Full review

Words & photos: Peter Vaughan

The Coachman Travel Master Sportivo 565

If you were tempted by Coachman’s first-ever motorhome, the award-winning Travel Master, but wanted something a tad smaller that could also be driven on a standard car licence (with none of the other disadvantages of a heavier vehicle), the company now has the answer – the Travel Master Sportivo.

Launched at the February NEC show (we had originally hoped to see it last October), the Sportivo is, again, built in Sweden at the Kabe factory and is based on its Novum range. 

Here, though, for now at least, there’s just one model – the 565, with single beds. An island bed version (to match the choice in the Travel Master line-up) may follow. 

Crucially, the new Sportivo is shorter and narrower than its big brother but it still aims to have all the luxury fittings and spec. 

The spec

Equally important is the fact that it retains the (front-wheel drive) Mercedes Sprinter chassis, complete with the 170hp engine and nine-speed automatic transmission – so competition comes primarily from Carthago and Hymer. 

In 3.5-tonne configuration the new Coachman is expected to have a payload of around 300kg, while those seeking more capacity will be able to upgrade to a 4,500kg gross weight.

Although this is a smaller Coachman, it has a clear family resemblance to the bigger motorhomes and it is, by any other measure, a full-sized model, measuring almost seven and a half metres in length. 

It has balanced aluminium side walls, floor and roof with Ecoprim insulation and carpet trim on the internal walls and, as you’d expect with a Scandinavian vehicle, it has Alde ‘wet’ central heating. 

But that’s not all – here there’s AGS II underfloor heating, too. 

The exterior

Externally, there’s a distinctive angular roofline, framed habitation windows and a 140W solar panel, as well as a larger (fixed) overcab Skyview window. 

Alloy wheels are fitted and running boards merge the Mercedes cab with the living area as well as aiding access. 

Of course, there’s a generous rear garage, as you’d expect with a motorhome of this ilk, but the loading doors’ shape (narrower at the bottom) may impede the loading of some larger items. Internally, there’s 1.07m headroom in addition to useful shelves and adjustable tie-down hooks.

The interior

Inside, it’s a typically continental layout with twin beds above the rear garage and a half-dinette-style lounge up front – a key point, however, is that it’s UK-handed (the habitation door is on the left side). 

Rather than opposing shower and toilet areas at the foot of the beds, it has a single unit for the ablutions, but it’s clear that the Sportivo has the same DNA as the original Travel Masters and that, here again, the model has been developed to suit the UK market. 

Although there’s no habitation air-conditioning this time, it still has a high spec. Note, though, that this is a two-berth (with four belted seats) – there’s no drop-down bed in this model.

As in the big Travel Masters, the cab chairs are in contrasting black leather, while a novel feature is the folding table that hinges against the offside wall. 

The kitchen

Then, backing onto the seating, is an L-shaped galley with plenty of drawers, a three-burners-in-line hob and a small oven/grill mounted below the counter. Alongside is a tall, slim fridge.

The washroom

The washroom may place all the facilities in one zone but it uses screens for the shower and offers plenty of room to use the swivel cassette loo. Water capacities are a little disappointing, though, at 87 litres fresh and 90 litres for waste. 

The beds

The rear beds aren’t found wanting, at 1.97m long, and each one can be tipped up on a ratchet system for chaise longue-style relaxing. In fact, throughout, this newcomer feels like a Travel Master, just a more manageable one. It seems well priced for the spec, too.

Where to buy

Despite its very recent arrival in the motorhome market, Coachman already has 17 dealers for its Travel Master range. These include Perthshire Caravans in Scotland, Spinney Caravans Flintshire and Newport Caravans in Wales, and Lisburn Caravans and Motorhomes in Northern Ireland.

In England, dealers stretch from Leisure World Catterick in the north, down to Alan Kerr in the southwest and Premier Motorhomes on the south coast.