Lunar Roadstar 900 - Practical Motorhome

Check out the Practical Motorhome Lunar Roadstar 900 review for the definitive verdict on this 'van

Verdict

A bold statement of intent as Lunar develops an increasing portfolio of ’vans worthy of further investigation.

Pros

Big, brave attempt by a re-emergent UK manufacturer; unique layout; superb to drive.

Cons

There’s no shortage of alternatives (especially imports).

Living

Stepping inside this motorhome is akin to entering a world of leather. Actually, leather upholstery is a £1800 cost option but there’s no denying the ‘wow!’ factor it brings to the interior. This, and the unusual move of giving the interior walls a woodgrain finish, adds to the boat-like ambience.

The seating behind the driver, in the lounge area, can be used as a double-dinette or, quite cleverly, the forward seat base can be manoeuvred to create an L-shaped settee. Both of the cab seats swivel to face the lounge area, too.

The star turn in the living area is the Webasto heating system. It is fuelled directly from the base vehicle’s diesel engine and the system also provides the hot water. There’s even an anti-freeze setting which will ensure that the water in the boiler won’t ice up if the motorhome is packed away for the winter.

Complementing this superb heating system is the optional ceiling-mounted air-con unit. But this adds a further £1645  to the price tag, which seems a little steep when you might expect a vehicle of this stature to come with air-con as standard.

There are loose-fit carpet overlays throughout but they seem to impede the use of the clever-ish seat box swivel. Then there’s the rather small table that attaches to the wall, which means having to revert to the dinette layout come mealtimes. A larger, free-standing table would surely be more user-friendly. On the plus side, we liked the provision of two double coat hooks and a magazine pocket beside the caravan door.

Kitchen

The kitchen in the 900 comes fully equipped with all the latest gear and there’s plenty of storage space and a decent amount of worksurface, too. The Spinflo Caprice cooker has three gas hobs and an electric hotplate, although the splash guards do restrict the size and number of pots and pans that could be used at the same time.

The sink has a good-sized draining area and also comes with a glass cover, which complements the large expanse of worksurface provided to the right of the cooker. The cutlery drawer is not the largest, but the remainder of the lower-level kitchen storage space is superb and there’s plenty of it.

On the opposite side of the kitchen is a 150-litre Dometic tower fridge/freezer and there’s a Daewoo microwave behind the tambour door, above the freezer.

Washroom

The washroom in the 900 is luxurious and comes complete with a separate shower cubicle. And once you have used one of these full-sized washrooms in a motorhome there is no turning back, no matter how good the campsite facilities!

A Thetford swivel-bowl toilet sits at the opposite end of the washroom to the shower, while the washbasin is offset in the centre. There’s no shortage of storage space here, either. Unfortunately, we found the amount of changing space you would expect in a motorhome of this size somewhat lacking.

Beds

The twin-single-bed layout works well and production models come with sprung-interior mattresses. The single beds measure 1.81 x 0.70m, which seems a little small. However, the occupants will be able to watch TV from their beds and have access to the heating controls, too.

The overcab bed boasts an ambient strip of LED lighting and a small bedside cabinet. Occupants should not feel too claustrophobic, thanks to the two opening windows either end of the bed.

Making up the lounge double bed involves a few extra filler cushions as well as dropping in a piece of board.

Storage

With nearly a whole tonne of payload to play with, how can anyone have issues with the amount of storage space? Especially as it’s likely there will only be two people on board most of the time. There is even a choice of exterior-access lockers.

Indoors, there is a generous wardrobe space with an additional three drawers, accompanied by a floor-to-ceiling shelved locker. The main bedroom area has a generous mix of his-and-hers double overhead lockers, and open shelving. There’s also space in the seat and bed bases. Oh, and there’s also the overcab bed area. You get the idea – there’s loads of storage space.