2014 BAV: Paramount Studio Streamline

At the sharp end of the Studio Streamline, the drawbar has all the features you’d expected: ball coupling, handbrake, jockey wheel and two 9kg gas cylinders. Along with these items, there’s a mesh rack between the drawbar rails. For external storage, this van has both a front boot and a full-width tunnel boot. While the tunnel boot has nothing in it, the front boot contains the two 100Ah deep-cycle batteries, along with the associated charging electrics and an (unlabelled) 12V fuse panel.

What’s interesting about the batteries is that they are mounted on a slide-out tray that can also be accessed from a front nearside bin door – which means no awkward bending over to get the batteries in and out.

There are quite a few other external features, such as a slide-out barbecue, hinged picnic table and an entertainment unit that contains all the necessary outlets – 240V, 12V, 5V USB and TV antenna – on the nearside.

Layout & design

The feature that first catches the eye when you step in through the Studio’s rear entry door is the colour scheme. It has predominantly white walls, ceiling, and cabinetry framework, which is offset by darker glossy colours for the doors and drawers, and the mottled grey upholstery. There’s no doubt that the lighter colours certainly aid the LED lighting and the tinted acrylic panels in the overhead locker doors are good for those who have trouble remembering what is in the cupboards!

In some ways, the layout is a familiar one – full-width rear bathroom, nearside dinette, offside kitchen and front bedroom. But the major point of difference is the east-west bed in the bedroom and a front wall dedicated entirely to cupboard and wardrobe space.

Bathroom

One of the feature items in this Studio Streamline is the very large rear bathroom. It has all the usual facilities, including a good-sized shower cubicle and Thetford cassette toilet. But, because the bathroom is a bit deeper than usual, it also has a big cabinet across the rear wall. That includes a stylish round washbasin and a shaving cabinet above, with good-sized door mirrors. Also included in the cabinet are a good number of drawers and a front-loading washing machine. It’s mounted off the floor, so it can be used without any bending over.

Storage

Something that we judges like to do is open all the cupboards and drawers and have a good poke around in all the vans we look at. Given the price category it’s competing in, but ignoring the on-road/offroad factor, I thought the Paramount team needed to pay a bit more attention to detail in some areas. While, on the plus side, the piano hinges on the cupboard doors are great, a swipe of sandpaper around the inside of the locker frames would have finished the job off nicely.

The Bottom Line

The Paramount Studio Streamline is a sort of luxury apartment on wheels. Its generous proportions allow for plenty of storage space, and under tow it’s a strong performer.

The stylish and elegant interior is hard to ignore when you step in through the rear entry door. It makes a fabulous first impression, due partly to its contemporary styling and largely to its interesting layout. The Studio isn’t the first van we’ve seen with an east-west front bed and a full front wall of storage but it’s still a breath of fresh air as far as design goes.

Measuring up

I liked...

• Interior layout and décor
• Good-sized kitchen and bathroom
• Footrests/drawers in dinette
• Well-appointed electrical system
• Generous load capacity
• Slide-out battery tray

I would have liked...

• More attention to detail and finish
• Lower microwave

Paramount Studio Streamline Specs

Weight and measures

• Overall length 9.1m (29ft 10in)
• External body length 7.63m (24ft 2in)
• External body width 2.44m (8ft)
• Internal height 2m (6ft 7in)
• Travel height 2.89m (9ft 6in)
• Tare 2780kg
• ATM 3500kg
• Ball weight 210kg

External

• Frame Timber
• Cladding Aluminium sandwich
• Chassis Box-section SupaGal
• Suspension Al-Ko leaf spring
• Brakes 12in electric
• Wheels 15in alloys
• Fresh water 2x95L
• Battery 1x100Ah
• Solar 1x125W
• Air-conditioner Aircommand Ibis
• Gas 2x9kg
• ESC Yes

Internal

• Cooking Dometic four-burner,
• grill and oven
• Fridge Dometic 184L three-way
• Microwave Daewoo
• Toilet Thetford cassette
• Shower Separate cubicle
• Lighting 12V LED
• Hot water Suburban 23L

Price as shown

• $86,990 (tow-away, Vic)

The full test appears in Caravan World #534, February 2015. Subscribe today for the latest caravan reviews and news every month.