Bringing the fight straight at the Pössl Campsters and Crosscamp Lites of the world, Slovenian RV shop Adria Mobil has introduced an ultra-adaptable mini-camper of its own. And it's done its homework to develop something that leaves its unique fingerprints on the market. The all-new Mode minivan-camper debuts as a functional cross between an all-out camper van and a basic car overloaded with loose camping gear. It does away with large, fixed camping furniture in favor of modular pods that carry easily in and out of the van, pack neatly on the ride and offer multipurpose utility at camp.
Camper van pods have certainly been done long before the Mode. We've seen different takes on the concept from from huge RV conglomerates like Erwin Hymer and small (possibly defunct) startups like Camp It Simple and Girovaga Box. Sometimes they work with large vans, sometimes small, sometimes downright tiny. Some include built-in functions; some are empty structural boxes waiting to be filled. They can add serious color to the van, or not.
What Adria has really done differently is to combine its camper pod design with another long-established vehicle-camping concept: the stackable storage box, which is particularly popular in overlanding but also quite useful for simpler car camping. Examples include everything from the mil-surplus Pelican case, to the basic Eurobox, to the Front Runner Wolf Pack Pro.
In other words, Adria offers a more uniform, portable style of camper pod. The 46 x 57 x 35-cm (18 x 22.4 x 13.8-in) pods don't require special flooring or tracks for mounting, don't come in large, awkward or varied sizes, easily carry and load/unload in minutes, and serve more than one purpose. And they stack together almost as neatly as Legos.
Made from a combination of Symalite thermoplastic and Cordura fabric, with a PVC base, the pods don't cover every common camper van function, but they do provide some critical ones. The sink pod features a fully integrated sink system with 15-L fresh and waste water canisters, electric water pump, faucet and basin with drain. Mode drivers now have clean drinking water and a dishwashing area on board, and with the extendable faucet hose, the system can even be used as a (cold) shower or gear sprayer.
The second pod up is the fridge pod, which holds a Dometic 26-L fridge box. Drop it down next to the sink and you have a mini-kitchen for use in or outside the van.
The final two pods of the quartet are left empty for storing miscellaneous gear or for the Mode owner to create function-specific pods of their own. Adria shows the idea of using one to hold a portable toilet, and while campers will likely be taking that toilet out for use, storing it inside the pod would make it more neatly stackable during transport.
The pods feature flat lids and are designed to work as furniture as well as storage boxes and functional hardware. Campers can set them up around the van and campsite to create a central table area for dining, side tables for storage, etc. They also work as bench seats.
While space-optimizing purists might balk at the rounded corners, Adria's pods appear to stack much more neatly than the countless tapered boxes on the market. They also carry easily via integrated handles that should prove helpful for tying them down. Within minutes, you can load them up and have a versatile camper, or unload them and have a five- to eight-seat MPV.
Never before have we gotten this deep into an RV article without having looked at the actual vehicle, but that's what a smart, new spin on traditional design will do. Moving on to the van, the 496-cm (195-in) Mode comes built atop a Citroën SpaceTourer with 145- or available 180-hp 2.0-liter diesel engine.
The SpaceTourer's floor rails may not be necessary for mounting the Mode modules, but they certainly come in handy for flexible seating. The Mode comes standard with 2+1 second-row seating, and buyers can add a 2+1 third row. Owners can load in all eight seats while storing their camping gear in the slim tailgate area, remove one or two of the rows entirely, or remove individual seats and set up camping modules around those that remain. They can also slide seats back and forth between travel and camping positions.
The Mode's inbuilt camper kit includes two swivel seats up front, a pop-up roof with 195 x 120-cm (77 x 47-in) double bed, a shore power hookup and 230V electrical outlets, a 100-Ah AGM battery (in some markets), and a drop-down induction cooker that folds away into a compartment inside the tailgate-area wall to complete the flexible kitchen.
An optional second bed is available to mount behind the second row in place of the third-row seating. It extends out over top the folded second row seats to sleep two additional campers, and without the need to work around a kitchen block, wardrobe or other floor-mounted furniture, Adria is able to stretch the entire bed across the width of the cabin, offering a bit more room for tossing and turning.
Adria held the Mode's world premiere at last year's Dusseldorf Caravan Salon, where its display showed a base price of €55,799 (approx. US$59,550). It definitely looks like an intriguing modular mini-camper option for European Spring/Summer 2024, but its price tag is poised to leap into the 60s once buyers begin adding options like the camping pods, black-out shades, awning, tailgate tent, portable toilet and camp heater.
We'd love to see Adria add more camping pod options, and we'd really love if it sold them without the van ...say, in the US. Simply load them into an SUV, hatchback, small sedan, or whatever you're driving, throw a rooftop tent up top, and you have an instant micro-camper without having to install any interior equipment.
Closer look at the Mode in the promo:
Source: Adria