Full review

Words: Val Chapman  Photography: Richard Chapman

The Adria Adora Isonzo

Few in Britain had heard of the River Isonzo until the Slovenian manufacturer, Adria, named a caravan after it. The Isonzo flows a spectacular course through both Slovenia and Italy, to reach the Adriatic Sea. It’s a river of waterfalls and cascades – and is famous for its turquoise colour.

Adria unveiled the Adora Isonzo in 2014, before the eight-foot revolution gathered pace among the British manufacturers. The Isonzo was a trendsetter; spectacular, like its river namesake. In its eight years, this model has received changes in style and equipment as it has evolved and matured, but the layout has remained largely the same – because it’s stunningly practical, and super-spacious.

The Adora Isonzo is not only among the widest caravans on the market, it’s one of the longest, too, at 8.24m from hitch-head to tail lights.

It started its life with Truma heating. Then Alde heating was introduced for the second generation of Isonzos – and the model became a hit among year-round caravanners.

The Isonzo earned a special place in our hearts early in its career. Shortly after the first models were unveiled, one arrived with Caravan magazine as a long-term-test caravan. And, when the heating system changed to Alde, Adria sent us another for evaluation. We towed these caravans over many hundreds of miles from our base in south Lincolnshire in the course of work and pleasure and proved, if proof were needed, that this monster of a caravan, on a mere single axle, was a stable companion and a pleasure to tow.

The Isonzo rides on Al-Ko’s Delta axle, specifically designed for extra stability on long caravans. The Delta axle tube is cranked, rather than straight, which changes the angle at which the tyres touch the road. Each wheel has independent suspension, being mounted on a swing arm that allows it to move. This counteracts the normal centrifugal force brought about when the wheel on the outside of the corner is subject to a higher load, causing reduced pressure to the road on the inside wheel. The result, as we can vouch for, over all those miles, is stable and positive cornering.

The spacious interior

Towing, though, was not part of the review of the 2022 Isonzo. We spent a day at Barnsdale Leisure having a closer look.

Barnsdale is Adria’s biggest retailer by volume and the Isonzo is one of its best sellers, Here’s why… The first reason is space. The wrap-around shape of the lounge maximises on the caravan’s 2.46m width. Floor space is huge and there is enough seating space for six.

The floor space is also very noticeable in the central (kitchen) area. And in the bedroom, because the caravan is 2.46m wide, the transverse island bed doesn’t need a mechanism to reduce its length during the day, as do standard-width caravans of this layout; the corridor at the foot of the Isonzo’s bed is 42cm wide; enough (as our rugby-player-build photographer proved) to walk along it comfortably.

The bed

The bed is 1.96m by 1.4m. The corners are only slightly rounded, so they don’t diminish bed space.

The bed lifts easily to reveal a huge storage space. There’s an exterior access hatch – and its generously sized door (47cm deep by 1.04m wide) makes it easy to put tables and chairs in and out. The bedroom is very domestic in its spacious appeal and styling, with bedside cabinets, 29cm wide, each with a concealed drawer.

The Isonzo has a very unusual feature for an island bed caravan: a window in the bedhead wall as well as one at the foot of the bed, so this room is wonderfully light and airy. Strips of light run the full length of the wall above the offside window, and also above the lockers over the bedhead.

These lockers have a huge capacity, each being 94cm wide. In common with the four lockers above the lounge, they have soft-close mechanisms with a difference; the pivot point is slightly lower than on a conventional hinge. So, as you open the door, the hinge mechanisms pull the door slightly down and away from the wall, meaning that you get full-height opening without the top of the door coming into contact with the roof, so making the most of the space.

The lounge

If you want to transform the lounge into a bedroom, the result is an enormous 2.12m by 1.54m bed; that’s bigger than a standard king-size.

By day, the lounge is a superb environment. Among its greatest attributes – literally – is the enormity of the rooflight that arches almost completely over the lounge, creating a sunroom aspect. The spaciousness of the lounge is enhanced by the absence of the centre-front chest of drawers that is traditional in British caravan design – but Adria does things differently. Instead, a coffee table, 75cm by 34cm, can be hinged up when you need it, and lies flat to the wall when you don’t.

Drawing comparison with classic British caravan centre-front furniture, it’s not large enough to be used as a mealtime table, but that’s no problem, for the free-standing table is easy to get out of its cabinet by the door – and the enormity of the floor space means that you can position the table across, rather than down the length of the lounge, when you want the extra floor space.

The Isonzo doesn’t just have four scatter cushions. It also has two unique-design bolsters, composed of four sections linked together so that you can use in a multitude of ways to suit your reclining position.  Built-in, totally concealed, magnets hold the bolsters in their settings. Clever!

Lighting

Lighting is a strong point of the Isonzo’s charming interior design. Concealed lighting runs over the top of the lockers on each side of the lounge, emphasising the curved locker line. Slim, neat lighting tracks run at the rear edge of the lounge rooflight, and also by the bedroom rooflight; you can move the spotlights along the tracks – and you can purchase more little lights if you wish. The spotlights at the front corners and in the bedroom are on mini light tracks. These are not long enough for you to significantly change the positions of the lights, but that’s not what these are for; Adria can provide a USB module to replace or augment these spotlight sockets, meaning that you can have power for your phone anywhere you see a spotlight. Ingenious!

The kitchen

Another impressive feature is the design of the kitchen, with an in-line, three-burner hob that extends to adjoin the sink, so making cleaning the hob surface easier than in most caravans; you can simply wipe any crumbs or bits towards the sink. Storage space arrives in the form of three deep drawers, each 44cm wide (the top one containing a cutlery tray), all with concealed catches, plus a slide-out unit on the fore-end of the kitchen, containing three metal basket-style drawers, each 21cm by 43cm. There are two top lockers, one 30cm wide (fitted with mug and plate racks) and one 23cm wide. The microwave is alongside the top lockers and hidden behind the super-stylish white concave doors. The fridge is the 133-litre capacity Dometic slimline unit.

The washroom

Given its size, perhaps you’d expect the Isonzo’s four functions – bedroom, shower room, kitchen and lounge – to feel well separated. And they do. Two important elements of this separation are the high-quality, grey pleated blind that conceals the bedroom from the kitchen and lounge, and the smart, white sliding door that opens from the bedroom to the shower room. Here, your preening space is sophisticated, and boutique in style.

Two switches are alongside the door, one for the bright ceiling light and the other for the feature lighting. That’s the spotlight above the mirror over the basin, and light strips concealed along each side, plus lighting above and below the mirrors that are in the shower cubicle and in the toilet area. There is a towel bar in the shower cubicle and another in the toilet sector. Three slim shelves, 13cm wide, slide out on a runner to the right of the basin, and there is a small cabinet above it, of the same width.

USBs and shelves

The Isonzo is well equipped for connectivity, making it perfect for gadget lovers. There are six mains sockets and six USB points; two are in the bedroom, two are by the TV bracket beside the door, and two are in the lounge. There’s something else that attracted our praise in the Isonzo. Adria has created a unique, adaptable shelf system that enables you to place small shelves and oblong pockets in various places as it suits you. Each clips onto steel rails; there are eight in total, two in the lounge, two in the kitchen and four in the bedroom. They are the perfect place for keys and much more. They’re immensely practical – and stylish, too.

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