Caravancampingsales Staff•9 Mar 2006

REVIEW

Winnebago Discovery

Winnebago upgrades its 26ft Explorer with the Limited Edition Discovery model.

Winnebago’s A class Explorer motorhomes have been something of a success story for the company. Built in three lengths – 25ft, 27ft and 31ft – the Explorer is designed with a variety of layouts including a few with slide-outs.

Most, except for 31-footers, have east-west double beds but recently Winnebago has produced a Limited Edition 26ft Explorer which features a north-south double bed.

Bottoms up

Named the Limited Edition Discovery, this motorhome is built on a Workhorse chassis, just like the other Explorers, which is driven by a 146kW/195hp 6.5 litre turbo diesel through an auto gearbox.

According to Max Mayo, Dealer Development Manager at Winnebago, “The Discovery offers a host of additional inclusions not generally available in this style with the benefit of an extended Workhorse diesel chassis.

We have designed the Discovery so that it offers a generous front lounge/dining area, with a nearside kitchen, offside bathroom and rear bedroom.

Exclusive features of the LE Discovery include a large Euro hatch, two-door fridge/freezer, LCD TV and DVD/VCR combination with CD stacker, rear vision camera, solar panels and GPS system.”

Sitting behind the steering wheel, the wraparound cockpit does have a good feel about it. All the usual gauges are before the driver – speedo, tacho, voltmeter, oil pressure, water temperature and fuel.

Additional items are the all-important reversing camera and the Nautracs Navigation system.

The handbrake is foot operated and on the right of the steering wheel is the auto gearshift while on the left is both wiper switch and indicator stalk. Both driver and passenger seats are comfortable leather items and swivel every which way.

On the road, the 6.5 litre turbo diesel powers the motorhome along well enough. Driving through a four-speed auto gearbox, the Discovery is certainly capable of staying with the traffic flow most of the time.

The disc brakes do their job satisfactorily; the one only slightly disconcerting item is the power steering. It’s a bit vague and does take a little getting used to – resisting the temptation to overcorrect is the biggest problem.

Some people find the thought of driving a motorhome the size of the Discovery a bit daunting but once you get used to the bulk of the vehicle, it is really quite pleasant cruising the highways and byways.

With a GVM of 6804kg, the Discovery requires a Light Rigid truck licence.

Let’s go outside

One thing large motorhomes like the Discovery offer is plenty of storage around the outside.

Of course, some external lockers are occupied: behind the door is the gas box with two 9kg gas cylinders, and behind the rear nearside wheel is the battery compartment with two 100 amp hour deep-cycle batteries plus the vehicle batteries.

The Discovery has a through boot in the rear which has a larger door on the nearside and a smaller door on the offside. The only item stored there is the spare wheel, so there’s plenty of space for other things.

Offside items, other than empty lockers, include an external shower and the ubiquitous Thetford cassette door. There’s a rear ladder to access the roof, but apart from air-conditioner maintenance, its most useful purpose is keeping the solar panels clean, which is very important in dry and dusty conditions.

The Discovery is built very much in the Winnebago style with a laminated wall of ply/aluminium frame with foam insulation and ply and fibreglass skin. It is similar for the roof except that the outer covering is one-piece rubber. Winnebago has used its standard Hehr hopper windows and Hehr door for the Discovery.

MHG thinks it’s time that the Hehr fly screen door was updated, as better security doors are available these days.

Culinary distinction

Inside the Discovery is a high level of appointment with neat timberwork and a dominant yet pleasing finish. Most of the windows have day/night blinds, with the exception of the kitchen, which has slimline venetians and the driver’s cab windows which have conventional blinds.

Catering is handled by the Cramer three-burner cooktop, Smev grill and oven and, mounted in the overhead locker area, a Technika microwave oven.

At the rear end of the kitchen bench is a large 186 litre two-door Dometic fridge. Because benchtop space is quite minimal, dish-washers will appreciate the stainless steel sink/drainer as well as the hinged flap at the end of the bench.

