Hello, Flower

Horizon’s new Waratah provides ample seating for four plus a single bed layout at the rear

Words and Images by: Des Coombs

Nothing is better than having a sense of space in a motorhome. Yet you will always be confined by your vehicle measuring less than the width of one lane of the road – excepting slide-outs, of course – and also by the practicalities of vehicle length, too.

This is where the high-roof vans like the Horizon Waratah are just that one step better than a campervan. Such a difference to be able to spread your wings a little and have some headroom.

Sure, the Horizon camp is not the only one to make the most of this opportunity, but there are some that do it better than others. Let’s see what Horizon has made of it…

The Horizon Waratah opens at $123,500, but as tested the price rose to $134,000 on the road in NSW.

This price includes the following optional accessories: twin dinette seat, flyscreens to the side door and rear door, Mercedes-Benz Navi Pack, Kangaroo leather seats, reversing camera and 200W solar panels.

CAB AND CHASSIS

Mercedes-Benz knows a little about car and commercial vehicle-making, so you would hope this far along it would still know what it is doing. The Sprinter is a well-built, competent basis for any motorhome. The engine is a turbocharged diesel of 2.1-litre displacement and with 120kW and 360Nm outputs. The transmission is a seven-speed automatic with lock-up clutch, and drives the rear wheel set. The Sprinter does come in a four-wheel drive model, and this is also offered by Horizon with the Waratah.

This facelifted Sprinter was introduced in 2013 and meets the upcoming Euro VI emissions standard. Euro VI drastically reduces the emission limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx), total hydrocarbons (THC), and particulate mass. The Sprinter meets the new requirements with the help of its BlueTEC engine and SCR technology that injects AdBlue into the exhaust gas.

ON THE ROAD

Although it is a tall vehicle and feels it, the Waratah doesn’t feel ponderous or too large on the road, and is very responsive off the mark. The rack-and-pinion steering is direct and delivers good feel.

The engine is not too rattly for a diesel and is relatively smooth, while the seven-speed automatic is for the better part smooth and decisive.

This version of the Waratah has the optional - plus two bench, meaning four occupants can be seated while travelling. The driver has a commanding view of the road although the bonnet can’t be seen easily (it drops away sharply) and so you have to remind yourself at first to allow for it when moving the motorhome around in tight spaces.

The seats are typically German firm but historically this makes for a comfortable touring seat for most people. No complaints there.

INSIDE

The Waratah has a sliding door to access the rear compartment, and an electric fold-out step makes the step up that bit easier. The control panel for electrics and water is housed on the bulkhead above the kitchenette, and is a simple, easily accessed bank of switches.

A clever option fitted to the test motorhome was the flyscreened door openings. While not a revolutionary idea, it certainly pays to consider this option to keep out unwanted guests from the cabin. [Happy hour, Des? - Ed.]

The set-up is not terribly involved, as should be the case with a good motorhome. Swivelling the front seats around, sliding the dinette table into the preferred position and perhaps winding out the awning is all that’s required to have the Waratah ready to start camping.

The swivelling front seats somehow feel a little disconnected from the dinette area - perhaps a table fitted on an adjustable pole could address this.

The dinette table can be removed and fitted outside on the motorhome if desired.

There are large storage lockers along the bulkhead above the dinette and again above the beds in this single-beds-layout motorhome.

The relatively generous 1915mm ceiling height reduces to 1750mm at the rear of the layout as there is a step-up to the bed area. While at first glance this might seem unnecessary, it allows for a generous slide-out drawer to be built into the floor area - a perfect storage location for shoes or other gear - and also means the step up onto the beds is not excessive. It works well.

There is lots of LED lighting throughout the cabin and also a fair degree of natural light available through the hopper windows. This design of motorhome restricts the hight of windows available along the sides – although the barn door windows at the rear are huge – but here it doesn’t appear to have reduced the abundance of natural light drawn into the cabin, especially since the large pop-up hatch at the rear and the ventilation fan at the front also pull in a fair bit of light.

The subtle shades of contrasting grey chosen for the seat material work well with the rest of the decor, which is a conservative blond timber look.

CATERING

The Waratah design allows the kitchen to have a wide aisle past it meaning that you can be cooking while your partner can get past you to the bed area. The bench space is quite generous even if you open the fold-up glass tops over the combined sink and three-burner cooktop. Better still, a slide-out bench space just above the fridge increases the cooking preparation area even more. The downside is, of course, that you need to have everything you need out of the fridge before using this slide-out bench, as it obscures it. You also lose access to the bed area if anyone needs to take a nap while the kippers are cooking.

There is a good deal of storage space in the kitchen area, with four drawers under the bench and a cupboard under the microwave. The TV is set up above the kitchen bench, so you can watch your favourite show while preparing a meal.

The fridge/freezer is a 12V/240V compressor unit, so it will chill quickly and is efficient but can’t be run on gas like the three-way fridges can.

SLEEPING QUARTERS

The single-bed layout – there is also a double-bed version – has a centre padded seat/table, large hopper windows with integral screens and blinds and four LED reading lights. There are five large bulkhead lockers for storage, which is excellent - except that you cannot open the rearmost locker while having an adjacent locker open also. This is not a deal-breaker, but clearly a constraint of the design and the space available here.

Under the centre seat/table are two cupboard doors that open to reveal the boot storage space - a great idea, saving on having to go out in the weather to retrieve items from the boot.

KEEPING CLEAN

The bathroom is on the offside of the motorhome and screened by a mirror glass door. The door opens to reveal a shower plate with a shower head up high to the left and a corner washbasin with two storage cupboard doors situated below it. To the right is a Dometic 19-litre cassette toilet plumbed to a SOG system.

Like any such shower/toilet combo, there won’t be any cat-swinging going on here. However, given we’re not talking A-Class motorhome with the Waratah, this is a reasonably-sized bathroom and most will find it easy enough to use.

ELECTRICS

The Waratah has a 240-volt 40-amp battery charger that feeds to a 200-amp deep-cycle AGM battery. A battery monitor above the kitchen keeps a check on battery voltage stored. There is a reverse-flow Fiamma extractor/cooling fan in the ceiling.

STORAGE

The Waratah excels in the storage department. Bulky items can be stored away in the boot area, which is not cavernous but still a generous size for this size layout. The bulkhead lockers and the under-bed storage lockers are large and should provide plenty of room for two on tour.

VERDICT

There are plenty of subtle points to this motorhome that make it feel a rather accomplished unit. The quality of the base unit is a good start, and built on that is a nicely made, well laid-out accommodation for weeks away from home.

The optional flyscreens are brilliant, and the amount of storage available is fantastic. While the bed area is often considered just a place to put your head at night, here you could also enjoy reading a book in the sun with the barn doors open.