AROUND-OZ MOTORHOMES

Review Freeway 1754 Mitsubishi Canter

We were indeed fortunate to be doing a caravan photo shoot just as the first Freeway built on the Mitsubishi Canter FE511 chassis arrived in Queensland. Being on a low loader we also got some unusual shots of the underside. Please excuse the condition of this motorhome as we started clicking away long before Queensland RV had a chance to clean it up after the long journey up from Sydney. This review concentrates on the vehicle, as this is a bit of a breakaway from the Winnebago tradition of Mazda and Isuzu. So why is this happening - nothing on the Winnebago website as yet. The grapevine tells us that Mazda will not be complying with the new stricter emission rules about to come into force here, so they are simply choosing not to service the Australian market! Rather odd as they have an excellent name in the motorhome field. This photographic review makes more sense if you read the 1753 Freeway review first, as we have not gone over the same ground again, but instead concentrated on the many changes and improvements as the design has evolved. Our first impressions of the Canter were we loved it! Having better leg room and more "lean" on the driver's seat is a huge plus. We liked the increased range offered by the 100 litre standard tank and the larger 2800 cc motor.

The seats are slightly more comfortable than the Mazda and overall it feels much roomier. The glove box is a good size - you can actually fit a street directory in there as it has good depth. Seat adjustment possibilities is the same as the Mazda - fore and aft and tilt - just slightly more of it.

The centre seat folds down, but there is no lateral support for the passenger at all. We liked the way you could "split the split" to reveal another storage compartment. Very handy for your UBD or Phil Proctors Camps Australia Wide guide! This is actually a four seater motorhome with another two lap type seat belts in the rear.

Doors open really wide and there is a handy step and a grab handle. Mirrors are excellent and huge! Both fold flat for when you need to get into tight spots - great if you have to store your motorhome in a narrow area at home or inch down a narrow bush track.

The shots below show the easy access. Despite the large mirrors though, you don't get the dandy feature of wide angle mirror insets as found as standard on all Ford Transits. Easy to retrofit though!

Still no CD player as standard on the Freeway - we can only live in hope! A cassette radio comes as standard, but there is a good sized hidey hole ideal for fitting a CD player or changer or perhaps a UHF CB. It is a sad fact of life that manufacturers give "truckies" a pretty raw deal when it comes to extras. Currently only the excellent Mercedes Sprinter offers a CD player as standard. Safety features such as airbags are also very seldom found on trucks. This is really odd as trucks do far more miles than any passenger vehicle.

We rather liked the very neat way that all fluids are concealed, yet readily to hand, from within the cabin. A really great idea. You could if you wish top them up as you drive along - great if you ran out of washer fluid! This swing out compartment pictured above is located just below the good sized glove box.