Full review

Words: Val Chapman  Photography: Richard Chapman

The Coachman Acadia 545

A secluded rear bedroom and a spacious central shower room spell out caravanning luxury to many buyers – which is why there are 32 caravans of that layout on the British market.

Among the 16 single-axle options is Coachman’s Acadia 545. Coachman’s Laser 545 Xtra, 18cm wider than the Acadia 545, is in this layout arena, too. Both the Acadia and Laser 545 have Alde heating.

Of the other layout competitors on single axles, five have Alde heating. The two from Bailey are the Unicorn Cabrera and Alicanto Grande Lisbon. In Swift’s ranges, there is the Challenger 560 SE, the Challenger Grande SE 560 L, and the Elegance Grande 760. 

Comparable-layout models with Truma blown-air heating are the Bailey Phoenix GT75 640 and the Pegasus Grande GT75 Portofino. There’s Swift’s Sprite Major 4 EB.

The Adria Altea Dart also has a rear bedroom and central shower room, as has Adria’s wider Adora Tiber. 

In the Elddis range, there’s the Avanté 550, although this model has the shower integrated more with the bedroom than with the toilet-washbasin compartment. Its heating system is the blown-air Whale CompleteHeat. 

So there’s a wide choice of single-axle caravans of this layout, at many different price points.

The spec

At 1,585kg, the Acadia 545 sits in the middle of the weight spectrum. There are lighter caravans of this layout. But they correspondingly have less spec.

The Acadia 545 also sits in the middle of the price spectrum. So details count when it comes to buying decisions.

What makes the Coachman Acadia 545 stand out from the crowd? Acadia may rank as Coachman’s base range by comparison with its other four higher-spec ranges – but this manufacturer doesn’t do basic, so the Acadia is definitely in the upper-spec echelon. 

Acadias have heated towel rails (part of the Alde system), Whale Watermaster inlet points that enable you to connect the caravan water system to a tap on a pitch (the mains hose to connect to it is an optional extra), and an alarm system. 

There’s an external mains socket and a gas barbecue point. Acadias also have Al-Ko’s ATC stability control system. And as you enter the 545, you notice something small but incredibly important: a cabinet for shoes, directly alongside the door.

The décor 

A pleasing palette of grey shades with a touch of cream, in a variety of textures, sets the very refined scene as you step inside. Plain grey for the seating is teamed with curtains that have a lustre in their vertically aligned abstract pattern. 

And it’s noticeable that the fabric is quite crisp, and hangs impeccably, so the side-window curtains splay perfectly as they fall beneath the tiebacks. 

Two of the cushions are dark grey with a pale grey  swirly pattern and the other two have a diamond design outlined by dots; it’s these two cushions  that inject the suggestion of cream. 

As is typical of this manufacturer, Coachman has created a classical luxury look by means of a clever combination of fabrics. 

And there’s more to notice about the lounge décor. The corner panels are finished in dark grey, along with the surround to the full-width sunroof and the two small corner lockers. Lower sections of the larger locker doors are pale grey, contrasting with the ivory of the upper sections.

The kitchen

The grey and ivory theme continues in the kitchen, with grey top lockers and a gloss ivory frame for the lovely mirror-effect microwave. 

There’s plenty of kitchen surface; it measures 75cm from the hob to the forward edge of the kitchen, and there’s a 30cm by 35cm hinged extension.

Opposite, there’s more surface (58cm by 68cm) above the 91-litre fridge. The surface is an interesting pattern. Does it mimic distressed wood? Or is it inspired by marble? We’re not sure and it doesn’t really matter, for what does matter is that it’s actually quite stunning; it’s not often we use that word to describe a kitchen surface!

Kitchen storage is impressive. There’s a 60cm-wide drawer and a double-doored cabinet of the same width beneath it. 

The top locker is 77cm wide and is fitted for mugs and plates. There’s another top locker opposite, this time 55cm wide. 

Both have soft-close hinge mechanisms and, of course, there’s a locker perfect for pans under the oven.

The washroom

The door that opens to the shower room is narrower than you’d expect, at 50cm. The shower door is nice and wide, though. And inside the shower is a neat, hinge-down hook for towels.

Opposite, the toilet room has the same lovely surface as that in the kitchen, and the oval basin stylishly sits on top of it. 

There’s a towel loop and a hook; plus, as we mentioned earlier, a heated towel rail. The wall and under-basin cabinets are both of a decent size.

The bedroom

The bedroom is a good size, too. Specifically, when you push the bed back, using the mechanism that  is built into its base, to generate extra space for day use, there is 73cm of floor space between the foot of the bed and the sliding door to the shower and toilet area. 

The bed is 1.97m long in night mode. Décor in the bedroom is simple, with Roman-style blinds to trim the tops of the windows. 

The standard bedhead is buttoned and deeply padded, in a luxurious, velvet-type fabric – although we need to explain that the bedhead in our photographs was borrowed from another caravan for our photo shoot, because Campbell’s Caravans was waiting for the correct headboard to arrive at the time of our visit!