Looking for something roomy to accommodate a large family? Looks like the Elddis Crusader Tempest caravan could be just the ticket.

It looks like the triple-fixed-bunk set-up is here to stay: the Tempest is the latest player to have its name added to an ever-lengthening team sheet that includes offerings from Bailey (first name on the list), Swift, Lunar, Adria and the Crusader’s room mate, the Avante.

Arguably, the Tempest is the most imposing of the three-bunk six-berth contingent. The top-of-the-range Crusader is a big old beast, needing twin axles to accommodate the 20-foot-plus interior length. That’s space enough for a full-size lounge at the front and a separate shower cubicle in the washroom.

Phew… There’s a lot to get round, then. Better get on with it.

Construction

You could have a torrid time with assorted doors in the Tempest, the worst offender being the entrance door, which left me stranded outside when its notchy handle refused all polite requests to disengage from the latch fully, despite being completely unlocked.
Eventually, I gained entry by distinctly impolite means, and thenceforth kept the keys in my pocket every time I left the caravan. It repeated the same trick once, then behaved better - but always felt sticky.

Inside, the washroom door has one of those new breed of domestic-style handles, but it was already coming loose and didn’t engage properly. The push-button release on the wardrobe door reminded me why I don’t really like push-buttons: I pushed and, for a long time, it didn’t release. Eventually, it admitted defeat but was still prone to bouts of stubbornness. If this one can be classified as a minor niggle, the other two would be unacceptable on any caravan, never mind one costing as much as this.

The quality of the joinery elsewhere on board is very good, with the nice, thick woodwork reminding you that you are, after all, in a top-of-the range caravan. Outside, the panels are joined to one another neatly and precisely

Towability

By the time you’ve decided to make a six-berth on a twin axle and kit it out with most of the available goodies as standard, there’s little point in watching the pounds and ounces - you may as well have that second jumbo jam doughnut and be done with it.

So it is, then, that the Tempest weighs in at just under 1900kg if you take full advantage of the available payload. Nothing this side of a Land Cruiser, Pathfinder or
Discovery 4 will suffice. But, busy high streets and sweaty-palm-narrow site entrances notwithstanding, a massive outfit such as this will be superb on the road, with eight wheels providing well-planted roadholding, suspension dampers helping to smooth out the bumps and the standard hitch stabilizer providing that extra hand on the tiller. My friends old Discovery V8 made light work of it but, then again, I’d have been gutted if it didn’t…

The two rear foglights and a pair of reversing lamps are sensible fitments.

Usability

My guess is that it must be great fun working in the Usability Department up at Elddis Towers. These guys consistently come up with ideas that make it all the way onto the finished product.

For example, a caravan’s front lounge is often left ‘exposed’ when converted into a bedroom at night, but not here: a pull-out concertina blind shuts it off completely to give the occupants on either side of the divide a bit of privacy. It also means the lounge can be pressed into service as a changing/dressing room, a task it’s much more suited to than the elbow-bashing confines of the washroom.

Something else: there are two mains sockets in the kitchen, so the kettle and the toaster can be plugged in at the same time. There’s another mains socket under the fridge that provides power to the bedroom: handy for charging up the mobile overnight

The exterior gas barbecue point is a fine addition on a family holiday machine such as this; and the hinged, slatted bases of the two lower fixed bunks lift up out of the way to give a vast storage area when they’re not in use. The awning warmer is basically an exterior-wall outlet for the blown-air heating system. But don’t dismiss it as a gimmick if you’ve never experienced it: it’s enough to make a difference in the cooler days of spring or autumn.

Never mind cooler days: if you use the Tempest in the dog days of winter, you’ll be glad of the 40-litre inboard water tank, which removes any worry of your water supply freezing up overnight.

The so-called privacy glass on the side windows isn’t misnamed: if you want to sneak a look inside this one as you walk past on site, you’ll need to press your nose right up against the window.

But the highlight here is the presence of the ‘proper’ side dinette that offers genuine seating for four (maybe not four full-sized adults, mind), not to mention a terrific single bed that easily trumps the bunks for space and comfort. It’s no big deal to transform it from bed to seating in the morning, either.

Storage is first-class. Wide-opening hatches provide easy access to the front bedlockers, and there’s exterior access to the nearside one, too: open that hatch and you’ll find a mains socket for use in the awning.

