Coogee Calling
Since it acquired rights to the Winnebago name, the Apollo group has slowly been building up its range of motorhomes, updating previous Talvor designs or building new ones – some with slide-outs and some without.
For a greater range of design variety, Winnebago is also employing the full range of current vehicle platforms available – from the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, to the Fiat Ducato and Iveco Daily.
Today ’s test subject – one of the company ’s most recent releases –the slide-out fitted Coogee, comes with an Iveco cab chassis.
This Iveco Daily 50C17 comes in a standard form, with a 3.0L 125kW/430Nm turbo-diesel and a 4495kg GVM rating.
There are a couple of options available here – one is the more powerful twin turbo 150kW/470Nm engine and the other, an uprated 5200kg chassis (requiring an LR licence).
Whatever the power/chassis rating, each comes with a fully automatic eight speed gearbox.
Now, a little weight calculation: the Coogee has a Tare weight of 3600kg and with the lower chassis rating, that gives a payload of 595kg. After taking into account the drive and passenger, plus a full water tank, that still gives about 300kg of payload.
However, if you are planning on carrying four passengers on a regular basis, the uprated chassis would be a worthy consideration.
Like many of its contemporaries, the Coogee is built using fibreglass composite panels with an insulating foam core. The exception is the nose cone and rear wall, which are moulded fibreglass.
Dometic doors and windows are used all round and, on the nearside, the Thule awning just about covers the entry door and rear window area.
SLIDING SECTIONS
One of the major features included in the 7.8m Coogee's body construction is the offside slide-out models it looks relatively small.
There are two external storage bins, not including those for the gas cylinders and toilet cassette tank. Both are on the nearside and the upper one is accessible from the inside also. Neither is particularly large, but you'll get some of your essential camping gear in.
With this layout the entry door sits right behind the passenger cab. It opens into the front dinette area oppsite, with the kitchen bench running along the nearside wall next to the doorway.
Behind the kitchen, the slide-out holds the east-west bed, leaving the rear for a full-width bathroom.
Generally speaking, the decor has a light touch to it, a mixture of glossy whites and a finish that Winnebago calls 'Timeo Pine' for the laminates.
Windows in all the right spots and a large roof hatch do much for the general light levels.
TAKE A SEAT
Up front, there are a couple of options for the seating. Both cab sears swivel around, with the usual fiddling involved with the driver's seat, due to the handbrake location.
But there's a choice of a side ways- facing lounge seat and accompanying table, or a forward facing pair of seats with an extendable table. Our review model was fitted with the sideways facing lounge. Both arrangements have their benefits, but passengers would probably prefer the forward facing seats and these do work in better with the swivelled cab seats to form a cosy dinette area.
Although not the most sophisticated table mounting, Winnebago has effectively stabilised the table by using two pole mounts, rather than the widely used single pole.
As is common in Winnebago motorhomes, there’s a Luton bed built in above the driver’s cab. This bed measures 2.2x1.34m and is fixed in position.
My preference is for the Luton beds that can be lifted out of the way when not being used, as I find getting to and from the cab can be quite awkward with a fixed build, and makes using the cab seats for lounging less than a fluid move.
LOADED KITCHEN
At the kitchen bench; however, the Coogee scores well. A double powerpoint is fitted at the end of the bench near the entry door, which might not be the convenient location, but there is also a second one fitted on the other side of the low partition between the kitchen and the bedroom.
Opposite the kitchen bench is where both the 190L three-way fridge and microwave are to be found, both at user friendly heights. Above the microwave is an overhead locker housing most of the electrical controls, including the 240V circuit breakers, 12V switching, slide-out, battery monitor and water tank gauges. Below there are fusion radio and a little compartment complete with a lone 12V/5V USB charger point.
BED TIME
Butting up against the offside wall of the slide-out, the bed measures 1.85x1.53m. It sits on a metal-framed posture-slatted bed base that can be lifted to get to the storage space underneath. It's a fairly nominal amount of room and only really suitable for smaller items.
Fitted to either side of the bed are a small set of shelves and a reading light on both sides, but the switches for these aren't easily reachable from the prone position - no falling gently asleep. Both sets of shelves do have handy 5V USB charger points fitted, though.
Watching the TV from bed is as easy as it ought to be, with a flatscreen fitted to the end of the kitchen's overhead lockers. If swung out, the TV can also be viewed from the front seats, but not from the forward facing alternative, if fitted.
Something that the slide-out bed fixture does allow is a low cabinet of drawers and cupboards along the nearside wall, along with a narrow, full-height cupboard - all adding greatly to the available storage.
There are two wardrobe-style cabinets between the fridge and the bedroom area too, but curiously neither has hanging rails fitted.
Across the rear, the bathroom comes in a fairly standard format with nearside shower cubicle, offside cassette toilet and well kitted-out vanity cabinet with cupboards below, pedestal wash basin in the middle and mirrored shaving cabinets above.
In the rear offside corner, the cupboard area is designed to fit an optional top-loading washing machine. Bathroom ventilation comes from a fan hatch above the shower, and a small window above the loo.
POWER ON TAP
One of the immediately apparent benefits of driving the Iveco Daily is that it's a very capable light commercial vehicle.
In this case, it is well within its weight design limits, so at no time does it have that fully-loaded feel when driving.
Certainly, the 3.0L engine can deliver grunt when needed and there's always the option of the twin turbo for those who like a little more right foot response.
The eight-speed fully-auto gearbox also shows none f the hesitation of the automated manual versions.
It will be even better once Iveco does something about the handbrake mechanism/location (hello, Benz Sprinter!) But Winnebago, why did you have to leave the standard Iveco stereo in place and not fit something a little classier?
