Bailey’s Phoenix+ is one of two ranges updated this summer to coincide with the company’s 75th birthday. Now renamed Phoenix GT75, it retains six models, with the five-berth 650 rejigged to become the six-berth 762. We saw the Bailey Phoenix GT75 762 at the factory, the day after the firm’s birthday party.

Pitch and set-up

The 762 is a twin-axle caravan, and is the longest and heaviest of the new Phoenix models. Despite this, it has an MTPLM of just 1636kg, so you might not need a gas-guzzler to tow it.

The new-look van comes with a fetching GT75 logo on the side, as well as decals that are on the pink side of purple. There’s an external locker on the front nearside, which is perfect for outdoor furniture. You get another on the offside at the back, but the access and the locker itself aren’t quite as good.

Both hook-up and cassette access are on the offside, away from any awning.

Lounge

The Phoenix+ 650 had the door just behind the lounge, before you got to the kitchen and side dinette. In the 762, it has been moved behind the side dinette, in front of the washroom. You get a sizeable ‘hall’ with three shelves, a hanging rail and a mirror.

The lounge table is stored in its own space to the right of the door. This is not the ideal spot for table storage: whoever fetches it has to get past not just the cook, but those in the side dinette, too.

Lounge of Bailey Phoenix GT75 762
Sonos Bluetooth speaker is a classy addition to the lounge

That dinette has its own clip-on table, so if you were just making supper for the kids, it might be easier to use this. There is one spotlight and a mains socket, but no USBs.

The lounge is very spacious, with easily enough room for all six of you to relax in. It’s full of light, too, thanks partly to the large central window. At night, ambient light extends to the front, and you also get two spotlights, one with a USB.

But perhaps the biggest change in the living area comes in the provision of audio. Bailey has done away with any radio: pleasingly, what you have instead is a Sonos Bluetooth speaker, at the rear of the sideboard. That’s an upmarket brand for a caravan that not so long ago was Bailey’s entry-level range.

The sideboard also has sockets for a television (and be sure to check out our best caravan TV guide if you’re looking for one).

Kitchen in the Bailey Phoenix GT75 762

There is enough room by the sink in the main part of the kitchen to put a caravan kettle and a toaster, with sockets close by, and still have space for basic food prep. For more complicated dishes, there’s space on the sideboard, even if you bring a TV along.

Kitchen
Flat cupboards, rather than overhead lockers, distinguish the kitchen from the lounge

The sideboard also houses a half-height fridge – possibly a touch small for the food of six. But in the kitchen, you get a 700W Russell Hobbs microwave, a separate oven and grill and a four-burner hob.

Beds in the Bailey Phoenix GT75 762

One of the most important considerations when you’re looking for the best 6 berth caravan will be the sleeping arrangements.

The settees are long enough to form single beds, but with slats pulling out from under the central chest, they easily make up a comfortable double if you prefer.

The two permanent bunks come with their own windows, and reading lights with USBs. They can be individually curtained off.

The side dinette makes a single bed, or you can set up the temporary bunk for a sixth sleeping space. You only need one small infill cushion. With this bunk curtained off along with the fixed bunks, there is only a narrow gangway to the washroom, a reasonable sacrifice for a cosier layout.

Sixth sleeping space
Fold down the bunk over the side dinette for a sixth sleeping space

Washroom in the Bailey Phoenix GT75 762

The spacious rear washroom has a nearside shower cubicle, accessed via a concertina door, which has its own light and roof vent, but only one drainage hole and no soapdish. Outside are plenty of hooks for towels. The square basin is paired with a large mirror.

Storage in the Bailey Phoenix GT75 762

The nearside underseat locker is clear, but the offside area houses the heater. There are no internal access flaps, and you have to remove the cushions to raise the slats. Along with corner shelves up front, there are two overhead lockers on each side of the lounge, and two more over the side dinette, with some shelving in between.

There is more underbed storage with external access below the bottom bunk, but accessing this from inside involves lifting the mattress, and the ladder slightly gets in the way. The single seats in the side dinette house the fuse box and battery, but also have some storage.

The wardrobe on the offside of the washroom has a huge hanging rail, three shelves, and a large area at the bottom for shoes. In the washroom itself, there’s a cupboard under the basin, a shallower one above the toilet, and some shelving.

Below the kitchen worktop is a drawer and two cupboards with shelves. There’s a medium-sized pan locker under the oven.

Verdict on the Bailey Phoenix GT75 762

Family vans where the kids are partitioned off at the back have become very common, so it’s good to see Bailey offering a more sociable caravan layout. The beds are flexible and storage is plentiful. The Sonos speaker adds quite a bit of class in the lounge.

What we like:

  • Sonos speaker, bright interior, adaptable beds

What we don’t like:

  • Some storage tricky to access, table a long way from lounge

Or you could try:

Technical spec of the Bailey Phoenix GT75 762

  • Price: £27499
  • Berths: 6
  • MiRO: 1456kg
  • Payload: 180kg
  • MTPLM: 1636kg
  • Interior length: 6.61m
  • Shipping length: 7.86m
  • Overall width: 2.21m

Spec list

  • AKS 3004 stabiliser
  • Truma Combi heating
  • Dometic 98-litre fridge
  • Thetford K-series oven
  • Grill and four-burner hob
  • Sonos speaker
  • Mains sockets
  • USB ports
  • Front double: 1.34 x 1.87m or two singles: 1.92 x 0.62m
  • Permanent bunk beds: 1.86 x 0.68m
  • Rear offside single and fold-out bunk: 1.73 x 0.66m

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