Each seat base in the side dinette also has a handy door, making it fuss-free to get to the very useful space in here, too. The wardrobe at the back is good and deep, with plenty of hanging space.

The carpeting is provided in loose-fit sections, an absolute necessity in a caravan that will no doubt have more than its fair share of muddy trainers and wellies to contend with. The big centre section is a bit unwieldy, mind: dividing it into two would make it much more user-friendly

Living And Sleeping

The triple fixed bunks mean that much of the chore of bed making on holiday is removed: indeed, if you’re using the Tempest as a four- or five-berth and the kids are all happy to claim one of the bunks each that only leaves the front double to attend to. If Mum and Dad are happy to take advantage of the long lounge and use single beds instead of hauling out the slats to make the huge double, the chore is all but eliminated completely.

Each bunk occupant benefits from a 12V reading light and privacy curtain, but the person in the uppermost one loses out on a window. Other makers see fit to oblige, so it’s a strange omission here.

They’re fine beds: on the basis of my trying out the bottom one, the mattresses are firm and supportive, and there’s room enough to toss and turn. The windows are sited so that their infrastructure doesn’t get in the way of shoulders or elbows.

The wider-than-usual side dinette makes up into a luxurious single bed that allows the luxury of sprawling. The base is formed by slotting the clip-on table top between the seats. A curtain for a bit of bedtime privacy would be a useful addition, though.

The washroom is directly opposite the bunks, so it’s effectively an en-suite facility for the bedroom.

The front lounge transforms into great sleeping quarters, whether in single- or double-bed mode: the sprung upholstery is deep and supportive, giving all-night-long comfort. Slats glide in and out effortlessly to make the double. Pull the concertina blind across and you really feel that you, too, have your own proper bedroom.

Just as much care and attention have been lavished on the lounge to make it a fine place to be during the waking hours: sink into those substantially upholstered front comers and you’ll find them every bit as comfortable as they look. There’s enough room here for six, but why cram everybody in when there’s such good seating available in the side dinette? With two dining here, everybody on board will be able to wallow in space and comfort.

Kitchen

Elddis kitchens are always impressive and this one’s no exception. There’s an enormous amount of storage, divided among lockers, drawers and a huge cupboard under the sink. A respectable amount of work surface has been designed in, and there’s always the possibility of using either the hefty chinchilla glass covers of either the sunken sink or hob.

These now-familiar covers are heat, scratch and stain-proof. With three gas burners (one of which is supersized), a grill, oven and microwave, cooking dinner for six should be easily achievable. The wall-mounted Thetford fridge with totally separate freezer, directly opposite the cooker, is a real tour de force - stylish and, with plenty of capacity, immensely practical.

I can think of just one reason to mark this impressive kitchen down, and it’s the usual - one little striplight over the sink just isn’t good enough for a kitchen this size.

Wash Room

Once you’re past the disappointment of the door, things start to look up. The mirror-fronted cabinet takes care of storage - that ‘cupboard’ under the basin is actually a bijou linen basket. The wash hand basin has been attacked by the mastic gun: generous sealing is one thing, but there’s so much of it here, it looks untidy. There’s a carpet section in here - loose-fit, thankfully, so it can be whipped out.

The washroom is nice and spacious. Sensibly, the separate shower compartment is at the back of the room, so doesn’t put the wc or basin out of commission if it’s being used. This is a nice facility - spacious and with sensible provision for gel and shampoo.

Lighting and Electrics

Two wall lights in the front comers, four reading lights, four downlighters surrounding the sunroof binnacle and two ‘mood-lighting’ strips. That’s the lighting allocation… for the front lounge. Strewth! Suffice it to say, you won’t run short of illumination, unless you’re trying to see what’s occurring on the hob after dark. The mood lighting is hidden under the overhead lockers on either side of the lounge and in the side dinette. It doesn’t give out much light by itself, but with so many other lighting options at your disposal, you can dial in whatever ambience you fancy of an evening.

There are another four downlighters surrounding the second sunroof in the middle of the caravan, two reading lights in the side dinette, one for each of the bunks, a downlighter over the mirror outside the washroom and no fewer than three in the washroom itself. Let there be light? I should cocoa.

Let there be power, too - there are five mains sockets inside, two of which are accompanied by aerial/12V sockets to give you a choice of TV viewing locations. As mentioned, the bedroom is connected to the mains, too, although its semi-hidden location under the fridge had me foxed at first.

