Top off Matrix for summer

Australian Off Road have taken the lid off their Matrix 4 caravan just in time for summer.

The first production Matrix 4 Pop Top was delivered to local Caloundra couple, Bruce and Lyn Whittle, just prior to Christmas.

Like many prospective Matrix 4 customers, the Whittles liked the front door and ‘caravan lifestyle’ layout of the full height Matrix, but wanted it in a lower height for bush track access and easier storage in between trips.

With its similar scissor-lift action to AOR’s top-selling Quantum Super Camper, the M4 Pop Top’s fibreglass roof is located in 22 places when dropped, giving the fibreglass-bodied van the rigidity needed to survive rough terrain.

Like the full height Matrix 4, the M4 Pop Top places the emphasis on all-seasons living. While it has options for outside cooking, including a slide out external kitchen, it comes with caravan-style comforts inside, including a fixed gas cooktop, an upright compressor fridge, fully plumbed hot water and a combined corner ensuite with a shower and a marine-style macerator toilet.

In contrast, AOR’s ‘Super Campers’ place the priority on external living and usually attract those who have graduated from a canvas camper.  

As well as a lower profile, the M4 Pop Top is also lighter and cheaper than its full-height M4 brother, standing 2275mm tall (compared with 2775mm), weighing about 30kg less at 1800kg Tare and costing $99,500, compared with $103,500 for the latest 2016 Matrix 4.

The new model expands the regular AOR range to five models. With its Odyssey hard floor campers and previous entry-level Eclipse and Eclipse Plus pop top ‘Super Campers’ now only  built to special order, the current AOR range starts at $92,500 for the 2016 Series 4 Quantum Super Camper, which wears a full lightweight fibreglass body, rather than aluminium cladding of the previous models.

Then comes the 500mm longer and $4000 dearer Quantum Plus, which has room for an optional folding double bunk in addition to its fixed queen bed and the two Matrix models, with the AOR range topped by the larger tandem axle luxury off-road Aurora at $135,000.

Conscious that it is leaving the increasingly competitive entry-level hybrid market behind, AOR in 2016 plans to introduce a new ‘few frills’ pop top model into the current $50,000-$65,000 hot spot to challenge models like Complete Campsite’s Exodus 9, On the Move’s new Crossfire, Van Cruiser’s Outlaw and SUV and Rhinomax’s Discovery and soon to be announced smaller Evo.