Caravan Review: Adria Adora 542PH Sport

The Adria Adora 542PH Sport proves that you don’t need a huge van to live comfortably when touring Australia.

January 12, 2023

We have a natural tendency to go straight for Aussie-built caravans when shopping for a new van. After all, when built by a reputable manufacturer, they are strong and designed for our local conditions. But it may be worth taking a look at a European van, too – they have points of difference that might make it more suitable for your needs. I’m talking specifically about the Slovenian-built Adria Adora 542PH Sport.

The Adria brand is imported into Australia by Apollo, the company behind brands such as Coromal, Windsor and Winnebago. Adria vans have been available in Australia for many years. They have even developed a local following.

It had been a long time since I’d paid an Adria any attention and was interested to remind myself of what set them apart.

ADRIA ADORA’S LAYOUT

If you’ve grown weary of seeing the same layout from one local manufacturer after the other, the layout in the Adria Adora 542PF Sport might appeal. That classic ‘Euro look’ – the curved locker doors made of lightweight ply and aluminium accents – is certainly on show here. But it’s the lateral thinking and interesting solutions to common problems that caught my attention.

Let’s start in the kitchen. The combined stainless steel sink and three-burner cooktop would be unheard of in an Aussie-built van – and I liked it. It fit the tight bench space well. And then there was the Thetford Duplex oven – a completely separate unit sitting beneath the sink. The kitchen offers a few drawers and lockers, as well as pantry space. Bench space is obviously limited but the cooktop does feature a glass lid that could be used, and you might consider a timber insert/chopping board for above the sink.

The bathroom is located in the rear offside corner, and there’s more to this little space than meets the eye. It has the usual equipment, including a hand-held shower rose and a fixed-position cassette toilet, but where is the washbasin? This is the clever part. The top mirror above the toilet hides an array of shelving, while the lower mirror hides a fold-away vanity unit. Lowering it will reveal a sink with flick-mixer tap – a very smart use of space.

I was also struck by the inclusion of an offside club lounge. True, it’s not huge, but it will seat up to four people and the table can be lowered to create the base for a spare bed. Directly opposite, you’ll find a Thetford 175L three-way fridge-freezer and Camec microwave. A spacious wardrobe has also been fitted to the nearside.

A queen-size north-south bed is fitted to the front of the van. More Euro flair is on show here: the mattress is split so that you can lift either side to expose the slats beneath that side. Then, the slats for that side only can be lifted – it’s quite unique. However, this design does make accessing the storage space beneath a little awkward. Further, the offside space is taken up by the Truma Combi combination hot water service and space heater – the control is above the doorway. The 100Ah deep-cycle battery and 15A charger is located beneath the bed on the nearside. No solar panels are provided as standard equipment, though.

Entertainment-wise, there’s an 18.5in flatscreen TV mounted to a swing-arm, a Bluetooth-enabled sound system and a couple of speakers.

There weren’t any obvious issues regarding the internal fit and finish that I noticed. The light fixtures have a certain ‘domestic’ look about them, as opposed to the downlights you’ll find in locally-built caravans; however, ambient LED lights are provided over the cupboards.

This layout is truly appealing. While the living space isn’t ‘open plan’, that’s part of the point – these distinct living zones each offer something unique.

CONSTRUCTION

The Adria Adora 542PH Sport is not an offroader caravan in any way. Rather, it’s built for blacktop touring with a bit of gravel thrown into the mix. I see this van as being more suited to holiday parks, though a couple nights off the grid isn’t out of the question.

It is built atop an Al-Ko chassis complete with lightening holes – an engineering principle in which weight is reduced and strength is increased. I was surprised, but not unhappy, to see this van had been given independent rubber suspension.

The wall and roof panels are composite fibreglass sandwich panels – the interior skin is a kiln-dried plywood. The floor, meanwhile, is also a structural fibreglass sandwich panel. A short, mostly decorative, piece of silver checkerplate has been fixed to the lower part of each wall. Attractive silver J-moulds complete the picture.

The exterior of the van is not extensively fitted out with creature comforts; however, the nearside does come with a 4×2.5m roll-out awning and LED light as well as a 240V outlet. Because the fridge is fitted to the nearside, that’s where the vents are too.

Things are a little different at the A-frame, too. The jockey wheel doesn’t completely detach from the A-frame in the way it does on an Aussie-built van. Instead, it simply lifts right up out of the way and locks into place for travel – from a storage perspective, that’s great. If this was an offroad van, I’d be wary; however, for the kind of travel it’s built for, it should be fine.

The Al-Ko anti-sway 50mm ball coupling fitted to this van is not in wide use in Australia. It is certainly different to the standard ball coupling that you might be used to but isn’t difficult to get the hang of.

In terms of external storage, the Adora is limited to a front boot with a matching fibreglass lid. In truth, it is not a huge space, especially since it’s where the dual 9kg gas cylinders, jack and spare wheel are kept.

Their light weight is one of the hallmarks of Adria caravans and the Adria Adora 542PH Sport is no different. You get all that I have described, and more, for a Tare of 1610kg – not bad at all. The ATM of 2050kg gives it a payload capacity of 440kg. This means that even fully loaded, it’s likely that it could be towed by the station wagon that is in your garage right now (but always check your weights).

Note: if the van was precisely loaded to 2050kg, you’d need to ensure the ball weight was precisely 150kg – the maximum – in order to avoid overloading the axle, which is why Adria stipulates a 150kg maximum ball weight for this rig. Of course, it the van was loaded to only 2020kg, then you’d have to ensure 120kg of ball weight, and so on.

GORV’S VERDICT

For highway travels and holiday-park stays, the Adria Adora 542PH Sport offers plenty to smile about. From its impressively light weight to its clever, functional layout and features – including the Truma Combi and even ducted air-con – it is well worth a look.