All the controls are where they should be for ease of access, putting the seal on a thoroughly well-connected caravan.

Verdict

The Tempest’s build quality concerns are very out of keeping for an Elddis: none the less, I’d be less than elated to encounter them if I had just taken delivery of a vehicle costing nearly 21 grand (sterling). In virtually all other regards I’d be chuffed to bits: it’s spacious in every area, smartly turned-out and really makes the most of what is a terrific layout.

Michelle has recently started an automotive review service where she test drives and reviews everything from industrial forklift truck models to touring and sports vehicles. Her latest industrial work deals with the revolutionary electric forklift trucks.

Sleek, elegant, chic and sporty are not words you might normally associate with a 4×4 - and you’d be extremely unlikely to use them all at once to describe the same 4×4. That is until the advent of Volvo’s XC60.

Since bringing the utilitarian off-roader into the family leisure market, car makers have striven to style it and tailor it to offer the broadest appeal, with varying degrees of success. Some try a 4×4/MPV cross, while others go for a more laid-back SUV image. There’s even been an attempt by a premium car maker at trying to turn its large SUV into a sleek sports coupe, with notably unsleek, nay, grotesque, results!

Unlike many SUVs, Volvo’s XC60 manages to retain, and even enhance, the svelte lines and subtle contours of its more lightweight saloon and estate brethren. In fact, if you lowered an XC60 to make it adopt a road-hugging stance, it would doubtless appear as a rather rakish sports estate. Volvo calls it “emotional” styling.

Cabin Comfort

You wouldn’t accuse the XC60’s interior of being overdone. It is fresh, modem, stylish and, above all, simple. The all-anthracite lower-half trim of our test example might seem dull and oppressive in some cars, but with little more to lift it than white contrast stitching and tastefully applied bright moldings, the Volvo manages an air of smart practicality. You’d expect nothing less from Swedish design.

The focal point is without doubt Volvo’s now well known ‘floating’ center console, in this instance having a bright metallic finish. It presents an array of logically-arranged and clearly-marked controls - the human-shaped air-distribution graphic being a particular case in point - which become almost intuitive at first glance. Above this and the CD slot resides the clear sat-nav screen, slightly inset to reduce reflections in the window glass, and located on the same plane as the instruments where a quick glance enables immediate visual clarity without refocusing.

Gauges - just the two - convey the necessary details via annular analogue dials and (that word again) ‘floating’ pointers with digital supplementary information displayed in their centers. They have a chronographic look to them, but Volvo has thankfully resisted the usually Far-Eastern car manufacturers’ trend to decorate them with too much bling and fancy illumination.

In true Volvo tradition, the seats are well-shaped, supportive and comfortable with those in the front offering a useful range of adjustment. The rear compartment boasts reasonable if not commodious legroom, and the nicely contoured seat should provide three average-sized adults with cozy but comfortable travel. The 40:20:40 split/fold seat gives a flat load floor when the one-touch release levers are operated.

Zoned climate control gives a degree (actually, quite a few degrees) of heating/cooling versatility and clean cabin air using filtration and Volvo’s Clean Zone Interior Package, an innovative air-purging system.

Driving Dynamics

Five-cylinder engines make a deal of sense, being as responsive as a ‘four’ yet almost as smooth as a ’six’, although the smoothness bit is less apparent with an oil burner. Once warmed up, though, the D5 is a pleasant enough diesel, delivering brisk performance in concert with the smooth-shifting six-speed Geartronic transmission, which also has Sport mode and manual override.

Having originally thought the steering over-weighted, a few miles later it seemed to feel quicker and more responsive. Speed-dependent assistance is available as standard or an option, depending on model, with a user-selection facility.

In normal conditions the all-wheel drive system is front-biased, with torque re-apportioned via the computer-controlled hydraulic clutch as available grip alters. Volvo’s Instant Traction is designed to assist with standing starts. Ride is quite firm (maybe due to the BMW X3 being an XC60 benchmark) but gives car-like cornering and handling, though well-judged initial compliance takes the sting out of many road imperfections.

