Regent Cruiser 2021 Review

Regent is one of the better known caravan brands in Australia, with thousands of Melbourne-built Regent vans hitting the road over the past three decades.

Now, to coincide with

Like its big-selling sister brand Snowy River, production of the eye-catching new Regent vans takes place in China, with final fit-out and assembly at Regent's large factory in Somerton, Victoria.

Aimed at bitumen tourers, the glossy new Regent range currently consists of five tandem axle, fixed-wall Discoverer models with body lengths from 19ft 6in to 23ft 6in and a choice of couple and family ensuite layouts.

There are also three tandem axle Cruiser slide-out variants with 20ft 6in to 22ft long bodies and a variety of couple's ensuite floorplans.

Best of all worlds

While largely built in China, the new Regent vans are best described as a blend of British/European construction techniques and design influences, with the ‘big box’ interior space and storage benefits of Australian-built caravans.

Our review van, the 21ft 6in Regent Cruiser slide-out model, certainly looks the part with its streamlined, round-cornered exterior styling, with sandwich-panelled walls over an aluminium frame, flush-mounted windows, and spare wheel recessed neatly into the rear bodywork, with contrasting front and rear black decals and Raptor coating, black locker doors and matte black alloy wheels with chunky all-terrain tyres

Regent has also taken a bold approach with the front-end design, with the front boot lid rising vertically on cantilever hinges in a similar manner to the rear boot of German Knaus caravans. 

A separate stone shield for the vans’ front opening window is conventionally top-hinged, but is recessed into the fibreglass bodywork for a smoother external appearance when travelling.

It all appears sturdily put together and easy to open and close, although the flimsier fibreglass cover for the twin A-frame mounted 9kg gas bottles, secured by two side clasps and a rubber cord, proved more fiddly.

There’s also a good amount of storage space inside both the alloy lined front boot and large separate LED-lit tunnel boot for all your outside gear including hoses, cords, tools and camp chairs.

Ready to tour

Our review van had a smooth Hammertone finish on the steel chassis, but all Regent Cruisers will come standard with a Raptor protective coating on the chassis. Also fitted to the A-frame is an exposed brass tap and mains water connection, along with a small rack for fire wood in front of the gas bottles.

Also part of the Cruiser package is torsion beam independent suspension with a 50mm ball coupling, removable jockey wheel, 12in electric brakes and wind-down corner stabilisers.

While not designed to be taken too far off the beaten track, some Raptor front, rear and (optional) side protection helps shield the glossy panels from flicked up stones, and there’s decent road clearance, checker plate-protected water tanks and X-plate style underfloor sheeting to reduce the chance of underbody damage.

Other desirable external standard features include a gas bayonet, Dometic security entry door, and a picnic table that folds down to reveal a cavity with an extendable arm and connections for the supplied 24in Smart TV and aerial (there’s a similar TV set-up inside too).

The 21ft 6in Regent Cruiser also gets a hot/cold external shower locker on the offside wall, not far from inlets for the two 95 litre freshwater tanks and solitary 100Ah lithium battery (there’s another chassis-mounted checkerplate box fitted for a second battery and a grey water tank is another option).

A 170W rooftop solar panel is also fitted for free camping.

Along with powered twin entry steps and a 17ft electric awning, other Jayco Silverline-like features fitted include two side cameras and a rear camera that deliver a 270-degree view outside the caravan via your car’s internal display.

Spacious internal layout

While the other two Regent Cruiser models feature slide-out, east-west queen beds, the 21ft 6in Cruiser gets a fixed, front north-south bed and offside club lounge slide-out, which takes about 40 seconds to fully extend using the switch inside the door.

With its soft grey leather upholstery, multi-adjustable dinette table and comfy seating for up to six people, the club lounge is the undoubted centerpiece of the new Regent van, delivering lots of relaxing and eating room while helping create extra floor space through the middle of the van and around the kitchen area.

