Tourer of the Year Awards – 2019

2 October, 2018

On 19 September 2018, the Tourer of the Year 2019 Awards took place in Hampton Manor near Solihull, an event organised by Practical Caravan. Britain’s best caravans, awnings and camping accessories were honoured with this prestigious award by an expert jury. ACSI was also present and sponsored two categories: ‘Best Motorhome for Innovation’ and ‘Best Tourer for Seasonal Pitches’. So without further ado, here are the winners:

Practical Caravan’s Tourer of the year

The big winner of the day was the Bailey Pegasus Grande Messina. This very spacious caravan immediately caught the jury’s eye. The jury said: “Our winner is a new van for 2019. It certainly makes the most of its internal dimensions, with a large fixed bed, a roomy and well-equipped washroom and a cracking kitchen.”  This affordable caravan also won the ‘Best Tourer of Seasonal Pitches’ award. Jury: “Its special sauce, though, is a new lounge design that prioritises the need for comfort that’s so fundamental to a caravan for use on a seasonal pitch.”

Best tourer in the other 5 categories:

• Best budget tourer: de Xplore 586. A six-berth with rear fixed bunks, a revised bathroom, an offside dinette and a parallel lounge. And it is competitively priced.
• Best luxury tourer: Swift Elegance Grande 635. The jury was especially awed by the next level bathroom, the opulent bedroom, the kitchen with scratch-resistant worktop and the abundant natural illumination.
• Best specialist tourer: Eriba Touring Troll 530 Ocean Drive. It is small, light and it has a good value for what you get. And its retro-look makes the picture complete.
• Best tourer for couples: Coachman Pastiche 470. The caravan won the award mainly because of the front lounge. This lounge has been optimised so that its occupants can relax completely during their holiday. It is a versatile space, it has a pleasant atmosphere and there seems to be no end to sources of artificial and natural light.
• Best tourer for family use: Venus 550/4 for small families and the Quasar 686 for large families, both from the manufacturer Lunar.

Best Motorhome for Innovation

The winner of the Best Motorhome for Innovation is the Chausson 634 Flash. A relatively short camper in which nevertheless much space has been created. This camper has no less than five beds, a wet cell, kitchen and sitting area. And it has a special ‘Easy Box’ with 300 litres of space. And all this in a camper that is only 6.39 metres long.

Best Awning

If you want a perfect awning for your camping holiday, the Vango Vienna 400 is the right choice. The awning is made of polyester and PVA fibres and is finished with an acrylic coating, making it durable and waterproof. The jury also said: “Design-wise, this awning looks very sharp and the manufacturer has thoughtfully supplied it with a deliberately oversized carrier, so it’ll be easy to pack up.”

Best accessory

The Dutch company E-Trailer’s SMART trailer system won this award. The SMART trailer system keeps an eye on how your camper is doing: it uses sensors to monitor tyre pressure, ball pressure, battery voltage, temperature and humidity, and helps to level the camper. It might cost a pretty penny, but once you’ve used it you’ll wonder how you ever managed to camp without it.

Source: Practical Caravan