The Volvo’s City Safety helps avoid low-speed accidents; Collision Warning with Auto Brake and Adaptive Cruise Control with Distance Alert operate at higher speeds; BUS reveals your blind spots; DAC and LDW try to stop you falling asleep or straying out of lane; and IDIS delays phone calls while you deal with complex driving situations. These systems can be had along with Volvo’s renowned safety design and engineering assisted by Roll Stability Control, Hill Descent Control, Dynamic Stability and Traction Control, and Trailer Stability Assist. Oh, and there’s Park Assist…

Pulling Performance

The Volvo’s 90kg nose weight offers a good margin to accommodate most appropriate caravans, and rectangular, straight-edged door mirrors provide a better platform than many for towing mirrors.

The XC60 proved to be brisk, turning in a 0-60mph time of 14.5 seconds despite initial take-off being softened by the automatic gearbox.. Hill starts were equally as trouble-free. The outfit felt quite unruffled in urban conditions, possibly due to the assurance of City Safety, and with a 30-50mph time of 6.1 sec was rarely in danger of holding up other traffic. Normal auto mode coped well, smoothly finding itself in the right gear at the right time.

The steering could occasionally feel a bit weighty in tight, twisty urban conditions but improved at higher speeds to become smooth, responsive and accurate, where the Volvo felt in complete control through strings of minor-road bends. On steep descents manual gear selection could be useful, but the strong brakes with their various driver- assistance systems provided reassurance.

At motorway speeds the XC60 tracked straight and true, though on a very windy test day some buffeting was experienced, as was some enforced deviation offline from large overtaking trucks and coaches.

Ride comfort in all conditions was firm, though rarely uncomfortably so, and the XC60 managed to damp out the caravan’s bump reactions very competently over all but the worst ruts.

Verdict

Think of this SUV as a tall, slinky, blonde Swede that’ll never have a blonde moment, yet is very XC.

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Fine cars do not come cheap. Money spent on a car is usually next only to the investment that you make in real estate. Therefore, one has to be aware of periodic care and servicing in order to keep a car in ideal running condition for years. The maintenance drill for a car is a difficult and exhausting process. Every single element and detail of a car like its engine, windshield, body etc. have to be attended to carefully if you want your car to keep giving you a comfortable ride.

The exterior of a car can generally give a fair idea of how well it has been maintained. Hence no car maintenance process is complete without car polishing.

One needs foaming pads to apply car polish, and these pads are available in three different shapes and various sizes. These pads are designed to soak the polish to their centre rather then leaving it to move to their edges, and therefore they enable you to apply the polish smoothly.

Washing the car is necessary before you start polishing it. The car’s exterior should not have any dust or dirt settled on it. The car should be washed only with cleaning agents exclusively made for the purpose. After the car is polished, it must be waxed appropriately, as this makes the polish stay on the car’s body for a longer period of time.

Car polishing followed by a coating of wax not only gives the car a gleaming look but also checks corrosion of the car’s metallic body. With these two layers, the car is shielded from moisture and its corrosive effects. The revealed parts of your car’s body are especially susceptible to the damaging effects of rusting, and therefore scratches, no matter how negligible, should be made up by paint.

Car polishing involves a good amount of detail, and the correct amount of shine and gleam for a car can only be acquired if it is done correctly. That is why it is essential to hire the services of experts who can handle the job with skill and precision.

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We all want our cars to look clean and attractive, but most of us hardly have the time or the expertise to manage car grooming. This is what has created the whole car grooming industry.

Professionals in this business have all the basic expertise of car maintenance and servicing to give your vehicle total care. But with most of us racing against time, taking the car to the grooming company has become a luxury that few people can afford, and thus mobile car grooming companies have come up everywhere.

There are a lot of benefits for the vehicle owner if he goes for mobile car grooming. Most significantly, it saves you time and the hassle of having to drop your car with a grooming firm and then bringing it back. Mobile car grooming service is made available right at your door, which gives you an opportunity to enjoy your weekend as you want without worrying about your car.

It is also prudent to go for mobile car grooming if you want to ensure better protection for your vehicle. Recent research showed that when a car is left at the premises of a grooming firm, the people there normally end up being careless, which usually results in accidental harm to the car. However a mobile car grooming service works in your backyard and you can even supervise once in a while if everything is going well and if the staff looks skilled.

As far as the cost is concerned, it may seem to you initially that mobile car grooming services are more expensive, but actually there are many hidden costs that one usually ignores. When you consider all the costs involved in dropping your car at the premises of a grooming firm and bringing it back, along with the time that you end up wasting, you will realize that mobile car grooming turns out to be much cheaper than traditional grooming services.

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