New Hymer Nova review

Finally our new Hymer Nova GL590 arrived and we collected it from Travelworld in Telford on Friday. Being about 3 hours from home in Hampshire, we're staying at the excellent CC affiliate site Stanmore Hall in Bridgnorth for a long weekend rundown.

We've been caravanning since 2006 and have had 2 brand new Baileys before this Hymer. Both Baileys were top of the range Senator and Unicorn models and we became very disappointed with the build quality. I'm not the "write and complain" type but I was annoyed enough with the poor quality and lack of true customer care that I wrote a letter directly to Baileys CEO. The lack of reply summed it up for me. As I own German cars we decided to check out Hymer. We liked what we saw and took the plunge, placing our order last September.

Aware that the product is considerably more that its UK counterparts, especially with some tempting and easy to pick options, (just like German car manufacturers), the caravan was about £8000 more that the equivalent UK offerings. So is it worth it?

I'm pleased to report that so far so good. It's longer and heavier that the Unicorn Valencia we've just sold, but that longer "A" frame makes a huge difference. We tow with a BMW X5 and even with the extra weight there's none of the choppy bounce previously experienced. It's incredibly smooth. I assume the reason UK caravans have a shorter frame is to lessen the shipping length. A poor sacrifice given the times this comes into play, unless you're on the Eurotunnel weekly. Anyway the towing experience is the best we've experienced to date.

Next the construction. For your extra £££'s you really do see and feel a difference. Everything from the grab handles and taps, to the drawers and jockey stick feels much better. Consequently it's easier to use and feels likely to last a lifetime. Small details such as every cupboard front has a locking catch to keep it from opening in transit. There's no sign of any loose wiring hanging down, no flimsy veneer ready to give up sticking in a few months. As any decent chef will tell you, to make the best dish use the finest ingredients. Same applies here. All the fittings are well sourced with quality and durability in mind. In a nutshell, it's bolted together beautifully.

The design is well considered too. Right next to the door is a shoe cupboard and a coat rack. The standard wet radiator central heating, (with optional underfloor heatng - shower tray included) is assisted by a built in warm air blower to get things hotting up a bit quicker. Ideal for when you've just pitched up on a cold February Friday evening. I like that they've thought about a separate access hatch for the under bed storage area. Also the external hatch for the same space has a large aperture so the aqua roll doesn't have to come through the living area. The built in water tank is a proper affair like in better motor homes. It's easy to fill and drain, also providing the toilet flush water, (no secondary filling and pink rinse fluid). There's a conventional aquaroll point to if you prefer. The best detail by far is the airing cupboard drawer located right above the heater unit. No joke, 2 to 3 wet towels toasty and dry in a few hours!

Make no mistake the Hymer caravans coming to the UK are all very much aimed at UK buyers with layouts we're used to and options we like, (panoramic roof is standard etc). Ours has a transverse island bed, and what a bed! You could get a pregnant elephant in it, come to think of it you could get an elephant pregnant in it!

All good news? There are some negatives but they're not major. We didn't like the standard net curtains, (very 1980's you know), so took them off. The washing up area is poor, but if you wash and dry at the same time it's done quicker, so more time for wine. It's quite wide too, so lanes are to be taken with extra care. And obviously the offside door can be an issue. We negotiated a little harder to get a factory fitted Truma automatic mover so that nosing onto pitch has a bit of reliability built in when required, (or more importantly, getting it off pitch!).

There's a market for people wanting something a bit special and being prepared to pay for it. We're not ready for an expensive motorhome and still like the freedom a caravan gives when you're using it. Until we are, I think this is about as good as we can get. You might think it's expensive, but given the finish and fittings together with its anticipated lifespan, the Hymer is quite a bargain actually! Now where's that corkscrew......