Verdict
The Clubman SI continues for 2018 as a caravan that’s ideal for couples who occasionally take children or other guests on tour with them.
With classic looks, it will appeal to connoisseurs and should bear advancing years well, too. Comfortable, well equipped and low in weight, the SI is as compelling an execution of the on-trend transverse island bed floorplan as any you will find elsewhere in this segment.
Pros
Great new end washroom with Belfast-style sink
Plenty of storage
Large illuminated mirror
Cons
Kitchen is a bit short of space
The Lunar Clubman range has become something of an institution in British caravanning. It has been around longer than Alde heating in the UK, and this desirable system is included as standard in the Lunar’s most luxurious single-axle range.
It was also firmly established as a byword for comfort long before fixed beds, like the transverse island bed that features in the end-washroom Clubman SI, became a must-have addition.
Still, these are two of the major factors that helped to propel the SI to becoming Lunar’s biggest seller of all in the 2017 season. More than 300 people parted with the nigh-on £25,000 needed to become an owner of this vehicle. So is the new season’s SI still worth it? We took one for a spin around the New Forest to find out.
With classic looks, it will appeal to connoisseurs and should bear advancing years well, too.
Pitching & Setting-up
Major changes for the Clubman range for 2018 have mostly been on the outside, in the form of new illuminated grabhandles and a new single gas bottle locker with a cantilevered door. Both of these made setting off much easier.
There are new graphics too, but these are so understated that on this caravan, because of its layout, a large area at the back is just a plain white box. Perhaps not the most attractive look on the road.
As this is a Clubman range, you can expect lots of extras to help you tow, so you get an ATC trailer control system, an AKS stabiliser and shock absorbers all fitted as standard.
We were certainly thankful for this on our test drive, where the caravan coped effortlessly with a steep hairpin bend whose sharpness our Škoda Kodiaq’s sat-nav had underplayed.
Arrival on site shouldn’t be too much of a problem with this van; along with an awning light, you also get an offside services light.
Living
Inside, the changes for 2018 have largely been in terms of surfaces rather than new features. So there is a new Durango duck-egg blue finish to the soft furnishings and a heavy-pile Mintleaf carpet.
But it’s still the same classic Clubman look, with two parallel settees that come with four comfortable bolsters, a central chest (or you have the option
of wraparound seating), three front windows, and those neat and useful corner overhead lockers that many manufacturers now use, but which Lunar was the first to introduce.
The table, handily located nearby in the kitchen cupboard, is sturdy and easy to assemble, and should have plenty of space for four. A chest to the right of the door provides a platform for the TV, served by the usual sockets.
A 1.5m-long Skyview rooflight is a new addition, and together with the sunroof, floods not just the front lounge, but the whole living area, with light. At night, the LED lights embedded in its surround take over the job.
Kitchen
The workspace in the side kitchen is already so ample, you wonder why they also included an extension flap, although those with more of a culinary flair might appreciate it. This space is well lit, both with artificial light and through the large window, and mains sockets are conveniently located for a kettle.
You get a four-burner dual-fuel hob with a clear cover, and a useful guard to prevent hot fat spraying onto the nearby bed. In addition, a new feature here is the ‘Twirl’ splashback behind the oven.
Up above are three good-sized lockers. Together with vegetable baskets that roll out next to the table storage, that should mean there is plenty of space to store food, even if the half-height fridge will only really suit two people.
But storing heavy kitchenware could be an issue here, because those wire baskets take up all the space in the cupboard, so the only other possible areas are a narrow pan locker under the Thetford Aspire 2 oven and grill, or the medium-sized cupboard under the TV shelf below the microwave.
Washroom
The end washroom has been considerably improved, with a new LED illuminated mirror and a basin that just about qualifies as a Belfast sink, although it is half the size of those you might have at home. You also get a heated towel rail, an opaque window and a second towel ring by the shower.
This is a good size and Lunar has again gone for the domestic touch, with tiling-effect walls in the cubicle. Storage is excellent, with two cupboards.
Beds
The large island bed sits between two wardrobes and below a set of lockers. Some designers use this as an excuse to have a seriously ‘bling’ bedroom. But in keeping with Clubman style, Lunar has stayed mercifully restrained, with just two small shelves and spotlights.
A TV bracket and sockets in the front corner means you can watch a second TV from the bed. A large lit mirror on the far side boosts the feeling of space.
The front settees are only long enough to work as single beds for small to medium-sized children. But making up the double is a simple matter of pulling two platforms together, then almost anyone can be accommodated.
Storage
Lift the island bed and you have an enormous clear storage area that is also accessible from the outside, so storing large items such as outdoor furniture should not be a problem.
The nearside underseat area at the front is also externally accessible, but both it and the offside area can be reached via flaps inside with their own elegant handles. That’s useful – lifting the bed platforms can be a hefty job.
Two large overhead lockers and those corner lockers provide some extra space up front, while the rear bedroom is well served, with two lockers and two full- height wardrobes with cupboards underneath, although the rear one is quite a stretch to get into.
Technical Specifications
| Berth | 4 |
| MiRO | 1340 kg |
| Payload | 155 kg |
| MTPLM | 1495 kg |
| Shipping Length | 7.32 m |
| Width | 2.33 m |
