News from Caravan Guard

Awards are considered by many people to be a third party endorsement of a product so Liz and Dave King see if they agree with the judges' findings following The Caravan Industry Awards which were presented in October.

The Dometic-Cramer Kitchen Award, sponsored by Dometic-Cramer, is for the kitchen in motor caravans considered by the judges to be the most imaginative yet practical. Exhibitors may nominate one entry and this was a large class to judge with sixteen entries covering motorhomes ranging in price from around £29,500.00 to £83,000.00 from two berths to six. Lower marks were awarded this year, indicating that there is room for considerable improvement.

Judges' comments include disappointment about the lack of storage space and the lack of room to stack dishes, ready for or after washing up. Positioning of microwaves continues to cause concern, mainly in regard to height and there was criticism of poor working height of worktops. Some models only had one mains socket and several had no fan for ventilation. Lighting was rated as poor in several models.

Winner - Auto-Trail Frontier Chieftain

The Auto-Trail Frontier Chieftain won the class, with its L shape, offside kitchen that sports a round satin finish sink and matching half round drainer set in graphite worktops, with a frosted acrylic splash back. The soft close drawers have button locks and there is a large cupboard under the sink with two solid shelves in addition to a smaller cupboard with pull-out baskets. Three roof lockers, a 700w microwave oven and an 150L Thetford fridge freezer, a grill, oven and four burner hob with one 800w electric plate complete the essential items. We especially liked the LED lighting under the worktop edge and that two mains power points were fitted. We'd be happy to whip up a meal in this motorhome.

Runner-up - Bürstner Elegance I821G

The runner-up was the Bürstner Elegance I821G which again has an L shape kitchen but with coffee coloured high gloss worktops on two levels.

The satin finish sink and drainer are integral, and the hob has just three gas burners, but under it are two huge easy-glide drawers which make great use of the space available. Under the sink is an integral waste bin, with two compartments, to encourage recycling. The TEC tower houses a fridge freezer and an oven. Other than the drawers there are two roof lockers, each with shelves.

We did like the rounded corners on the worktops and the LED lighting, especially the feature light by the corner shelf. So, yes we agree with the judges.