Take five for a classic four-berth
Despite its status as a four-berth caravan the all-new Bailey Unicorn Madrid is always going to be more popular with couples who just want… the best of everything, really.
With a relatively short sub-6m body length, it’s a particularly roomy floorplan with a traditional twin-settee front lounge, side dinette, well-equipped nearside kitchen, and a magnificent full-width rear washroom.
There’s no fixed bed in what counts as a classic layout, but that’s what gives you so much daytime living space in this series V Unicorn Madrid caravan.
Another big plus is the 1,500kg MTPLM, which makes the Unicorn Madrid towable by a wide choice of cars, although as is the way these days, there’s not a massive payload.
This series V line-up of Unicorns (blessing is the collective noun for such a group) has given Bailey the opportunity to smarten up the exterior as well as upping the ante inside with a higher specification level than ever.
There’s a more distinctive curve to the front, for example, as well as the usual new graphics. There’s a larger than ever central front “infinity” window, extending up to the roofline and beyond, in what is otherwise a traditional three-window front.
The exterior lacks for little. ATC is standard. Heavy-duty corner steadies are easy to get at. The grab handles have a reassuringly solid feel. It runs on 15inch alloy wheels. There’s a Status 570 TV aerial as well as a satellite connection point. There’s even a strip light over the service facilities along the offside.
Access inside is via a stable door with window and waste bin.
Step in and there’s a mirror with coat hooks either side, plus a ledge over a locker and an open shelved cubby – all handy for leaving items you don’t need to take any further into the caravan.
In this video we take a look inside the all-new Bailey Unicorn Madrid caravan:
That dinette allows the two of you to have a separate eating area to the main seating department. Of course, if there are two more folk on board overnight there’s the facility to convert the dinette seating into two single beds, a design that really has stood the test of time.
Upfront, the twin settees are separated by a chest of drawers (two drawers and a floor locker) with a slide-out tabletop extension. Thanks to internal springing the seating has a good, solid feel to it (which also bodes well for long-term use).
At 1.95m, those settees are long enough for two singles, although it’s just as easy to pull out the slats to pull out to make the front double bed.
In the Bailey Unicorn Madrid’s kitchen, the cooker takes centre stage, with a fridge to its left and sink to the right. There’s plenty of permanent worktop (more if you leave the hob lid down), too, so you can understand why Bailey hasn’t gone for any form of extension.
The fridge has a freezer compartment and automatic energy selection, albeit its 101-litre capacity is not the largest these days) and there’s a Dometic microwave directly over the worktop above the fridge – good location!
There’s also excellent storage, with large, soft-close drawers, plus a locker under the sink, although it misses out on the four-bottle wine rack that features in its Unicorn V stablemates.
Across the back of the Unicorn Madrid caravan, the washroom has a clear window, set high beyond the swivel-bowl toilet. The radiator in here tells you there’s an Alde central heating system, while the fixed basin in the centre of the room is not the deepest.
In contrast, it’s a really generous shower cubicle, complete with neat plastic shelf section. The cubicle itself is plastic-lined and the Ecocamel shower has a riser bar. There’s decent depth to the shower tray but only the one drainage point. The flip-down hanging rail will doubtless come in handy for wet clothing etc.
There’s also sufficient space here to house the wardrobe for your clothing and footwear. The lounge’s free-standing table also stows here – it’s just a tad awkward having to remove it and take it to the front of the ‘van.
As well as the options listed opposite, there are extensive opportunities to personalise your Unicorn Madrid via Bailey’s own accessories arm, Prima Leisure, where you’ll find a whole section dedicated to Unicorn V upgrades – with everything from branded towing covers, fridge magnets and umbrellas to caravan movers and Wi-Fi routers (for both of which the Madrid is already pre-wired).
Verdict: Classic layout gets a modern makeover
Plus: Lots of daytime space, good overall specification
Minus: Small fridge, table storage location
In-a-nutshell: Real Madrid!
There’s more information on the Unicorn range on the Bailey website. To find out more about insuring this or your current caravan visit our caravan insurance page.
Alternatives: Coachman VIP 520, Swift Challenger 530
Bailey Unicorn Madrid factfile
Model | Bailey Unicorn Madrid |
Dimensions | 6.88m L, 2.27m W, 2.67m H |
Internal length | 5.67m |
Berths | Four |
MTPLM | 1,500kg |
MIRO | 1,348kg |
Payload | 152kg |
RRP | from £29,844 on the road |
Safety & security | Tracker Monitor Thatcham Cat 7 stolen vehicle recovery system (with three-month subscription), Al-Ko ATC (Trailer Control System), AKS stabiliser, Al-Ko Secure axle wheel Lock, Al-Ko caravan jack, laser-balanced wheels with security tyres and anti-tamper bolts, smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector, chassis-mounted spare wheel, CRiS with concealed data chip, Tracker PIR alarm with tilt sensor and key fob operation |
Key options | Four-year extension to bodyshell warranty (£265), three-year extension to manufacturing warranty (£439), alternative upholstery (£225) |
Excellently writtern the only problem is none of the manufacturers can make any new vans umo? We ordered a top of the range Buccaneer Burmuda 2022 caravan back in sept 2021. We were told it would be ready in March /April 202
2. We were invite by Hymer to the caravan show at the Nec to update us on the build date which we were promised would be built and delivered to Raymond James retailers 1st week in April ready for our month away in May.
Only to be told by Raymond James 2nd week in April that they still didnt have a build date yet? 2 weeks ago Raymond James returned our deposit of £1000 as they had just been informed by Hymer that no new caravans would be built in 2022 and if we wanted to buy ine in 2023 the cost would be an extra £3500?
So we will never trust Hymer again and we will save our money and enjoy our 3 year old van until its unusable but Hymer shouldn’t launch a product for sale until they can supply it imo!!!
We’re very sorry to hear about this David and hope you get lots of enjoyment out of your current caravan.