Keen chefs will also be pleased with the four-hob cooktop, grille, oven, rangehood, under-bench microwave, and 188 litre three-way fridge/freezer fitted in what is a quite generous-sized caravan kitchen.

There’s a good amount of available benchtop for food prep and a few cupboards and drawers for storage, along with handy twin pull-out pantries next to the fridge.

The matte black sink is deep but misses out on a drainer, and there’s a matching mixer tap and separate filtered water tap.

Also located in the kitchen area is the Fusion stereo with inside and outside speakers and the Projecta digital display for monitoring water and battery levels.

More storage space

There’s also some excellent enclosed storage options above, around and under the main bed, as well as under the lounge seats, although you have to pull out a few cushions to get to it.

Despite a big front-load washing machine mounted under the benchtop, there are quite a few storage options in the ensuite too, with plenty of cupboard space for toiletries, spare bedding and towels, plus a handy built-in laundry bag.

Regent hasn’t skimped on internal 240V sockets or lighting either, with a decent array of ceiling lights and mood lighting plus four reading lights in total, not to mention LED lights on the two main roof-mounted hatches. Power sockets are located in the kitchen, ensuite and in the two bedside nooks.

Also worth mentioning is the above-average interior headroom, with no threat of banging your head on the roof-mounted air-conditioner unless you play for the Australian Boomers.

And there are plenty of interior windows with built-in screens and blinds, including a big window either side of the bed.

Master bedroom privacy

Adding to the apartment-like feel in the 21ft 6in Regent Cruiser is a solid wall partition and full height, sliding privacy curtain that will block off the ‘master’ bedroom with its plush coil spring queen mattress from the rest of the living area.

The full width ensuite also gets a nice solid sliding door, with sufficient floorspace between the Dometic cassette toilet and fibreglass shower cubicle to get changed without fear of bruising.

The shower space doesn’t feel cramped either, incorporating a side-wall footrest as well a spot for the soap and shampoo.

And narcissistic types will appreciate both the big shower door mirror and vanity mirror tiles located behind the stylish black bowl sink.

Summing up

While it probably won’t appeal to dirt road adventurers, the 21ft 6in Regent Cruiser with its excellent insulation, upmarket features, user-friendly set-up and competitive $80,000 price-tag, is a genuine alternative to Jayco’s popular Silverline slide-out tourers.

Despite its three tonne-plus bulk, it towed quite well behind a latest Mazda BT-50 dual-cab ute and, while we only spent a few hours with the review van, we were impressed with the fit and finish as well as overall design and operation.

Is this the best Chinese caravan to date? On first impressions, it’s right up there…

How much is the 21ft 6in Regent Cruiser RCC216?

Price: $79,490 (drive-away Victoria)
Travel length: 8970mm
External body length: 7620mm
Body width: 2400mm
Travel height: 3100mm
Tare: 2907kg
ATM: 3500kg
Ball weight (Tare): 209kg
Body: Fibreglass XPS sandwich panel with aluminium frame, 32mm thick walls and roof, 40mm floor
Chassis:  150mm A-frame/ 100mm chassis, steel
Suspension: AL-KO torsion beam independent, 50mm ball coupling
Brakes: 12in electric drum
ESC: Lippert
Wheels: 15 x 7 alloy with 265/75R-16 AT tyres                                      
Water: 2 x 95L fresh water
Battery: 1 x 100Ah lithiuim
Solar: 1 x 170W roof-mounted
Gas: 2 x 9kg
Hot water: Camec instant
Cooking: Mobicool 3+1 gas/electric cooktop, grille, oven
Fridge/freezer: Dometic 188L three-way
Microwave: NCE 23L
Toilet: Dometic cassette
Shower: Full-height one-piece moulded fibreglass
Lighting: LED
Air-conditioner: Dometic Ibis 4 roof-top
Washing machine: Camec AquaRV 4kg front-load
TV: 24in Smart and aerial
Audio: Fusion Bluetooth with internal/external speakers
Supplied by: Regent Caravans, Somerton, Victoria