Caravan review: Kokoda XCore M.I.A. 19'6 offroad family van

The XCore M.I.A. 19’6 by Kokoda Caravans is a family-friendly offroad caravan oozing with innovation and capability.

In brief

Full composite, offroad capable caravan with room for the whole family

he multi-award-winning Kokoda Caravans is going through its biggest raison d’être since its inception in 2011. Under the leadership of Trevor Price and Price family ownership since 2019, the household brand has refocused its ranges to be more cutting edge, extreme and more capable while also bringing manufacturing in-house — a change necessitated to get the exacting quality Trevor demands of the company.

Bringing manufacturing in-house is a major pivot from what the company once was: a brand without a factory that used contract builders to manufacture to order. I feel this was one of the major drivers of the eventual sale of the brand to the Price family in 2011. Having someone else do the hard work led to, let’s say, challenges in quality control and adaptability to change.

Kokoda’s got you covered with a solid three-year factory warranty, giving you peace of mind whether you’re sticking to the highways or hitting the dirt tracks. It takes care of the essentials like the structure, plumbing and electrics, so you can focus on enjoying the adventure. With coverage built for offroad travel, it’s a warranty you can count on for the long haul.

It didn’t happen overnight

And this big shift hasn’t fully happened yet either, but it will. Trevor and the team have been working since 2019 to regain trust in the Kokoda brand and we all know they had to deal with a few years of unprecedented disruption recently. Since taking over, Kokoda has innovated as seen in the seriously impressive F226 Commando, now known as Counterstrike, that rewrote expectations on off-grid living at Caravan of the Year 2023 (check out the full review online).

This review van here, the XCore M.I.A. 19’6 is a bit more sedate yet still impressive. It is fully built by the Kokoda team in Campbellfield, Vic, on the same block of land the company offices and main sales yard are in, but some of the range is still made offsite.

Trevor told Caravan World that the plan is for all builds to be done in-house by the end of 2025 and, as the quality of a caravan build is for me the most important driver of satisfaction with ownership, we’ll start there.

Kokoda construction

The XCore range is named after what it is made of, XCore, which is an XPS foam-cored sandwich panel with fibreglass skins inside and out. XPS is a high-strength polystyrene foam that has excellent thermal properties and is water resistant meaning no chances of rot, ever. It is also builder-friendly with the panels able to be full-length (in most cases) for each part of the van. It is lightweight (walls can weigh as little as 60kg) and it is easy to bond together. Compared to building with meranti frames and sheets of ply or alloy for cladding, the amount of man-hours is dramatically reduced using XCore and with fewer joins, there are fewer seams and seals to maintain leading to lower cost of ownership.

This style of build has grown in popularity exponentially in the past decade with most brands now using a system like it in at least one model, but not all are made equal. If you are interested in it, I suggest you look at how manufacturers bond their panels. A good manufacturer, like Kokoda, will use internal walls and cabinets to help support the walls and roof, as few holes into the panels as possible and industrial adhesives between the capping that seals the corners. Poor builders will need to rely on obvious alloy or steel bracing that is screwed or bolted through the panels which can lead to leaks.

Absolute accuracy

Kokoda has invested in several CNC machines. There are a couple of long tables able to cut 29mm walls and 38mm floor and roof panels to millimetre perfection including the exact placement of windows, air-conditioner units and even light switches. Kokoda also has a CNC router for cabinetry which cuts lightweight composite wood that is then laminated onsite. Using CNC for furniture and cupboards allows Kokoda to integrate notches and slots to interlock together for rigidity and as mentioned above, Kokoda locks these into the walls and roof as well to enhance the rigidity and strength of the caravan body.

Now that all might sound great, but caravans are still hand built and people make mistakes. If you are a first-time buyer know that a caravan will never be built as well as a car or appliance from a robotic factory, but the more labour can be reduced and mechanical processes introduced, the less likely you’ll see issues; another tick for XCore and this way of building vans.

Suspension and chassis

Kokoda does not manufacture its chassis. That might change, which is not to suggest Trevor is unhappy with the supplier (in this case local Melbourne company that first DuraGal coats the chassis before painting it black) but because Trevor wants more flexibility of layouts and timeliness which has been hard in busy times. If it wasn’t apparent already, Trevor wants to control all of the build to ensure he gets what is right for him and you.

The chassis A-frame and main rails are 150mm (6in) with bearers to support the body of the van. Suspension is by TEKO TuffRide with airbags for height adjustment and fast levelling at sites. I appreciate that the control panel has an air outlet for fast and easy tyre reinflation after beach driving or for running an air gun inside to blow sand out of the van. I didn’t get a chance to test the auto function on the system but having used it before on another caravan, it is great. Flick the switch over to auto and built-in sensors will do the hard work of getting the van set when underway.

