Verdict
It’s great to see a manufacturer trying to do something a little different, and Adria should be applauded for that. Does the Adria Adora 432DT Loire work? In the main, yes. Our only reservation centres on the lounge and bed configuration. If you want to stretch out during the day, or to have single beds, then the 2016 Adria Adora 432DT Loire isn’t for you.
Browse through caravans for sale and check out our other new caravan reviews to see a range of alternative options.
However, if you can live with the quirks of the Adria Adora 432DT Loire then what you do get is a very attractive and solidly built caravan for the price, with a great kitchen and small but perfectly formed end-washroom. On top of that, our Practical Caravan Owner Satisfaction Awards suggests that Adria caravans give their owners many years of good, reliable service.
Pros
Excellent kitchen
Attractive and functional washroom
Vast wardrobe
Good storage in general
GRP bodywork is more resistant to knocks
The sunroof opens a little
Cons
Small lounge
Unlined shower cubicle
TV is mounted across the door
Main table storage is inconvenient
Only two reading lights in the lounge
Slovenian manufacturer Adria has been building importing caravans to the UK since 1971. With their distinctive styling, Adria caravans couldn’t really be mistaken for anything other than being Continental. That said, they have become more Anglicised over the past few years (or is it that our home-grown caravans are more Continental in style?), and thanks to that Adria often makes interesting variations on UK themes.
Take the Adria Adora 432DT Loire, for instance. This is a two-berth end-washroom model, but by moving the wardrobe into the main living area and thereby keeping the washroom compact, Adria has enhanced the kitchen space tremendously.
With its GRP (or GFK in Adria-speak) body construction, not only does the Adora look good, but it should be durable too.
The £15,995 on-the-road price includes Adria’s Anniversary Pack which comprises of alloy wheels, Al-Ko wheel lock receiver, removable carpets, ambient LED lighting, drainer and sink cover, so on the face of it, the 2016 Adria Adora 432 DT Loire does look excellent value. And to see other Adria caravans for sale, click here.
As you enter this excellent full-width end-washroom, you are faced with an attractive vanity unit, where a clear bowl sits atop a good sized cupboard unit
Pitching & Setting-up
The Adria Adora 432DT Loire is built on Al-Ko running gear, including the Delta-axle which is said to improve stability, and includes an AKS3004 stabiliser, but unsurprisingly at this price, not the ATC stability control.
We certainly think that it’s a good-looking caravan, enhanced by grey graphics and body trim, and chrome-finish grab-handles. There’s the popular sunroof set between a pair of matching acrylic panels. You’ll notice that the step-on A-frame is much longer than we’re used to seeing on UK models, something else that is believed to improve towing stability.
Opening the front locker reveals not only space for a pair of gas bottles, but also the spare wheel. The lid lifts high up and out of the way, so you shouldn’t bang your head on it.
Surprisingly at this level, heavy-duty corner steadies are fitted (although those at the front aren’t the easiest things to reach), and on the nearside, not only is there an external gas BBQ point, but also a wet locker including an integral mains socket.
The offside is home to the services, although the waste water outlets are tucked underneath quite a way.
The main electrical controls are neatly stacked just inside the entrance door.
Living
The lounge is perhaps one of the areas that gives the Loire’s Continental origins and its marketplace standing away. There’s U-shaped seating, but oddly for this layout, the seats are rather short. There’s a small flip-up table at the front, but we suspect that the main table will be called into duty regularly, and getting this out of its storage next to the entrance door is a bit of a faff.
During the daytime, it’s a bright and airy place to be, thanks not only to the huge sunroof, but also to the light tones of the fabrics and woodwork, including some very modern-looking trim underneath the overhead lockers. When it’s dark, there’s adequate lighting, but there’s only a pair of reading lights, tucked right in the front corners, which flip down so that you can adjust the angle.
If you want to watch TV, an aerial is a dealer-fitted extra. The TV itself mounts on a wall bracket that folds out from the end of the wardrobe next to the entrance door, which is a bit odd.
Kitchen
The modern-looking kitchen is one of the strong points in the Loire. There’s a Dometic three burner hob, and an integrated stainless steel sink with smart mixer tap. By placing the burners in a line, Adria has allowed for some work surface in front, together with a decent area to the left. There’s also a very attractive splashback.
In the main unit, there’s a separate Thetford oven and grill, and between the main unit and the washroom wall, you’ll find a Thetford tower fridge-freezer.
Storage space is amazing in the Adria Adora 432DT Loire. To the left of the main unit, there’s a cupboard housing a pair of pull-out baskets, and then between the oven and the fridge there are a pair of massive drawers (with soft-close). Added to that are two drop-down flaps.
Up above are a pair of large overhead lockers, although if you have a microwave it would take up some of this space. One isn’t fitted as standard, although there is a socket, evidently intended for a microwave. The only drawback to that is that it would be a high 1.59m from the floor.
This caravan’s lighting is pretty good, too, and there’s a single mains socket above the worktop for a kettle.
Washroom
“Ergo bathroom with hotel-style finishes” is how Adria describes its Adora caravan washrooms. As you enter this excellent full-width rear washroom, you are faced with an attractive vanity unit, where a clear bowl sits atop a good sized cupboard unit.
Above the sink is a large mirror, flanked on both sides by tall, narrow cupboards, each with three shelves; perfect for storing all your paraphernalia. It looks great and is also very practical.
The unlined shower is in the rear nearside corner. As a bonus, you do get a hanging rail for towels, a pop-up roof vent, a face-height mirror and a blown-air heating outlet.
The Thetford electric flush toilet sits below an opening opaque window on the offside. You even get a natty toilet brush in its own holder!
The light switches are perhaps a little inconveniently positioned, as they’re on the outside of the vanity unit, next to the toilet.
Beds
Unless you are of very diminutive size, a double bed is the only option in the Loire. Making it up is easy, as bases slide out from each seat to meet in the middle. It’s then simply a case of removing the small cushion that forms the U-shape, and dropping the backrests into the middle. The double bed measures 2.12m x 1.54m.
If you do prefer to use it as twin singles the sizes are 1.54m x 0.74m (nearside) 1.55m x 0.74m (offside).
This could be where lighting might be an issue. We’ve mentioned that there are is only a pair of reading lamps tucked in the front corners, so the occupant nearest the kitchen end doesn’t get their own. A bit stingy perhaps?
Storage
Because of their length the front seats don’t offer a vast amount of storage beneath them. The external wet locker on the nearside encroaches quite a bit, although you should be able to squeeze bedding around it. The offside one is home to the water heater and various electrical equipment.
Up above, there are a couple of good sized overhead lockers; the offside one also being home to the radio/CD (if fitted).
We’ve covered kitchen storage. Opposite the kitchen, on the nearside, is a huge double-doored wardrobe. The main hanging area, that sits above the Truma space heater will easily swallow a couple’s clothing, even in the depths of winter. The other part has no fewer than six good sized shelves (and floor space at the bottom).
If all that’s not enough, there’s another set of shelves within the table storage cupboard.
Technical Specifications
| Berth | 2 |
| MiRO | 1170 kg |
| Payload | 130 kg |
| MTPLM | 1300 kg |
| Shipping Length | 6.42 m |
| Width | 2.3 m |
