Review: Avida Birdsville LX

Avida truly is one of Australia’s manufacturing success stories. Six decades ago, the company began under the name Freeway. The company’s first product was a slide-on camper, a style of RV that’s still popular today. As the decades rolled along, Avida built virtually all forms of motorhomes, from small commercial campervan fitouts to huge coach conversions and everything in between.

In 2013, the company turned its hand towards building caravans, rounding out its stable of RV products.

The Birdsville is one of Avida’s long-standing models. It’s a bit of a classic in the Avida line-up, and it’s been periodically updated to keep it modern and fresh over the years. I received word that there was a Birdsville LX going unused at Robert’s RV World, the Melbourne Avida dealership, and I was soon in the driver’s cab of this Fiat Ducato-based beauty tooling along the freeway at 100km/h wondering how I got so lucky to have this job…

INSIDE THE AVIDA BIRDSVILLE

The Birdsville LX is the up-specced version of the Avida Birdsville. Essentially, it gets as standard many of the features that are optional in the standard Birdsville, including a 2kW diesel heater, a 3000VA inverter (about 2400W), 300Ah of lithium batteries, an oven, a washer/dryer, leather upholstery, and a solar upgrade from 420W to 840W.

An old colleague of mine once described the Fiat Ducato as the ‘sports car of the motorhome world’. He might’ve been onto something. The engine specs aren’t wildly different from comparable commercial vans but the lines of the vehicle, the cab and the overall driving experience are very pleasant indeed.

The Avida Birdsville is available in two formats: B7462SL and C7464SL. The crucial difference between the two is that our motorhome, the C7464SL, has a Luton peak, the fibreglass section above the driver’s cab containing a second double bed, whereas the other version of the Avida Birdsville does not. The layouts are the same, however, and both have an offside slide-out.

The slide-out is huge. It contains both the leather-upholstered dinette, which sits immediately behind the driver’s cab, and the bedroom. Press a button and almost the entire offside wall will slide-out to create a large and lovely living space. The rear seats of the cafe-style dinette are equipped with seatbelts (as well as two child restraints) too, making the Avida Birdsville LX suitable for up to four passengers – two in the driver’s cab and two in the dinette.

Avida has included a 240V powerpoint at the dinette too, along with reading lights that contain integrated USB points.

The kitchen bench runs the length of the nearside wall and I have to compliment the quality of the cabinetry here – it’s first rate stuff. The kitchen is fitted with a four-burner cooktop, a griller and an oven, a stainless steel sink with filtered drinking water, and excellent storage options. I loved the snap-up kitchen bench extension too and, if I’m not mistaken, they’ve used new hinges that are easier to release.

Now, the fridge-freezer in the Avida Birdsville LX is a large AES three-way unit that sits just behind the driver’s cab on the nearside, with a microwave above. However, a compressor fridge is available as an option.

At the rear end of the kitchen bench, where the bench butts up against the bathroom wall, Avida has fitted an entertainment hub comprised of a Fusion sound system (with one outside too). This is where Avida has fitted the controls for the diesel heater and the Truma UltraRapid hot water service, but in a perfect world I’d relocate these to beside the bed where they can be reached first thing in the morning, without having to get up!

The storage space along the nearside wall is excellent though – I loved the design, the fit and finish and the overall feel of both the kitchen and how it flows into the bedroom. As expected, the bed base lifts up to reveal some limited storage space beneath the mattress, though there’s also a couple of large wardrobes and plenty of other nooks and crannies for storage.

The bathroom layout is a little different to what we so often find in caravans and motorhomes – and I liked it! First, Avida has offset the wall-mounted front-loading washing machine to the nearside along with the vanity unit. This was probably a necessary move as the space allocated for the bathroom is quite narrow, meaning the vanity would have been a tight fit on the rear wall. The result, however, is a fully featured bathroom that despite being narrow is perfectly functional. The fibreglass shower cubicle is spacious – I liked the corner shelf mouldings in the shower too!

That leaves the bed in the Luton peak. Avida provides an aluminium ladder for access along with a cargo net that clips to the roof, so that you can use this area as a huge storage space safe in the knowledge that your gear won’t tumble out when you’re underway.

It really is a lovely motorhome on the inside – the fit and finish, as well as the attention to detail, are what you’d expect from a van worth the asking price here, not to mention from a manufacturer with 60 years of experience.

AVIDA BIRDSVILLE’S EXTERIOR

Stepping outside, you’ll find well-presented bodywork – no poor joinery here. Even the locker doors are made from the same material as the walls – fibreglass sandwich panels – resulting in a cohesive appearance. And let’s not discount the strength of those locker doors – much better than the flimsy style you often see on caravans and some motorhomes.

But on the topic of the lockers doors, if I was to make one small improvement it would be to add a catch that would allow the door to the dual 4kg gas cylinders to remain open without physically holding it when the slide-out is open. Perhaps I’m overthinking it – after all, gas lockers aren’t something you’ll need to frequently access. But nonetheless, I’d find it useful, and besides, Avida has fitted such locker-door catches everywhere else.

The nearside of the van is fitted with a manual roll-out awning, a large locker hiding a TV mounting point and antenna/power connections, as well as a Fusion sound system. Immediately behind this locker is yet another, but this one has a false bottom concealing the Webasto diesel heater. This locker is also where Avida has mounted the inverter. Avida has even included a gas bayonet, allowing you to connect your portable barbecue to the van’s onboard gas supply.

Some of this van’s other key features include Starlink provision, with an RJ45 through-the-wall connector provided at factory, a reverse-cycle air-conditioner, dual reversing cameras, internal mood lighting and more. Suffice it to say that this is a comprehensively-equipped vehicle.

Its freshwater carrying capacity is arguably on the low side, with 120L as standard, as well as a 120L grey tank. That said, it’s likely this motorhome will spend more time in holiday parks than free camps, but it’s perhaps something to be aware of.

It’s also worth mentioning the warranty. For a limited time, as part of Avida’s 60-year anniversary celebrations, the company is providing a 60-month structural, factory and chassis warranty, along with 60 months of roadside assistance and capped price servicing.

Another key selling point: the Avida Birdsville LX can be driven on a standard car licence. And here I’ll give the advice I usually give to anyone who feels intimidated by the thought of driving a large cab-chassis build such as this: take one for a test drive. You’ll find them to be surprisingly car-like in their handling and response to driver input. They’re also incredibly manoeuvrable. Once you’ve come to terms with the extra space they take up on the road, you’ll be getting along like a pro.

GORV’S VERDICT

As I poked and prodded my way around the Avida Birdsville LX, I genuinely felt that this was a motorhome of quality. There’s 60 years of design experience here, and it shows. It was not slapped together – it’s a carefully executed, serious build. The fit and finish was up there with the best of them – I really couldn’t fault it.

But that’s the thing. In this world, you get what you pay for. Yes, there are cheaper motorhome options on the market and that’s fine – everyone has a different budget. But I can virtually guarantee these cheaper options won’t offer the same attention to detail or quality of finish.

With its Luton peak, elegant kitchen and bedroom area, a bathroom that’s very functional despite being a little narrow, not to mention the drivability and comfort of the Ducato, I’d say you really could not go wrong with the Avida Birdsille LX. My biggest gripe: I didn’t get more time with it!

THE SCORE 

FIT AND FINISH –

LAYOUT –

INNOVATION –

HITS & MISSES

COMPLETE SPECS