It’s always an exciting moment when a new test vehicle arrives in the Practical Motorhome car park. But the latest was one of the most anticipated for some time: we’ve taken delivery of a brand-new Bailey Adamo 75-4I for an extended period, in which we’ll be able to give this four-berth motorhome from the Bristolian manufacturer a thorough assessment.
Its arrival has been anticipated because this line-up is the most adventurous Bailey, which you can find out more about in our best motorhome brand guide, has ever produced – the Adamo is a five-model range of Ford-Transit-based coachbuilts that promise to take you far and wide in comfort.
I was looking forward to taking it out for the first time – which turned out to be a lot sooner than I’d anticipated! I also hadn’t expected that my very first trip in it would involve going back to the place where it was built – more or less.
The Adamo range may still seem new to some of Bailey’s diehard fans, as it was only launched a few years ago. But since then, the brand has been busy launching its first van conversion, the Endeavour (and see what I made of the Bailey Endeavour B62 when I reviewed it), and a three-model compact range, Alora (see: the Bailey Alora 69-4T to see what we made of one of the models in the range).
All these new vehicles first appeared at the Motorhome & Caravan Show in October, so it only seemed appropriate to have a quick look at them shortly afterwards. And what better
way to do so than by going there in our new Adamo, to compare and contrast?
At the beginning of the week when I was due to travel, the weather started showing the first signs of winter. As a result, I decided to look for somewhere to stay in the centre of Bristol, as I didn’t fancy driving down narrow Somerset lanes in the early morning ice and sleet. Such a quest would usually be a problem, because city centre sites are often hard to come by, and those that do exist tend to be very popular – the Caravan and Motorhome Club site at Baltic Wharf, in the middle of Bristol, being a good example.
Yet astonishingly, when I looked this time, there was indeed space available.
Excellent road handling
I may have worried about those icy lanes, but I shouldn’t have: the island bed motorhome coped admirably.
Thanks in part to the automatic gearbox, fitted as standard, this 7.49m-long vehicle handled everything from the M4 to Bristol’s hair-raising city centre roundabouts with ease.
The reversing camera in the cab meant I didn’t even have to worry when I overshot the entrance and had to do a three-point turn in a residential cul de sac next to a busy pub.
I was very glad to see Baltic Wharf, because this might be for the first and last time. The site belongs to the local council, which wants it back for development. The Club didn’t manage to get approval for the site it wanted to move to within the city, so the hunt is on for a new one. Meanwhile, the council has extended the lease on Baltic Wharf until December 2024, and the Club is taking bookings up to and including 15 December.
I would say try to get there while you can. Baltic Wharf is in what might be described as an edgy part of Bristol. But the Spike Island art gallery is only a short walk away, and the city centre and fashionable Clifton just a little further – the latter albeit up quite a steep hill.
Although it is a city centre site, a Sustrans cycle route runs past the entrance on the banks of the Avon. As I found out when I arrived, there is also a handy Morrisons store just around the corner.
Stylish and comfortable
So what of the motorhome itself? The Adamo range was created to look more Continental than Bailey motorhomes of the past.
To that end, you will find a large lounge behind the cab, with parallel settees that convert into travel seats. These are not the slab-like affairs you can see in some European models – Bailey has made them very comfortable.
The huge fold-out table could easily take four place settings, and drops down electronically to make up the front double bed.
The kitchen may look on the small side, but it includes a large extension flap, and you could use the wooden hob cover as extra workspace.
There are two steps up as you go back from here – one to the central washroom, another to the island bed – so tall people in particular will need to watch where they are going.
But the motorhome heating system and ventilation in the bedroom are so well designed, I was glad that it was only a Truma Combi D4E heater. With a Truma 6, it might have felt like a sauna.
I was particularly impressed with the blind Bailey has fitted on the windscreen. You pull it straight up, instead of trying to pull two blinds together. There are curtains between the cab and the lounge, too.
We’ll be featuring extended reviews of our new ’van over the coming months.
If you’re in need of some help with levelling your ‘van, check out our guide to the best motorhome levelling ramps to see our top picks on the market.
Technical spec of the Bailey Adamo 75-4I
- Price: £75,499
- Berths: 4
- Belts: 4
- Base vehicle: Ford Transit
- Engine: 2.0-litre, 160bhp with automatic gearbox
- Length: 7.49m
- Width: 2.38m
- Height: 2.85m
- MTPLM: 3500kg
- Payload: 352kg
- Expenses: N/A
- Distance travelled: 184 miles
Take a look at our top tips on how to prolong the life of your motorhome.
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