Key weight and capacity specs

This is a family van with the option of two or three 1.9m (6ft 2in) bunks so it needs a bit of payload to haul the kids’ gear. With around 850kg (final spec may vary it a touch) the M.I.A. 19’6’s payload is decent. Take into consideration the 274L fridge, twin 9kg gas bottles and twin 110L water tanks and you reasonably can consider 500kg for your personal belongings.

With an ATM of 3500kg, you can work out the tare (2650kg for the lazy) and ball weight, measured at tare is around 200kg. I would expect that to jump a bit once you load up the excellent front toolbox and big tunnel boot however, so grab yourself a Hayman Reese ball weight scale and keep an eye on it when loading. I would suggest at full ATM, your ball weight for this van should be around 280kg and I say that as it’s a long 5.94m (19ft 6in) with an overall body length of 8.95m (29ft 4in). She is built to the typical maximum width of 2.49m (8ft 2in) so make sure you have some MSA 4X4 Accessories mirrors on your tow vehicle too please.

Travel height is adjustable thanks to the airbags, but the roof height should max out at around 3.15m (10ft 3in), enough to have you think twice at regional overpasses and bridges but nothing extraordinary. Internal height is fantastic, if you are like me and a bit tall. At 2m (6ft 6in), its growing kid friendly but also airy. The extra height adds volume making the space feel bigger than its 19ft 6in body would have you think.

Fitout and appliances

The kids share the tail end of the van with the split ensuite. I am a big fan of this floorplan layout as although you gain a bit of wall space with a shower-over-toilet, this layout means more than one person can use the ensuite and your toilet paper never gets wet. Centrally mounted, between the bunk area and spacious shower is a large wardrobe which can accommodate an RV washing machine nicely, though our review van did not have one fitted.

Being 19ft 6in and having bunks down the back, it was always going to be a squeeze to fit in a north–south main bed so it is no surprise that an east–west queen bed is the go. It features an innerspring mattress and some storage underneath accessible via a strut-assisted lift of the bed or from the external hatches.

A leatherette is used on the bedhead and spacious straight lounge that looks sensational should be easy to clean and is soft and supple to the touch.

The fridge is an excellent 274L Thetford 12V/240V, the biggest available and the way to go. As standard, cooking inside is taken care of by a four-burner (three gas burners, one electric) stove with mini grill but our test-van had been spec’d with a portable induction cooktop and a barbecue outside, with storage where the interior oven once was. I think this is the way going forward, as induction heats lightning fast and in this case is portable so you could use it on the map table outside or on a table by the tunnel boot.

The kitchen benchtop and table are topped in a light wood finish that adds a subtle contrast to the predominantly white interior surfaces. And there is a microwave inside positioned high, great for kids’ safety.

Self-sufficiency

We all know kids love powered gadgets so to see USB ports in the reading lights at their bunks was a nice touch, as are the 12V fans for each. Looking further around the van, you’ll find 12V points in all reading lights and more scattered where you want them around the bed and lounge. As this van has a great inverter and battery bank, you’ll also be happy to see GPOs in abundance.

The inverter is rated to 3000W, built by Victron and doubles as an AC charger capable of up to 120A charging of the as-standard single 300Ah battery (all M.I.A. come with a second battery box, ours was also fitted with a second 300Ah battery inside it). DC-charging is rated to 50A as is the solar regulator fed power from the as-standard 600W of roof mounted panels.

The inverter has the capacity to run the AC which will likely draw 1800W on start-up and run at under 1000W while pulling three to 10 degrees out of the ambient air. With the standard single battery, you’ll get a few hours of run-time and with two, in a sunny, summer environment that replenishes well during the day, you should be able to run it every day for a few hours without much trouble. Should the weather swing the other way, there is a diesel heater fitted as standard.

Controlling the system is a Victron battery management system (BMS) with a display panel that is one of the easiest to understand and navigate. And with the Victron systems being modular, should you want to upgrade or add bits, it is not too hard, however, you might need a certified sparky if dealing with high-voltage solar panels.

As mentioned, freshwater capacity totals 220L which for a family of four should last close to a week if you have a few swims but interestingly, the van has no fixed grey water tank. A portable tank is supplied, or I assume it is expected you run a hose to a drain or somewhere it is allowed.

Hot water does from a 28L gas/electric system that should be fine for weeks, if not months, in this van from its two 9kg gas bottles.

What is the best tow car?

We hauled the XCore M.I.A. 19’6 with one of the best in the business, the GMSV Chevrolet Silverado LTZ 1500. Now, it’s not perfect, nothing is. Its biggest limitations are its fuel capacity and its moderate payload. Both can be upgraded with the tank easily swapped out to one with nearly 200L of capacity and GVM upgrades are available pre- and post-registration.

Why I like the 1500 is that it is lazy and comfortable. The big 6.2L V8 hums along and with 10 gears in the auto box, it will get a hustle on and move if you prod the accelerator hard.

In terms of fuel usage, expect mid to high 20L per 100km travelled and I know this not just from this test but other times I’ve reviewed the Yank Tank.

