Caravans have become increasingly innovative in recent years. If you thought the interior of a caravan was just a Porta Potti, some kind of primitive stove and then two facing benches you pull together to make a bed for the night, you’ll certainly be in for a surprise when you see what we’ve picked out as the best caravan for innovation at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025.
The design of caravans has moved on by leaps and bounds in recent years. With the advent of things like fixed beds and Alde wet heating, they are much more homely, and they are still evolving today. It’s not just the best makes of caravans that are showing these innovations either. Caravan awning manufacturers are also getting inventive, as one of the options in our guide shows – and it’s an option which will be ideal for fans of winter caravanning.
Our judging panel at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025 has picked out the Capsule Mini R as the best innovation in caravanning for the upcoming season. We’ve been impressed by the clever space saving that the tourer manages to provide throughout. In this guide, you can see what we made of it and the other options that were highly commended at our Awards, as well the our pick of the standout innovations within the industry in recent years.
The best innovation in caravanning:
Shortlisted at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025
Capsule Mini R
Eriba Touring 620
Swift Sprite Quattro MB Exclusive
Our top picks from recent years
Knaus Yaseo 500DK
Vagabond Rogue
Knaus Azur 500EU
Swift Basecamp 3
Adria Altea 622 DP Dart
Coachman Laser Xcel 855
Isabella floor heating panels
The best caravans for innovation:
Capsule Mini R
- Price: £16,995
- Berths: 2
- MTPLM: 750kg
- MIRO: 650kg
- Payload: 100kg
- Length: 3.8m
Width: 1.98m
Reasons to buy:
- It’s lightweight and compact, yet feature-filled
Reasons to avoid:
- Has a Thetford Porta Potti rather than a plumbed-in loo
The best innovation in caravanning at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025
Say hello to the Capsule Mini R, the compact caravan that’s big on style and adventure, and small on price! Perfect for couples or solo travellers, this pint-sized powerhouse is designed to make every trip unforgettable.
Its lightweight design makes towing a breeze, so you can explore hidden gems and winding country roads with ease. Don’t let its size fool you though—inside, you’ll find a cleverly-designed living space with all the essentials, from a cosy sleeping area to a functional kitchenette with a one-burner hob and sink, plus a 42-litre 12V fridge.
The Capsule Mini R offers different colour scheme options than the basic Mini model, but it doesn’t just look good; with its monocoque design, it’s built to handle anything the British weather throws at it.
It also comes with an AL-KO chassis and hitch, and a compact shower room, in a range of colours from burnt orange to olive green. Go on, get yourself some Turkish (-built) delight!
Full review: Capsule Mini R
Eriba Touring 620
- Price: £33,210
- Berths: 2 to 4
- MTPLM: from 1500kg
- MIRO: 1300kg
- Payload: 200kg (may vary with spec)
- Length: 6.46m
- Width: 2.19m
Reasons to buy:
- The Eriba’s robust construction method means it should outlive us all!
Reasons to avoid:
- The compact interior might be a bit tight for four on rainy days
Highly commended at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025
Bag yourself a design classic, in the form of the 2025 ERIBA Touring 620 caravan, a compact van that blends retro charm with modern comfort.
This iconic German-built tourer is a favourite among touring enthusiasts for its timeless design and clever features. Despite its compact dimensions, the ERIBA 620 boasts a surprisingly spacious, light and airy interior. Its single beds convert into a good-sized double, plus, for extra flexibility, an optional campervan-style pop-up sleeping roof adds two more sizeable berths.
Four-season touring is encouraged, thanks to the Truma Combi 4 caravan heating system, which comes as standard, plus there’s a 45-litre freshwater tank included in an off- grid pack that also delivers a 95Ah battery.
The retro-styled kitchen includes a 133-litre compressor fridge, with a two-burner gas hob with cover, compact sink, and lots of work top space and decent storage. The spec is topped-off with a lovely combined shower and washroom, with everything you need for comfortable holidays in the UK or further afield.
