Just after it went on sale, the Elddis Affinity 540 picked up the most prestigious gong in the business: Practical Caravan’s Tourer of the Year 2013. It was an impressive start. Our judges were bowled over by this caravan, praising its cutting-edge construction method, stylish interior, low weight and competitive price. It’s a great interpretation of Britain’s most popular caravan layout – the nearside-fixed-bed, end-washroom.

For 2013, Elddis has rolled out a new way of building its caravans. ‘SoLiD’ (strong, light and dry) construction does away with screws to fasten the body panels together, replacing them with an insert join fixed with water-repellent adhesive. This makes for stronger bodyshells that can be produced in a variety of shapes, so caravans built using SoLiD can be attractive as well as robust.

The model tested is an Affinity 540. Affinity caravans are firmly pitched towards the top of the mid-market segment, packing must-have goodies, including the Alde wet central heating system and a flat-screen TV/DVD player as standard. More plush points are racked up thanks to interiors that borrow styling cues from Elddis’s upmarket Buccaneer brand, which brings comfort and sophistication into the reach of more buyers.