IIf you are a caravan owner already and have a 200 or 300 Series LandCrusier, Patrol or late model 4X4 ute, you should be fine. The 3500 ATM and ~200kg ball weight might be more noticeable on some vehicles but the M.I.A. 19’6 was built to be towed by the vast majority of vehicles we’d call most popular for towing.

How the M.I.A. felt can simply be put as boring, which is nice. We had to dice with busy north Melbourne traffic to get out on a tow loop of around 200km, so I concentrated a lot, yet I came away from the tow relaxed at day’s end which is the real goal. When you pull up exhausted and nervous, you had a bad tow, and I certainly didn’t.

Customer care

Kokoda Caravans offers a three-year factory warranty for new caravans purchased from 1 July 2022. This warranty covers structural, plumbing, electrical, general construction and water pump components, with free repairs and replacements available through Kokoda Caravans or approved independent repairers.

Appliances and suspension components are covered directly by their respective manufacturers, such as Dometic, Swift, AL-KO, and others.

As you’d expect, the warranty excludes damage caused by misuse, commercial use, accidents, wear and tear from permanent living, unauthorised repairs and certain environmental factors like salt corrosion.

Providing aftercare support when purchasing a caravan is crucial to ensuring customers have a positive and long-lasting experience with their new investment. Kokoda includes an extensive handover process, where customers are thoroughly walked through the caravan’s features, systems and operational procedures. A detailed demonstration of how to use appliances, handle the plumbing and electrical systems, and manage safety features helps build confidence. Kokoda can also provide easy-to-follow ‘how-to’ videos and additionally, its dedicated aftersales team is always on hand to assist with any questions or concerns.

Owners are advised to follow recommended maintenance schedules to maintain warranty coverage. Warranty claims can be submitted through Kokoda Caravans’ aftercare form online. For more details, refer to Kokoda’s website.

Value for money

You guessed it, the XCore M.I.A. 19’6 is a touch under $150,000, which is to be expected. Similar spec vans from Titanium Caravans, Wonderland RV and Masterpiece Caravans will be in the vicinity yet won’t be built the same way, as these three competitors use cladding over differing frame structures. Look at a Zone RV and you’ll pay a fair chunk more than the Kokoda.

For brands that use this style of build and do it locally, there are not many that are as offroad-ready as the Kokoda. You could look at a semi-imported Vision RV which has launched the Elysium 19’6 at $159,000 with 10cm (4in) narrower body. Cub Campers, which exemplifies quality and manufacture in a similar way to Kokoda, offers its smaller C16 hybrid caravan for similar money too.

There are other brands that you could consider. Willow RV springs out as a good builder but its offroad ability isn’t as pronounced. Windsor RV falls into the same category with less offroad ability again. Goldstream RV is about to launch its first full composite panel offroad van which will likely be a good thing but for now, the XCore M.I.A. 19’6 sits in a rarified place in the caravan world with few like-for-like competitors.

The wrap

I really like Trevor Price’s enthusiasm for innovation and desire for quality and attention to detail. The latest batch of Kokoda vans headlined by the Counterstrike I tested a few years ago and now with the XCore suggests the brand is in the right hands and heading the right way.

Measuring up

Pros

• Composite construction
• Auto-levelling suspension
• Clean and classy interior look and feel

Cons

• Absence of grey water tank

KOKODA XCORE M.I.A. 19'6 RATINGS

VALUE FOR MONEY

The XCore M.I.A. 19’6 sits right where I expect at nearly $150,000 but has few rivals in its build

TOWABILITY

An ATM of 3500kg is a lot for some but it towed very well

SUITABILITY FOR INTENDED TOURING

It has the power, ability and capacity to take a family off-grid for a week

BUILD QUALITY

It’s great to see a proper offroad van in full composite and the attention to detail is clear in its quality

LIVEABILITY

Really good with a diesel heater and enough power for off-grid air-conditioning

SELF-SUFFICIENCY

It should manage a week with a careful family that has access to a dump point or spare cassettes

CUSTOMER CARE

Three years is about right for a warranty but excluding towing with non-standard vehicles is odd

INNOVATION

Pre-2011 you wouldn’t have said Kokoda led innovation but now it really does

X-FACTOR

It looks great and sits proudly at a camp, it will get many admirers

KOKODA XCORE M.I.A. 19'6 SPECS

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

EXTERNAL

INTERNAL

Kokoda XCore M.I.A. 19'6 price from $148,990

OPTIONS FITTED

• Additional 300Ah battery
• Portable induction cooktop (oven and hob removed)
• External barbecue
• External drop-down kitchen (Counterstrike)
• Additional 110L water tank
• Blue Anderson plug for portable solar blanket
• Filtered water tap at the kitchen sink
• Custom interior

Kokoda XCore M.I.A. 19'6 price as shown $157,240

MORE INFORMATION

Kokoda Caravans

1600 Sydney Road
Campbellfield Vic 3061
P: 1800 577430

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