Swift Sprite Quattro MB Exclusive
- Price: £30,345
- Berths: 6
- MTPLM: 1687kg
- MIRO: 1507kg
- Payload: 180kg
- Length: 7.98m
- Width: 2.25m
Reasons to buy:
- Tons of space for family and friends at a great MTPLM weight
Reasons to avoid:
- At nearly eight metres long manoeuvring will take care
Highly commended at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025
New for 2025, this family-sized tourer takes Swift’s iconic Sprite range to a whole new level of luxury. The stylish Mykonos soft furnishing scheme adds a touch of sophistication to the interior, while modern conveniences, including a wireless charging pad, reflect its higher level of sophistication (and it will keep the kids happy!).
With six beds – a fixed transverse double at the rear; make-up double at the front and bunks inbetween – this Sprite delivers a lot of caravan at a great price point. The interior also boasts a good-sized kitchen and a mid-washroom with separate shower room and washroom.
The striking grey exterior is complemented by half-diamond-cut alloy wheels and a roof-mounted 120-Watt solar panel to keep the leisure battery topped up (see: the best caravan leisure battery if you’re after one). Meanwhile, ATC towing-stability tech ensures safety, and additional features such as a BBQ point, heavy-duty corner steadies for twin axles, and an alarm with key fob operation, enhance convenience and security.
Full review: Swift Sprite Quattro MB Exclusive
Knaus Yaseo 500DK
- Year: 2024
- Berths: 3-5
- MTPLM: TBC
- MiRO: TBC
- Payload: TBC
- Shipping length: TBC
- Width: 2.20m
Reason to buy:
- Clever space saving makes this attractive in theory
Reason to avoid:
- Not the prettiest caravan there’s ever been
With its FoldXpand technology, Knaus has really been working on ways to save space inside its motorhomes in recent years. This has now transferred over to caravans too, with the added emphasis on saving weight too, so the caravans can still be towed by the electric cars we will all be driving in the future.
All such work is evidently on show in this caravan, which includes a front profile specially designed to reduce drag. Inside you will find a double wall bed, front seats that can be slid away to create more storage space, a collapsible shower cubicle, and side flaps in the wall that open to reveal a storage area for e-bikes.
As you would expect in a caravan designed to be towed by an electric car, the tourer itself is all electric as standard as well. The manufacturer says this saves between 20kg and 30kg in weight. If that is a step too far for you however, you can go for a conventional gas heater as an option.
Vagabond Rogue
- Year: 2023
- Berths: 2
- MPTLM: 750kg
- MiRO: 550kg
- Payload: 200kg
- Shipping length: 4.60m
- Width: 2.15m
Reason to buy:
- It takes the teardrop further with a clever awning
Reason to avoid:
- An untested player in the market
Teardrop caravans always look romantic and idyllic. You can probably just see yourself knocking up something in the kitchen out the back of one of these types of caravan while your significant other enjoys basking in the sunshine, perhaps with a favourite tipple.
The trouble is, such a scenario does not fit very easily with the British climate. Step forward, then the Vagabond Rogue, made in not particularly rainy South Africa. The small caravan comes with an L-shaped canopy that means you can pop out of the cosy bedroom to brew a cuppa on the stove without having to get wet at all. There is plenty of space to do so in the kitchen at the rear.
Nor is that all. Extras you can have fitted to this innovative caravan include an outdoor shower, while the lighting inside has even been designed to be less attractive to those creepy crawlies.
Full review: Vagabond Rogue
Knaus Azur 500EU
- Year: 2023
- Berths: 4
- MTPLM: 1800kg
- MiRO: 1630kg
- Payload: 170kg
- Shipping length: 7.34m
- Width: 2.31m
Knaus’s luxury range, the Azur, saw a brand name reintroduced that the German manufacturer last brought out in the 1980s.
But the range – and our 2023 winner of the best caravan for innovation – looks forward much more than it might look back. Take its fibre frame construction, for example. The outer shell is made from 22 self-supporting parts and, according to Knaus, it will “self heal” if passing trees scratch it – as long as you leave your caravan out in the sun. More serious scratches can be removed by grinding and polishing.
The Campovolo grey side walls also have LED lighting right around them. This should really make your caravan stand out on the pitch at night, just as the 17-inch alloy wheels should make it stand out on the road.
