RV FEATURE
From its FRV chassis up, the Coromal Pioneer
Evolution XC does things differently. The chassis
is built from 550 grade steel, it’s laser cut, punched
and folded, and huck-riveted together, with very
few welds involved – it certainly appears to be a
highly-engineered unit.
Our review PEX 632 was fitted with Coromal’s Easy-
Tow Sport X Rally wishbone suspension system.
Built for offroad work, it tackled the undulations
and corrugations we discovered a couple hours
north of Melbourne without hesitation.
And then there’s the ‘Future-Teck’ body
construction. This entails a 50mm-thick, one-piece
fibreglass composite panel roof that stretches
from the leading edge of the van to the very rear, a
40mm-thick ‘honeycomb’ flooring, and chemically-
bonded composite fibreglass walls (30mm thick)
incorporating a foam core. A special aluminium
extrusion holds all sides together.
The only issue we had with hitching and
unhitching: the jockey wheel’s handle tended
to bind on the van’s handbrake cable – a small
issue that didn’t otherwise impede things,
beyond sparking mild frustration.
There are eight layouts in the PEX range, with
body sizes from 5.5m to 6.9m. The layout in our
van doesn’t break new ground; however, two full-
height cupboards, one either side of the van, add
a sense of separation between the living quarters
and the bedroom.
The Coromal range is nowadays built by Apollo
RV in the company’s Queensland manufacturing
HQ – it’s the second largest RV factory in the
country. Apollo now offers un upgraded warranty
on all Apollo-built Coromals, effective May 2019.
WHAT WE SAID
In its price category, the PEX is up against some
stiff competition, but it nonetheless deserves a
good, hard look. This is by no means a run-of-
the-mill caravan.
HITS
check
• Future-Teck construction
• High-tensile steel, highly
engineered chassis
• Independent Esy-Tow Sport X Rally
wishbone system
• Offroad touring ability
MISSES
times
• Jockey wheel handle binds on
handbrake cable
• The door of the offside generator/
fridge tray tends to bind on the
front of the van, making it difficult
to slide it out
• We'd like some protection for some
of the underbody components
ORIGINAL REVIEW
AUTOMOTIVE ANGLE
/ 25