Review: Horizon Wattle

I was up at 6am to leave my place near Noosa to head to Ballina, where I would meet with Paul Spotswood from Horizon Motorhomes. As soon as I pulled up out the front of the showroom, I knew it was going to be a fun day. Sitting out the front was a large AWD motorhome called the Horizon Wattle.

I met with Paul and he showed me through the showroom, briefly explaining the extensive range of motorhomes provided. Horizon Motorhomes provides various different designs and options to suit most travellers, from solo travellers up to three seaters, from budget campers to top-of-the-line motorhomes. Today, we were to be checking out one of Horizon’s more top-end products, the Wattle.

GET UP AND GO

Paul jumped in the driver’s seat and I followed behind as we headed through the hills, just north of Ballina towards a location Paul had in mind, for me to look through this impressive rig.

The Wattle is a B Class conversion built on a Mercedes Sprinter LWB AWD, which I could tell had plenty of get-up-and go as I followed him through the hills. It wasn’t leaning or handling like a big boat. The good thing about a motorhome is that you have your home on wheels wherever you go; however, this does generally mean that your vehicle is bigger and heavier. I reckon this can make them less pleasant vehicles to drive. Well, when compared to a standard passenger vehicle, anyway. But this 4×4 Mercedes Sprinter was driving through the windy country roads as easily as my ute was.

We arrived at the location that Paul had in mind: a farm on a hillside with a beautiful view of the range. I was then allowed to jump in the driver’s seat and take the van for a spin up a steep, slippery slope.

Straight away, it was reconfirmed to me that this vehicle did not drive the way you might expect it to. It was nimble and felt light. It drove like a much smaller car. The suspension and steering felt great. The steering had a nice, direct feel to it. I have previously found that some motorhomes can feel spongey and wayward, as if you’re doing a lot of steering just to keep it heading in the direction that you want it to go. However, the Wattle’s steering felt instinctive and smooth. It had a comfortable and natural driving position. Not only this but the large amounts of ground clearance and wheel travel were allowing me to navigate this undulating hillside with ease. It is a very capable offroad machine.

Being based on a Sprinter, the Horizon Wattle has the Mercedes-Benz MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience) system, an intuitive and rather clever infotainment/navigation system. Naturally, you get the full suite of Mercedes features found in the driver’s cab of the Sprinter, such as six airbags. Other features include traction control, blind spot assist, active brake assist, lane-keep assist, a reversing camera and more.

HORIZON WATTLE LAYOUT

It was eventually time to set-up and have a look around the outside of the Horizon Wattle. It is certainly a good-looking vehicle, with modern styling. This model maintains the original shape of the Mercedes Sprinter, with everything built into it. On the nearside there is a large awning with gas and power outlets underneath. There is plenty of outdoor living space for those sunny days. 

The side sliding door of the Horizon Wattle opens, as do the back doors, to create a nice indoor/outdoor open living feel. Underneath the van there is water storage as well as grey water storage. There is also a town water attachment for when you’re set-up in the caravan park. On the nearside, at the rear of the vehicle, there is a ventilated compartment for gas cylinder storage. 

Underneath the bed is where the Enerdrive 2000W inverter with AC transfer switch is stored. The inverter is wired to all powerpoints. The 200Ah lithium battery, however, is chassis-mounted. All relevant controls, along with the water pump switch, etc., are in an overhead locker. The Horizon Wattle comes with 240W of solar on the roof, and Horizon also provides an Anderson plug for a portable panel, should you need or want to boost solar input.

There’s also an external Anderson plug for powering appliances such as a portable air-compressor, bash plates to protect the engine and automatic transmission, an external shower, a town water intake, and an external gas bayonet, allowing the user to plumb their barbie to the onboard gas supply (two 4kg gas cylinders are provided as standard).

We stepped inside the vehicle and my first impression was that Horizon had put a lot of thought into maintaining space while also fitting as much inside as possible. On the offside of the vehicle is a shower/toilet with plenty of storage while also managing to fit a full kitchen on the nearside. And yet, somehow, two grown men could still walk past each other in between. 

There is also a queen bed measuring 1945x1460mm, with storage underneath at the rear of the vehicle, with room to walk down the right-hand-side of the bed. It looks like a great setup.

Horizon has made use of the driver and passenger seat, which swivel around to face the living quarters – a table attaches between the two to create the living area. There is also another small table that folds down behind the driver’s seat for a little coffee table or office space. The space has been well thought-out – Horizon’s years of experience shines through in this model.

Horizon has not only put its experience into managing the layout to maximise the space, but also to make it extremely liveable. I’m sure it’s very easy to install everything, including the kitchen sink, inside a van, but can you make it liveable? This van proves you can, but it takes experience and know-how to pull it off to this standard.

GORV’S VERDICT

Whether it’s a caravan, camper trailer or motorhome, everything has to flow and actually work. After all, your RV is a small home on wheels. 

I believe this is only something that can be learned by actually using a product for long periods of time. As it turns out, when I mentioned this to Paul, he told me that the owner of the company takes the vans away himself and thoroughly tests them to ensure that they are practical, and it shows. 

Naturally, a full range of options is available, whether you want a bike rack, a towbar (perhaps for towing a boat) and diesel heater.

This is a beautifully finished, practical and liveable motorhome. Whether you’re using it for just a weekend getaway or you’re a full time traveller, you couldn’t go wrong with this Wattle. It is also available in a twin single-bed layout, and it can even be driven on a standard car licence!

THE SCORE

FIT AND FINISH –

LAYOUT –

INNOVATION –

HITS & MISSES

COMPLETE SPECS