Xtra helpings

Rob McCabe examines a well equipped and flexible caravan with five berths

All Coachman caravans are built using the Advanced

The five-model Acadia range is Coachman’s ‘entry-level’ line-up, although that term is all relative when you consider that these caravans come with a level of equipment that would have graced flagship models not so long ago.

For the 2025 model year, the Acadias have been given a host of upgrades, so we took ourselves off to Coachman HQ to have a forensic look at the imposing new Acadia 660 Xtra, a fixed-bed model with a layout that, as we’ll see, offers a spark of difference…

Build quality – 91%

All Coachman caravans are put-together using the Advanced Bonded Construction system that boasts near-imperviousness to water, with a 10-year body warranty to back it up. The Acadia bodyshell is handsome, and the new 3D graphics are classy and restrained.

Inside, the fixtures and fittings have been given quite a makeover for 2025: there are changes to overhead locker design, centre console and kitchen worktop, with black detailing extending to furniture handles and downlighters. It’s all very smart, and very well put together.

In every caravan I see, there’s usually at least one push-button that I need to send to the naughty step – and so it came to pass here, with one that wanted to work itself loose on every pressing.

Towing – 90%

You can probably tell just by looking at it that this is a big, heavy caravan – 1,805kg with a full load, to be precise – so it needs a towcar that eats all its greens and pumps iron regularly. However, the Acadia’s reassuringly big, twin-axle footprint, sensible weight distribution of appliances and ATC should contribute to a stress-free towing experience, albeit that the 8ft width may sometimes call for careful route-planning.

Daytime – 93%

L-shaped sofa set-up in lounge

Wow – the space! There’s no doubt that an L-shape sofa really shows off the amount of living room that an 8ft width gives you, and it makes an impactful first impression when you step over the threshold here. The lounge is a fine space to relax in: extremely cosseting for two or three, a bit less so if there are four of you. The predominantly grey soft furnishings won’t set many pulses racing, but the overall ambience is lifted by the lovely, lightly textured, handle-free overhead lockers.

The deep-pile carpet sections were still tightly wrapped in our fresh-from-the-production-line test vehicle, but the dark floor finish is handsome, and I’m sure many owners will choose to leave it on show, maybe with a couple of fluffy rugs as a finishing touch.

The 660 offers five berths (see ‘Night-Time’ section), but it’s easy to see how this layout could work superbly for two. In a caravan with an L-shape lounge, the usual big compromise is that you have to use the freestanding table at mealtimes – but this Acadia has an excellent side dinette with big table at which you can dine in style. Its U-shape configuration gives plenty of scope for getting comfortable, and you’d barely need to move to fetch a top-up of wine from the fridge.

There are two TV viewing stations (lounge and bedroom). There’s no fitted stereo – instead, you have a small, built-in Bluetooth speaker next to the mains socket under the front window. Although the sound is maybe a wee bit better than you might think it would be by looking at it, it’s not a match for the rich tone you’d get from stereo speakers. There are USB sockets in the bedroom and lounge, including one USB-C port as used by an increasing number of devices.

Storage provision is excellent. A hydraulic strut gives easy, one-handed access to the chasm under the double bed, for which there is also an exterior hatch. The drop-down hatch under the offside section of the sofa is a welcome touch too. There’s a useful cupboard on the nearside dresser under the front window, which itself is an attractive piece of furniture that has, to my eye, just a touch of 1960s retro-chic to it. 

Night-time – 83%

Dining conversion single

The majority of fixed-bed caravans are four-berths offering a permanent double or two singles as well as a seating area that converts into a double or, if possible, two singles. But the 660 stands clear of the crowd, courtesy of its offside dinette that makes up into a single fifth berth.

Both converted beds are great – roomy and pleasingly comfortable. They’re quick to make up too – a slide-out extension completes the bed base at the front, and that sturdy table does the same job in the side seating area when you push on a handle to lower it. But there are compromises if these beds are in use. For one, there’s no privacy curtain to wrap around the offside single, which limits its appeal somewhat.

Also, when the blind is drawn across to close off the double bedroom, the washroom is confined within it – the only way for overnighting guests to get to it is to tiptoe inside. And it’s a bit of a fiddle to persuade the concertina blind to secure itself to the one little magnet intended to hold it in place.

That double bed is wonderful – extremely supportive, and an excellent 6ft 3in long. You get a window, a sunroof and a TV bracket on the wall, but the lack of anywhere for the occupant on the right-hand side of the bed to put anything seems like an oversight – a wall-mounted pouch for specs, phone and a little bottle of water would have sufficed.

Kitchen – 92%

There’s a lot to like in this department. The smart, snugly fitted Russell Hobbs microwave is a flatbed model (no turntable to remember to stow away before travelling!), and the built-in tower fridge looks extremely posh. The hob features an electric hotplate, and there’s the expected separate grill and oven.

Workspace is modest, but the colour-matched sink cover gives you a bit more real estate if it’s in place – and the side dinette table just behind you is ideally situated to lend a hand at prep/serving-up time. Overall, it’s a very elegant-looking kitchen; the one thing I’m not so sure about is the rather fussily patterned wall panelling, which jars a bit with the marble-effect worktop finish.

There are plenty of places to put things and, as always, it’s good to see dovetail-jointed drawers gliding along on metal runners.

Washroom – 90%

Opening the door reveals a bigger washroom space than its rear-corner setting might suggest. The shower is a proper, full-size cubicle and the room doesn’t feel pinched at all; an opaque window and a skylight play their part by making it feel nice and airy. The prominent heated radiator/towel rail suggests luxury, the rather plasticky wash basin less so.

The washroom outdoes the kitchen by giving you three different surface finishes. The same wall panelling as that in the kitchen predominates – and looks fab in here. Then there’s a sort of pebble-look panel behind the wash-basin and a bit more of the marble-effect surface.

Lighting – 85%

Instead of the more widely seen pivoting reading lights, the lounge contains a quartet of flush-fitting pin lights. They offer decent illumination – they’re backed up by two more built into the window binnacle – but the lack of adjustability is a shame. Ceiling-level lighting runs along all the seating areas, and it’s good to see it above the fridge structure too.

The kitchen is very well served by a powerful LED strip on the underside of the overhead lockers, plus a couple of ceiling-level flush-fitters. In the washroom, a pull cord initiates an attractive glow behind the mirror, plus a pin light above it and another in the shower – more than enough. The bedroom has another pair of flush-fitting readers and ambient ceiling-level lighting.

Verdict – 89%

An imposing, well-made caravan with a thought-provoking five-berth layout that could take a family or work well as spacious holiday accommodation for two.