Last season, the lion’s share of development at Lunar Caravans went into improving the Lexon, luxury Clubman and twin-axle Delta ranges. Each benefitted from stylish new bodyshells that brought their exteriors bang up to date, despite not offering fashionable sunroofs. Instead, they all got one-piece roofs from front to back, flat aluminium sidewalls and redesigned front ends, echoing the smooth, futuristic look adopted by rivals.

Lexon got integrated LED lights, a redesigned and enlarged gas locker, shock absorbers and the Al-Ko ATC anti-snaking system as standard. The front windows were bigger, too, and the heater more desirable – it got Alde’s premium wet central radiator system, which boosts the line-up’s year-round caravanning credentials.

For 2014, Quasar grabbed most of the limelight, but Lexon quietly added a new two-berth, the 470, which undergoes our full live-in test treatment here. The two-berth 470 inherits its end-washroom layout from the Clubman CK, which also features a very spacious end washroom with two wardrobes.

Like its big UK rivals, Lunar spent a lot of time in the run-up to the current model year thinking long and hard about how it builds caravans and how to do it better. For years, Lunar’s reputation for producing the lightest tourers on the market served it well and attracted greater market share year on year. At its summer press preview for 2014 models, Lunar said its market share had grown from 8% in 2008 to nearly 15%.

In recent seasons, however, its competitors have responded by driving weights down for their own vans, while Lunar’s designers have made bodyshells larger. So for this season, Lunar has set out to reclaim centre stage as the leader in lightweight tourers. It’s done so with a new interior wall material that it claims chops up to 60kg from the MiROs of its largest models.

Lunar calls this new approach to construction Core. The traditional plywood inner wall was replaced with a material called ThermHex – a board comprising plastic skin flanking a polypropylene honeycomb core. It’s covered with the usual decorative PVC, so the only visual clue is the single horizontal board joint made possible by its large sheets. According to Lunar, the strength and durability of the new construction has been proven by simulated life testing on track, in cooperation with chassis supplier Al-Ko.

Will the two-berth 470’s low weight and high kit levels be enough to make it the first choice of rallying couples? And how will it fare on layout and pricing against such rivals as the Bailey Pegasus GT65 Genoa or the Swift Challenger SE 480? Our test team investigates.