Inside, along with ambient LED lighting running along all corners, you get a fabric covered smart wall which has integrated storage compartments and shelves. The angled clean lines of the lockers add a further futuristic ambience.
The Azur 500EU comes with plenty of storage, ideal for packing all of those caravan essentials. The kitchen drawers, in particular, will take even large pots and pans.
This is certainly a caravan that’s been designed with new ideas and features that made it one of the most innovative caravans of 2023 in our opinion.
Swift Basecamp 3
- Year: 2023
- Berths: 3
- MTPLM:1146kg
- MiRO: 1020kg
- Payload: 126kg
- Length: 5.59m
- Width: 2.28m
Swift’s Basecamp range was introduced for the 2017 season with just one model; the Basecamp 2. At the time, the brand held its breath – was this too much in the conservative caravan market? It soon became apparent that the Basecamp was not only innovative, but attracted a new type of caravanner who liked the rugged appeal, and general décor.
Six years on the Basecamp continued to build on its reputation with the 2023 Basecamp 3. Although designed as a tourer for two, it also has a third bed option. The designers have thought long and hard about how the Basecamp can be moved forward to attract new owners.
The Basecamp 3 does just this, with its new front folding double bed, which can be left as a fixed bed if needed, or folded away to create extra daytime living space.
Full review: Swift Basecamp 3
Adria Altea 622 DP Dart
- Year: 2023
- Berth: 4
- MTPLM: 1650kh
- MiRO: 1454kg
- Length: 8.29m
- Width: 2.3m
The Dart range, as exemplified in this four-berth model that was the first to come off Adria’s production line, is a good example of why Adria has a reputation for innovation.
The big changes to the tourer, which we also consider to be among the best island bed caravans, itself are on the outside with, for example, the new silver sides and the large central front window.
But perhaps the most interesting innovations are inside. The inside walls are made of Symalite, a material derived from recycled products. But unlike the ceiling, which has been given a polyurethane coating, the side walls have been left in a raw state, which gives a felt-like effect that is very warming. There are also movable shelves you can attach to the walls to provide storage where you need it.
The front lounge also takes on a more domestic look thanks to the settees, where the whole upholstery goes all the way down to the floor rather than stopping at the edge. (You can still make a double bed out of the slats you pull out from under the central chest. They rest on specially designed struts you can put into position on the settee’s edge.)
You might expect this in a luxury caravan, but strictly speaking the Altea is Adria’s entry level product. All very impressive.
Full review: Adria Altea Dart
Coachman Laser Xcel 855
- Year: 2023
- Berths: 4
- MTPLM: 1950kg
- MiRO: 1790kg
- Payload: 160kg
- Length: 7.90m
- Width: 2.44m
Sometimes just a relatively small change makes a big difference. Apart from a waning number of end kitchen models, caravan kitchens, at least in recent years, have tended to be on the offside. But what if the main part was on the nearside instead, by the door, just as they are in an awful lot of motorhomes?
That makes life easier for the cook, as the main waste bin in any caravan is usually in the door. It is also an easier location if you need to hand food and other items out for a table in the awning. But doesn’t such a change also make you feel that the kitchen is an important part of the caravan, not something tucked away to the side and forgotten about?
That’s certainly the impression you get when you step into the Laser Xcel 855 from Coachman. The four-burner dual fuel hob and huge sink are both on the nearside, nicely lit by a large window. And to the right of them, right by the door, is a huge workspace where you can easily prepare food for consumption either in the front lounge, with its table right next to you thanks to the L-shaped lounge, or outside. If you need to spread out more you can do that too, because workspace of a sort continues on the offside next to the two-way opening fridge. For once the cook in a caravan has pride of place.
Full review: Coachman Laser Xcel 855
Isabella floor heating panels
OK, so not a caravan, but, with the nights drawing in, even the best caravan awning can begin to be a less hospitable place to spend any time. Does it need some heat? You can add an awning heater of course, but don’t they just tend to heat just one part of the awning, perhaps a little too vigorously?
Isabella’s floor heating aims to get around that problem. It consists of a heating cable laid inside aluminium panels that you can lay out underneath an awning carpet to create wider areas of warmth. You don’t even have to cover the whole of the awning.
Written with contributions from John Sootheran.
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