Verdict
Buyers looking for a mid-market version of this popular floorplan have compelling offers from all UK manufacturers – many at lower prices than this from Coachman Caravans.
But spending a bit extra on the Pastiche 565 could be wise. The brand’s build quality and residuals are a big draw.
Sharp looks inside and out, plus features like the front sunroof, the Stargazer skylight and the excellent washroom make the 565 ideal for caravanners who don’t want to compromise.
Pros
Build quality is great and it has a lovely ambience
Counting stars through the Stargazer rooflight above the bed area could be a pleasant distraction for any sleep-deprived caravanners
Cons
With the fixed rear single beds lowered last season, the shelves above them are now set a little too high and storage beneath is reduced
Coachman’s upper mid-market Pastiche received only incremental changes last year, and a similar strategy has been used for 2018.
This season’s Coachman caravans will focus on maintaining build quality across the board, so selected improvements have been applied to Pastiche, which goes forward with no changes to head count.
Some features from the upmarket VIP range have flowed into Pastiche, such as Fenix NTM kitchen worktops and new washroom splashbacks, to sit alongside refreshed soft furnishings and various detail changes.
Here we review the four-berth 565, one of three fixed-bed models in the Pastiche range.
It carries the popular fixed twin single beds sleeping arrangement, with a washroom across the back of the van.
And to see other Coachman caravans for sale, click here.
It’s ideal for caravanners who don’t want to compromise
Pitching & Setting-up
The 2018 Coachman Pastiche rides on an Al-Ko galvanised chassis with smart alloy wheels, a buttonless handbrake and Al-Ko ATC.
All the service connections are on the offside, with external gas and mains points on the nearside.
These have been upgraded to Whale ‘Easy Slide’ units, with covers instead of flaps so they won’t work loose and flap around during towing.
Entrance to the 565 is via a one-piece door with half-length window.
Gas bottles store at the front of the van in a central locker, which is wide enough for other touring essentials.
Under the offside lounge window you’ll find the battery box and mains hook-up connection.
Living
A new interior design awaits Coachman Pastiche buyers this season, and some contemporary styling cues have also been added.
Subtle piping in the cream-coloured seat backs mirrors a detail found at the bottom of the curtain tiebacks.
The seating has a plain design, with a lighter section along the top of the backs.
Ambient lighting extends to LED over-locker lights and smart directional spotlights in all four lounge corners.
Other Coachman staples underscore the Pastiche 565 lounge’s pleasing ambience.
There’s a deep panoramic skylight above the three windows, and speakers mounted at shoulder height in the front lounge corners that project the sound into the living space, rather than down into the lounge seating.
Conversion of the lounge area into one for dining is straightforward, thanks to a folding-leaf table that stows in the midships wardrobe, and the centre chest’s well-crafted slide-out extension.
Kitchen
Compact but sensibly laid out, the 565’s offside kitchen is certainly up to catering for two or more guests.
An oblong sink sits left of a Thetford dual-fuel cooker, part of a unit featuring a separate oven and grill.
A stainless-steel microwave is mounted high above the cooker, to the right of two overhead lockers with enough height inside to accept boxes of cereal.
Perishable foodstuffs can be stowed in the 90-litre dual-fuel fridge at the opposite end of the kitchen unit to the cooker.
The use of additional appliances is restricted, though, by only one mains socket on the left-hand edge of the kitchen unit.
With no tip-up worktop extension available here, cooks will need to deploy the cooker lid and sink infill to maximise the food preparation space.
Washroom
The Coachman Pastiche 565 is home to a spacious end washroom, accessed via a door in the gangway between the twin beds.
A generous shower compartment occupies the washroom’s nearside rear corner.
Fully moulded, with a riser containing the mixer tap and shower attachment, it has a single door to keep spray away from the rest of the washroom.
Opposite the shower is a swivelling Thetford cassette toilet, under a frosted window with a blind.
A smart vanity station occupies the centre of the washroom’s rear wall, comprising a half-length mirror above an oblong sink and a shelved cupboard.
Another cupboard is provided, to the left of the mirror.
Washroom illumination is courtesy of a frosted offside window and centrally mounted rooflight, plus task lighting in the wooden unit on the rear wall.
With plenty of room in this area, plus an Alde towel-drying radiator, this space also doubles as a pleasant dressing room.
Beds
A main benefit of the Coachman Pastiche 565’s fixed twin single-beds floorplan is providing a sleeping space that allows occupants to reach the washroom without disturbing others.
Coachman lowered the beds last season, for easier entry and exit. Both beds measure a tad over 6ft, which should suit most buyers.
A small shelf above the headboard will take phones and spectacles, although with the lowered beds, it is a little higher than we’d like.
During longer summer evenings, the Stargazer rooflight, introduced last season, will be a popular feature.
A 230V mains socket, in the nearside bed box, will be ideal for charging gadgets overnight.
Storage
There are 10 overhead lockers spread across the lounge and rear bedroom of this Coachman caravan, with a further two in the kitchen.
Storage is also available in the lounge seat boxes and the rear bed boxes, where the offside one offers the most available space, and these all lift on gas struts for ease of use.
The nearside rear bed box can be accessed from an external hatch, making loading and unloading touring kit easier.
Technical Specifications
| Berth | 4 |
| MiRO | 1391 kg |
| Payload | 154 kg |
| MTPLM | 1545 kg |
| Shipping Length | 7.38 m |
| Width | 2.26 m |
