Adria Twin Forums

griffly16

Hi, This is a reply to a PM request for someone thinking of an Adria Twin. I just thought it might be useful for others who are considering buying one:

Hi there

I'm sure you would get a better (balanced) response if this was posted in the general forums, but no problem with answering your questions....

Yes, we bought ours 2nd hand in June 2006 through a private sale. Good price compared to what dealers were asking in the UK.

Pros:
- Good to drive. Prefer it to driving my Renault car.
- Good build quality. Everything seems solid.
- For the size of the van it has everything we need - fixed bed was a must for us, we don't want to have to make up the bed every night.
- Pretty good (permanent-ish) dining area. I can stay up and read, etc, while my wife goes to bed at the back of the van.
- bed has good mattress and is comfortable
- excellent storage - overhead lockers everywhere and pretty good wardrobe.
- storage under bed is huge. No problem in going cross-channel to fill up with wine
- small enough to get down some really narrow roads in Cornwall, West Wales and the Lake District.

Cons:
- shower room is 'compact' although I will say that both myself and wife use it every day for a shower.
- to be honest it's fine for us two, but it is compact due to the fixed bed. Not much room to pass each other in the kitchen/bathroom area.
- 2.3JTD engine is pretty good, but could do with a bit more power to pull up long hills (if you want to do 70mph+ ..! If not then it's fine.) I don't think this is just for Adrias, all have the same issue.

General:
- fuel economy - I think about 27mpg on average. On a two-week holiday to France in September the best was 32mpg and worst 25mpg when hammering down the toll-roads (85mph....)
- we've done 15000 miles in 18 months and absolutely love it. We've been to Bruges 3 times, France twice (10-15 days each time) and many, many short trips in the UK. It's cosy, warm and great.
- I believe it's winterised as it's from Slovenia but couldn't confirm 100% as we've never been out for long periods of time in freezing temperatures, although we have been for 2-3 nights in sub-zero temps without a problem - the gas heating is fine.
- insurance - we pay approx £450 in the UK but don't have a clue as to what that cost would be where you are. Ours is parked on a public road outside the house so that would increase the premium.
- it's supposedly a 3-berth but last year we went for a weekend with two friends. They had the main bed and myself and wife had the 3rd 'child berth' which is only meant for one. For two nights it was ok, not great, but ok. 4 Adults in the van was better than I thought - mind you, I'm only 5'8" and my wife is smaller so if you're big, don't try it......
- We got the campervan 'bug' after hiring one to go around Scotland for my 40th birthday last year. Trigano Tribute - it was great and we loved the freedom it gave us, but the Adria Twin is much better (for us anyway - fixed bed clinched it).

My overall recommendation would be that if you've got the money and you're after a smallish van, go for it. The amount of pleasure it gives you is almost unmeasurable. Stressed at work? Get in the van and go somewhere for the weekend... you won't be thinking about work for long...

Cheers
Griff

rowley

A search of the Forum will produce a mass of info on the Twin. I have the 2007 model.

gelathae

I'm a panel van fan and sat in an Adria twin today at the Shepton Malet show. (Very wet but that's another story).

I was very disappointed with the Adria Twin. Apart from my reservations about Fiat's I thought the fixed bed took up too much room and the dining area was ludicrously small. But the thing I found to be worst was how uncomfortable the passenger seat was in its swivelled position. I'm 6ft 1" but still coul'nt get my feet on the ground as the step was so high.

For the money the Trigano Tribute seemed to be good value but that also suffered from the high step problem negating the value of the swivel seat. I also tried out the Timberlands but the cost was frankly ridiculous at around £47000 for a reasonably specced model. Autosleeper panel vans seemed pretty good but pricey but at least they were comfortable.

The twin was a real option for my Autosleeper Duetto but having tried it out I'm sticking with what I've got for the moment but want to look at vehicles based on the Renault Master such as those on offer from Devon Conversions.

In my view, having sampled a number at today's show, the Adria Twin was by far the worst.

oldenstar

Interesting comments- I was also a very wet Shepton Malleter today.
I too am really a Panel Van fan, and have a 2007 Tribute 550, which to my mind is still the best value for money of them all, looking at what you get for the price.
However, deciding we needed a fixed bed, I too was put off by the price of the PVC fixed bed alternatives, especially wanting to keep all the bells and whistles we have with the Tribute.
In the end we have gone for a low profile Mooveo, based on sheer value for money, around 6m in length, and the Pilote heritage.
What about Shepton in the (very) wet-the NEC it aint!

Greciano

T'was I who PM'd Griff (referred to above), as after much research I'd decided the Twin best suited my personal requirements, and I wanted advice from an owner on broad issues eg economy, driveability, insurance etc etc, and Griff came up trumps.

I had already carried out a search of the forums, as suggested by Rowley, but found the bulk of the threads were concerned with questions/answers on specifics such as eg awnings, lights, beds etc etc.

I've also taken onboard what gelathae says, so trying to remain open-minded!

Should any current, or former, Twin owners have anything to add to the above, I for one shall be grateful.

Thanks
Ian

Shark

Well, I looked around a Twin a couple of months ago and liked it a lot. As ever, compromise is the name of the game, so it depends where your priorities lie. All too many panel vans only have one rear passenger seat, which eliminates them from the shortlist for me. The Twin has two rear setas with proper belts. Its fixed bed is reknowned for comfort and solidity. The space underneath is enormous and would be ideal for our two travelling dogs. The small diner isn't an issue either, as I'd like to think we'd be outdoors much of the time. We can always lounge on the bed, so it's not a great problem. The dangly leg thing has been mentioned for a number of conversions, so it's not particuarly unusual.

Adria do the Van M on the Renault chassis, so that's an option for those who don't want the fixed bed. Devon are a direct comparison in many ways to Adria, but they will be a long way away for most people, and they're a much smaller outfit, so a wait to purchase is likely. What I particularly liked about the Adria option, is that they can be found in many locations, so there's a bit of choice out there with dealers not too far away - certainly an advantage when returning for any warranty work.

Something else about the Twin: Because Adria has a prolific output all over Europe, there are many about in LHD, so importing is an option. I think that Europe's pricing also stops the UK's being too daft, as it's easy to make a direct comparison. A decent spec RHD Twin can be had for the low 30s, which compares very well with most other PVCs. Yes, the Tribute is a bit cheaper, but I don't see them with aircon and I've read too many comments as to suspect build quality of the conversion. The Adria seems to be a step up for not much more money.

I think it also helps that the Twin has featured in long term magazine tests of late, and received a big thumbs up. If I had the finance right now, I wouldn't hesitate to buy the Twin. Nothing else comes close for us.

Shaun

b6x

rowley

Quote--
I was very disappointed with the Adria Twin

The things mentioned by gelathae are not a problem for me. Agreed the bed is large, but it is certainly comfortable. Adria could have trimmed a bit off the width of the bed and increased the size of the diner I suppose. The only niggle is the lack of worktop in the kitchen but I have carried out some modifications to get around that. I must admit that the toilet seat is rather high off the floor. Not sure why they did that. When on hookup the engine battery is charged at the same time as the leisure battery, I find that very useful. The led rooflight bulbs are a bit iffy due to poor soldering, (Chinese I think). They can be re-soldered.

Broadlane Leisure at Daventry supplied my Twin and their after sales back up has been faultless

b6x