2016 Adria Adora 432 DT Loire caravan review

Check out our review of the latest Adria Alpine Colarado here

Calling chic couples

If you think you’ve seen it all when it comes to smaller, two-berth, end washroom tourers, take one further look at this – Adria’s Adora Loire. Yes, it’s a proven formula, but there’s more than just a soupcon of style here.

Take the kitchen. It’s one of the best you’ll see in any two-berth tourer, let alone a relative “shortie” like the Loire, with its 4.32m internal length. Extending along the offside, the cuisine area includes a combined sink at right angles to a hob with three gas rings (all different sizes) in a row.

To the right is a Thetford fridge with freezer compartment and bottle drawer in its base – it might be narrow but total capacity is an impressive 142 litres.

Kitchen storage is excellent – large overhead lockers, two huge soft-close drawers, a slide-out section with racking and more. It’s all very contemporary – only Thetford’s Midi Prima oven and grill unit looks slightly at odds with the overall styling.

There’s also pre-installation for a microwave – something it’s easy to imagine most folk going for, especially considering the abundance of kitchen storage that’s still on offer. As you can see, there’s a decent amount of worktop, too.

Across the corridor, the furniture comprises a large wardrobe with floor-to-ceiling shelved cupboard adjacent – both of these will surely cater for all your clothes storage needs – as well as a shelved locker just inside the door, which also stores the free-standing dining table.

Enter the washroom, however, and it’s instantly obvious why the kitchen and wardrobe areas can offer so much. True, there’s a swivel-bowl toilet here, plus a “salad bowl” basin served by the same elegant swan neck tap design as the kitchen’s.

And there’s a shower cubicle – although slightly disappointingly it only has standard wallboard sides and a tiny, single plughole.  There’s even pretty decent storage – those panels to either side of the basin are actually slim lockers, while there’s further cupboard space below. But, actual dressing room space is very restricted.

The whole interior has the feel of a “chic apartment”. Of course, it’s not all about the looks. Lighting is all-LED, although a couple more reading lamps in the lounge might not go amiss.

You won’t struggle for daylight getting in, however. It’s a massive opening sunroof overhead to complement the three-windowed front, too.

Those settees aren’t long enough to convert to single beds, but it’s fairly easy drawing across the bases to create a sizeable enough 2.12m x 1.54m transverse double.

The Loire isn’t short of rivals. Few dare to go down the style path that Adria has taken, though. The furniture foregoes the current fashion for curves and is actually flat, although the mix of metallic inserts and shiny steel handles and catches, with gloss white lower sections to the overhead lockers, make sure the styling remains thoroughly clean-cut and up-to-the-minute.

Even the exterior stands that little bit apart from its contemporaries. Bodywork is GRP-clad, with the end and front in ABS. Alloy wheels and stylish-but-sturdy grab handles all help towards making the Loire look that bit different. The door is a stable-type design, with upper window and a waste bin on the inside. That gas locker hatch is the real deal, too – definitely not flimsy, like so many, with a proper pneumatic strut, too.

Officially, there are no extras for the Loire (although there’s an option to upgrade to a 1,500kg chassis rating). Adria leaves such things up to its supplying dealers. This review model was viewed at Venture Caravans – the leading Adria retailer since the marque first came to this country some 45 years ago. Wth its expertise, you’ll soon get a feel for what extra features you might want, from extra sockets (mains, 12V or even USB) to solar panel and more. A bit of extra security – starting with Al-Ko’s Secure Lock – will see you clawing back some of your caravan insurance premium, too.

Alternatives: Bailey Pegasus Genoa, Coachman Vision 450, Compass Corona 462, Elddis Avante 482, Lunar Quasar 462, Sterling Eccles 480, Swift Challenger 480