containers.

Heading to the offside wall, you find the twin battery boxes, a mains water inlet, and an external shower locker, with a reversing camera on the rear wall.

Borrowing a few off-road features from New Age's most expensive all-terrain caravan, the Desert Rose, the Manta Ray Expedition gets full checker plate underbody protection as well as more robust bolted furniture, so it's designed to withstand an off-road pounding better than most other New Age vans.

Other features like extra ground clearance, the mesh stone guard, and filament sprayed wheel arches with protective truck bristles and mud terrain tyres, are also designed to better handle off-road conditions.

The optional Cruisemaster Level 3 airbag suspension (with manual controls located inside the tunnel boot), on the review van add to its off-road arsenal, including the ability to adjust the height according to road conditions and level the van more easily when camping on uneven ground.

The wall-mounted Gusto DRS takes up a bit of internal cupboard space but is probably money well spent if you're keen on keeping the interior nice and fresh when travelling at speed over dirt roads.

Some question marks over the van's 'off-roadability' in tougher conditions like corrugations include the standard cupboard and drawer catches (New Age hasn't beefed up the furniture hardware like some off-road manufacturers do). And while they look great the shiny black glossy surfaces on the entry door and the dark automotive-style windows were already showing quite a few marks and scratches after a short time (the van was built in April 2024).

However, New Age's standard three year manufacturer warranty which covers the off-road extras on the Expedition, should provide some reassurance when travelling through the rough stuff.

Like New Age's $113,290 18ft Desert Rose dirt-roader, the Manta Ray Expedition comes standard with two 100Ah lithium batteries, although there's only 400W rooftop solar (compared to 600W on the Desert Rose). Together with the BMPro battery manager and chargers, it should be enough to keep smaller appliances like the TV and fridge running for longer when free camping.

Also included on the Manta Ray Expedition are two 110 litre fresh water tanks and a 110 litre grey water tank, so water storage is also pretty well covered for a few days off-grid.

The 18ft New Age Manta Ray Expedition review van tips the scales at 2650kg Tare, so with the ATM of 3250kg ATM that delivers a decent 600kg payload. The ball weight is listed at 180kg unloaded. All that adds up to it being a good match behind any of the popular 3500kg rated dual cab utes or larger 4x4 SUVs.

Our tow vehicle, a Chevrolet Silverado 1500 ZR2 supplied by the Walkinshaw-owned New Age factory was not something we'd recommend for long-term touring, despite the 6.2-litre V8 petrol powered American pick-up with its 4200kg tow rating making light work of hauling the New Age van around the 'burbs.

We saw a fuel economy figure as high as 33L/100km at one stage on the trip computer, although that would probably drop to around 25L/100km after a few miles out on the highway. It's a shame as the Silverado 1500 is a very comfortable and stable platform with some awesome towing features, including side cameras to help keep the big rig in its lane in busy traffic.

Otherwise, handy standard safety features on the caravan itself include a reversing camera and the Bosch trailer safe control system which combines ABS with sway mitigation.

The review van has one of the better looking interior fit-outs we've seen on a New Age van in a while.

Borrowing some of the latest trends found in rival vans, the mix 'n match decor includes fashionable Italian brown leather-look upholstery for the dinette seats, bedhead and wall pouches; brown and white Subway splash back tiles; marble-look laminate benchtops, and olive green and light timber-look cupboard fascias. Not to mention lots of mood lighting and matte black tapware...

Otherwise, you get all the standard fare from the Manta Ray Adventurer including a Thetford four gas burner cooktop and grille, 171 litre compressor fridge/freezer, NCE microwave and ranghood, a black square sink with drainer and hi-rise mixer tap with filtered water, gas-electric hot water and a Gree rooftop air conditioner.

There's a decent smattering of 240V and USB outlets throughout the van, along with ceiling and reading lights, and a flexible arm and connections for the 28in TV, located on a panel facing the bed.

The leatherette cafe dinette includes two pull-out drawers with cushions for footrests, while other nice touches include beside pigeon holes with wireless phone chargers.

The BMPro Odyssey colour touchscreen is mounted at head-high level as you enter, with the battery manager, some switches and fuses located in an overhead cupboard above the dinette, next to the Fusion Bluetooth speaker and the optional built-in Gusto DRS unit.

The bathroom comes equipped with a NCE wall mounted washing machine and Thetford cassette toilet.

The 18ft Manta Ray layout with its rear ensuite, central cafe dinette and kitchen, and front walkaround queen bed, offers up sufficient space and comforts to enjoy a few days, if not weeks or months, on the road. There's also plenty of headspace for taller types, and a large central skylight roof hatch and side wall opening windows to help bring the outside in.

The padded bedhead and extendable bed frame for the coil spring queen mattress, also add to sleeping comfort, and like most New Age caravans, big usable storage areas -- whether under the bed, kitchen pot drawers or deep overhead cupboards -- are plentiful throughout the van.

The two-person dinette with its lumbar support backrest and padded footrests doubles as a decent lounging area, while most camping cooks will be happy with the kitchen's layout, storage options and available benchspace.

The ensuite is not overly large but has most things you want including a solid sliding door, an opening window above the toilet, a 12V fan hatch in the shower cubicle, some towel racks and a toilet roll holder, and a few drawers, shelves and cupboards both above and below the sink.

The 18ft New Age Manta Ray Expedition blends some of the best features from the Manta Ray Adventurer and Desert Rose models, while adding a few stylish and unique off-road touches of its own to justify the six figure starting price.

If funds were tight we'd probably ditch the bigger optional toolbox and airbag suspension, but ticking the Gusto DRS option box makes sense if you plan to spend any amount of time in the dusty Outback.

Like many Aussie caravan manufacturers New Age has been running some sales lately, including a $4000 factory cashback, which could also help sweeten the deal...

Price: $100,990 RRP ($111,990 driveaway NSW, as reviewed)
Options fitted: Cruisemaster airbag suspension, upgraded toolbox, Gusto DRS
Travel length: 7890mm
Body length: 5400mm (18ft)
External body width: 2500mm
Travel height: 3050mm
Internal height: 2030mm
Tare weight: 2650kg
ATM: 3250kg
Ball weight (Tare): 180kg
Body: Meranti timber frame, polystyrene insulation, honeycomb floor, smooth aluminium composite side panels, fibreglass roof
Chassis: Galvanised six-inch with extended A-frame
Suspension: Cruisemaster XT coil suspension (standard)
Brakes: 12in electric drums
Stability control: Bosch Trailer Safety Control
Wheels: 16in alloy with LT265/75R16 mud-terrain tyres
Water: 2 x 110L (fresh), 1 x 110L (grey)
Battery: 2 x 100Ah lithium
Solar: 2 x 200watt rooftop panel
Air-conditioner: Gree 240V rooftop
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: Gas/electric
Cooking: Thetford four-burner gas cooktop, grille
Fridge: Thetford 171L compressor fridge/freezer
Microwave: NCE 240v
Toilet: Thetford cassette
Shower: Separate cubicle
Lighting: 12V LED
TV: 28in Smart TV
Audio: Internal/external Fusion All-in-One Sound Panel
Supplied by: New Age Caravans, Epping, Victoria