The ancient Italian town of Modena is famed for producing a rich, high quality tasting Balsamic Vinegar, but will Bailey’s Modena be to your taste?
The Bailey Pegasus Modena is a new model for the 2016 portfolio. It’s a four-berth model with an end-washroom and a fixed double bed. OK, so that’s not unusual but what is unusual is the internal body length is under 5m and the MTPLM is a mere 1275kgs making it a lightweight four-berth caravan for a wider audience who may not have access to a large powerful towcar; a car such as a 2015 Vauxhall Insignia hatchback with 1.8i engine would comfortably tow the Modena well below the recommended 85% match.
The end shower room, a transverse layout, has a square shower with a space-saving bi-fold door and a water saving Ecocamel shower head. There’s generous storage space and one blown-air heating duct for room heating supplied by the Truma Combi6E heating system, which also heats the water.
The fixed double bed has a padded head board, neat bedside shelves and an L shape layout of overhead storage lockers and open shelves, complemented by a wardrobe on the offside. The bed lifts up for extra storage and this area can be accessed by an external locker door.
A “Dreamsleep” mattress with honeycore foam construction with breathable fabric promises an enhanced sleeping experience.
The centre kitchen is compact but does have a worktop extension and there is further worktop space on the dresser opposite the kitchen, rather well placed just inside the door. It’s a well-equipped kitchen with a fridge set under the sink and a dual fuel hob with grill and oven but is just short of a cutlery drawer on display models; this is rectified on production models. To the right of the oven at low level is a small but useful cupboard with bottle racks and a shelf.
The living area has parallel seating, but the lack of a chest of drawers does make it seem rather bigger than it is by measurement. A highlight of Modena is the “Dreamsleep” soft furnishing scheme (exclusive to this Pegasus series) with domestic style, multi-layered base seat cushions and shaped backrests; this innovative design has already won industry awards and in practical terms makes bed making much easier and faster as the cushions are lighter than in previous upholstery styles and are easier to handle. The demonstration we saw took around 60 seconds – very slick and impressive! The model seen had the optional “Belvoir” upholstery (an extra cost of £199).
Exterior features include a pre-wired isolator switch for an optional caravan mover which reduces fitting time by about one hour.
There’s more information on the Pegasus caravan range on the Bailey of Bristol website: www.baileyofbristol.co.uk. To find out more about insuring a Bailey visit the caravan insurance discounts page.
Verdict: Bailey Pegasus Modena brings fixed bed caravanning to a wider audience by virtue of its light weight and size. Factor in the narrowing of the design gap between Pegasus and the up-market Unicorn range in what is a mid-sector price caravan and realise the comfort level and value for money.
It’s probably worth considering adding extra security features like AL-KO Secure portable wheel lock which costs £194 (weight 4kgs) and even AL-KO ATC Trailer Control System at a cost of £399 and extra weight of 3kgs. These optional extra security features may well reduce the cost to insure this caravan.
factfile
Model | |
Dimensions | 6.493m L x 2.230m W x 2.61m H |
Internal dimensions | 4.952m L x 1.96m H |
MTPLM | 1275kg |
Payload | 149kg |
Awning size | 946cm |
RRP | £16,999.00** |
Good review covering everything in detail. Seems a good caravan too though the sofas look terrible in grey. Not sure about the multi layer seating either. Elddis has woven polyester seat bases and they are far too hard to use as bedding but they are lighter and probably cheaper.
Look nice