The flap can be seen as something of a nuisance if door traffic is frequent but unless a radical re-design of the kitchen bench is undertaken, it’s a case of take it or leave it.

Storage space is reasonable with four drawers, half-size slide-out pantry, small cupboard and two overhead lockers. Kitchen lighting is good with a large fluorescent above the sink and a downlight in the slimline rangehood.

The kitchen also doubles as the electrical control centre with water tank LED gauges plus water pump switch under the sink, while the rest of the electrical controls are above and beside the fridge.

Comfortable and spacious

The Discovery, like many other A class motorhomes has a comfortable lounge/dining area at the front. Both driver and passenger seats swivel around, as does the second passenger seat.

There’s a small fold-out table that goes between the front and rear passenger seats. For more formal occasions a larger table can be used with the day/night lounge but the other seats are a little too far away.

One nitpicky detail we noticed: since the three single seats are done in leather, the lounge doesn’t quite match.

Lighting is prolific with halogen reading lights for each seat plus a twin fluorescent Cableform fitting under the lockers on both sides. Items like the magazine pouch beside the rear passenger seat and the powerpoint under the table make all the difference.

Overhead lockers surround the entire front half of the Discovery, with the TV centre stage above the driver’s cab.

Ablutions are no problem in the Discovery bathroom: there’s a separate shower, Thetford cassette toilet and a well fitted-out vanity sink area. The latter has a below-sink cupboard, large (well-lit) mirror, corner cabinet and a discreetly hidden toilet roll that is readily available when needed.

Instead of the usual glass door, the shower has a concertina curtain. Good ventilation is assured with hatches above both shower and mid-bathroom area.

In the rear, the queen-size bed takes up most of the bedroom. It’s offset to the offside, so the person sleeping on the nearside has plenty of walkaround space, but there’s only about 1ft (300mm) of space on the other, so it is a bit awkward to get to the bedside cabinet.

The cabinet acts more like a large bedside shelf. On the opposite side there’s a hanging wardrobe, bedside drawer and what looks to be a large floor locker but is actually a door to the rear storage area.

Above the bed are three overhead lockers and there is the usual underbed storage area, accessed by lifting up the bed. This works fine, except at night when the position of the lights (two halogen reading and two fluorescents) cast virtually no illumination in the underbed area. Bedtime TV viewers will appreciate the flat screen TV mounted high on the fridge cabinet.

In the power department, the Discovery is well equipped. In addition to the normal 240V system and 12V house batteries, solar panels charge the batteries and a 1500W inverter provides the 240V when mains supply is not available.

Lighting is a mixture of overhead fluorescents, halogen reading lights and Fiamma incandescent fittings. Entertainment is provided by an AM/FM radio/CD player plus DVD/VCR player for the TV.

Summing up

We enjoyed our brief travels in the Discovery – there’s nothing quite like touring around in an A class motorhome!

If you don’t happen to like driving a larger unit, then the 26ft Discovery is a comfortable length, not only to handle but also to live in. Except for a relatively small kitchen bench, the rest of the Discovery has quite spacious living areas.

Being a Limited Edition does make the Discovery special and the green and gold paint scheme is certainly very striking.

With those colours in mind, what better way to discover Australia than in a Winnebago Discovery.

Winnebago Discovery 2684LE

Base vehicle: Workhorse chassis

Engine: GM 6.5 litre turbo diesel

Max power: 146KW/195hp@3400rpm

Max torque: 583Nm@1800rpm

Gearbox: Four-speed auto

Brakes: Discs all round

GVM: 6804kg

Internal length: 8.07m

External width: 2.49m

External height: 3.67m

Cooktop: Three-burner Cramer

Oven/grill: Smev

Fridge: Dometic 186 litre three-way

Microwave oven: Technika

Hot water: Suburban 22.6 litre

Solar panels: Two x 80W

Inverter/battery charger: Dular Combi 12/1500-65

Battery: Two x 100AH deep-cycle

Gas: Two x 9kg

Air-conditioner: Coleman Mack – roof mounted

Licence: LR

Price: $249,990

Winnebago Discovery

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