When Bailey launched the fourth generation of its upmarket Unicorn range last year, one popular model, the Seville, had been given a bit of a facelift.

Its washroom, which used to straddle the rear of the van, was squeezed into a corner to allow for an L-shaped kitchen in the rear nearside corner.

It seems Bailey aficionados missed that large washroom, because it’s now back in the newest addition to the Unicorn fleet. But the Merida doesn’t replace the Seville, which continues in its new guise.

Bailey has gone even further afield to find another Spanish city to name this caravan after. Merida is in the Extremadura, not far from the Portuguese border – well away from the touristy region, but certainly a place to discover.

Is the new caravan, complete with all of the goodies we have already found in the Unicorns, also something of a discovery? We took it to Bath Chew Valley Park to find out.

Design

The Merida is a new model, not a new range, so you get the fourth-generation Unicorn look that we’ve all become accustomed to. Full-height ABS moulding up front surrounds a large window, which only opens a short way, but does let in plenty of light.

The panel below the windows at the front is more sparse than some previous generations of Unicorn: the fancy moulding that some people thought looked like a moustache has gone, and instead, you just get two grab handles.

Thanks to the re-engineered lounge interior, the reduction of the front sill and the removal of the front gas bottle locker, the front settees are a bit more visible from outside than they might have been in the past.

A single bold decal line runs down the side of the caravan, interrupted only by a large ‘B’ for Bailey. And round the back there is one single grab handle, with enough space for plenty of hands to take hold if you get stuck somewhere.

You barely notice that the heavy-duty corner steadies fitted on this caravan are only present at the back.