We like
Off-grid capability, excellent weekend escape capsule, supple ride, no gas appliances, imposing appearance, extensive features list, tows 2000kg braked, relatively economical

Room for improvement
Expensive, tight interior, limited off-road capability, height can pose an issue, struggles a bit on long uphills, needs high and low range gearing to be truly off-road ready

Overview

 

WE jumped at the chance to sample Avida’s quarter-million-dollar Explorer LX off-grid campervan over a long weekend driving in the Snowy Mountains and environs on sealed and unsealed roads… on a standard car licence.

 

The “Apocalypse Van” as we dubbed the fully equipped two-person test vehicle enabled free camping along the way mostly in designated National Parks locations or pretty much anywhere subject to permissions.

 

Motive power comes from a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine with 140kW and 450Nm the latter between 1400-2400rpm. It drives the wheels via a nine-speed conventional auto transmission with paddle shift.

 

Graded dirt or gravel roads present no hindrance to the Sydney-built all-wheel-drive that is based on a Mercedes-Benz 419 MWB Sprinter van optioned in this case with chunky Maxxis Razr AT 16-inch rubber on H-D off-road oriented alloys.

 

Other off-roading kit on the 3300kg Avida included a snorkel, rock sliders, a bank of LEDs dotted across the body for driving and camp illumination augmented by a pair of LED spotties at the front and a wide roof-mounted light bar, winch, “adventure” bar and a rear door, ladder mounted full-size spare.

 

However, the Avida Explorer LX can’t be compared with a truck-based expedition vehicle as it is limited primarily by the torque-on-demand all-wheel-drive, longish 3655mm wheelbase and 200mm ground clearance.

 

It’s sufficient to allow the Avida to penetrate fairly deeply into the bush such that there was nobody else within cooee when we parked up for the night.

 

Once that was done, we could immerse ourselves in the environment while taking advantage of the creature comforts provided by the van that leave little to be desired from a camping perspective.

 

Far from roughing it, we were able to luxuriate in the four-seat leather-upholstered cabin as the two fronts pivot to face a dinette behind complete with benchtop. A small reach across a narrow aisle gives access to a kitchenette with fridge freezer, sink with hot and cold water with a filtered drinking water outlet.

 

A portable inductive hot plate sits on a fold out table backed up by a decent size microwave oven.

 

The attention-grabbing vehicle features a robust electrical system with up to 600Ah of lithium batteries, 800W of solar power, and a 3000VA inverter plus a diesel hot water and air heater system for climate control.

 

The snug 1920mm high interior includes a double bed down the back with storage underneath and a self-contained bathroom (that doubles as a drying room) with swivelling toilet, vanity and a shower head, generous storage compartments most with hopper doors, a 170-litre freshwater tank and 95-litre grey water tank.

 

Extra sleeping room for the transverse bed is provided by an integrated “bubble” on the driver’s side of the body.

 

All windows are fitted with pull down fly screens and a secondary privacy blind apart from the passenger cabin that requires individual privacy covers attached with suction caps. Access is via two large front doors, an electrically operated side slider on the passenger side and full height rear barn doors with a step beneath.

 

Numerous charge points and LED lights dot the cabin which also has a screen monitor for charging, tanks and other features.

 

A decent size 28-inch TV pivots in the middle of the vehicle which is also pre-wired for internal and external Starlin connectivity. It is air conditioned via a roof-mounted unit that can be run off-grid while the electrical system supports 12V and 240V power outlets, with an external (GPO) power point.

 

The roomy driving compartment provides a walk-through facility to the accommodation space and two leather upholstered seats accompanied by the usual features found in a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van across ADAS, safety and creature comforts.

 

Driving Impressions

 

The Apocalypse Van attracts plenty of attention wherever it goes even surpassing the crowd pulling power of a Ferrari or a Lambo. Liveried up, it looks tough in a Tomb Raider kind of way and is the real deal as opposed to make-believe.

 

After a half hour briefing on how to run all systems, we departed down the freeway to discover the Avida is as comfortable as a luxury coach wafting along at the speed limit with minimal noise or vibration accompanied by smooth tones from the decent audio system and a mild temperature inside from the efficient climate control.

 

We stopped a few kays down the road at a riverside for a cuppa and sanger and really would have been happy to stay and kick-back had we not 400kms in front of us to reach our destination… The Diggings at Thredbo River.

 

That didn’t take long at all as we averaged the speed limit even with heavy south-bound ski traffic to contend with arriving in plenty of time for a snow frolic, a couple of runs down the Alpine Coaster (roller coaster) and half-an-hour to set-up camp and light a fire in preparation for barbecue dinner and a couple of ales.

 

That done and with everything in place it really was kick back time listening to the twittering birds, watching the (near tame) kangaroos and deer and looking at the bubbling, fast flowing Thredbo River in the sunset.

 

After a few hours of bliss, it was clean up time – wash the dishes, bed prep’ and take a shower in the (tight) ensuite ensuring the diesel heater was on low to counter the sub-zero ambient temperature forecast overnight.

 

That was how the camping part of our off-grid weekend rolled out which was fine by us as we had the freedom to stay pretty much anywhere due to the on-board facilities in the Avida. All we needed was sustenance which we bought on the run in small country towns and prepared “at home” in the van.

 

Packing everything up in preparation for driving takes about 10 minutes as long as you keep on top of it and not chuck everything everywhere.

 

We took the vehicle down some dirt roads, and it was completely capable in this environment, but we decided not to push too far off road as the all-wheel drive system doesn’t have high and low range and is an on-demand system that engages when it detects slippage… Which is often too late to avoid becoming stuck, quickly addressed by deploying the winch.

 

It is also around three metres high which is a limiting factor itself due to overheads, rock and trees.

 

Still, we got a fair way down bush tracks sufficient to be completely uninterrupted by other campers.

 

The optional A/T tyres provide excellent grip and the light steering and brakes make driving the big campervan a cinch, even when parking, with the help of sensors and camera.

 

On our 1500km trip, the Apocalypse Van returned an average of 13.1L/100km which gives a theoretical range of roughly 700km from the 93-litre tank.

 

The engine pulls well but long steep uphills see the transmission snicking down a cog or two to maintain a given speed, often when using the radar cruise control. It’s relatively quiet too and almost silent once the desired speed is reached.

 

We switched on all the driving lights at one point and it turns night into day and occasionally used the paddle shift to pre-select a gear change instead of waiting for the vehicle to decide.

 

The cabin is super easy to access, and the driving position is comfortable spoilt a tad by the large rotating dial for backrest adjustment.

 

The automatic rear brake saved us once when someone sped past unexpectedly as we were reversing but the lane keeping assist is annoying as is the idle-stop system, both of which can be switched off for each drive.

 

The test vehicle was in a light grey duco with black highlights and wheels and looked the business on the road underlined when occupants in passing cars took snapshots of the imposing beast.

 

On reflection, we thought the weekend was terrific as we didn’t have to worry about booking anything, no Airbnbs, no hotel rooms, no caravan parks, just us and the Avida Explorer LX Apocalypse Van out in the boonies. Ideal, if you ask me!