[Music] when it comes to campers it's clear that
there's a world of choice almost as wide as the world of cars all
together but what we're looking at today is the
latest offering by australian campers specialist
trakka the akuna a2m whether it's your first camper or
whether you've been looking at something that's in this exact size bracket
i've just spent two nights camping in this one so i'll be able to walk you
through all of the details but before we get to all of that did you
know that CarsGuide splits all of its reviews into lifestyle
segments we've got family guide we've got urban guide and the full
written review for the Akuna a2m will live over on adventure guide along
with other reviews like it so make sure you check out the
site for that also if you're enjoying our videos
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with all of our latest content now first things first the a2m is
tracker's latest introduction based on a mid-wheel-based volkswagen crafter
in Trakkas range it sits above the vw transporter based Trakkadu
and below the off-road focused mercedes-benz sprinter-based jibiru
wearing an msrp of 150 000. this mid-wheelbase model is
self-contained meaning it has all of its own plumbing
power cooking amenities as well as freshwater and wastewater storage
now i could just list all of this thing's many many features but
seeing as though i've spent two days camping in it it might be better just to
show you come have a look immediately up here
we've got a dining area which is your driving area but it converts thanks to
these smart captains chairs which turn all the way
around and a fold out table here which has cool little mug slots for the
matching tracker mugs which come with it then standard fitment here is a
microwave and fridge and over this side you've got
a kitchenette as well which features a pop-up sink water
filter and cooktop now if you come in the whole
way you'll notice something really cool it's over 1.9
meters tall inside so i can stand upright pretty much anywhere inside this
thing which is excellent and over here you have a fully contained
bathroom so you've got a shower hot water and
[Music] that sound is a toilet which slides out
of the wall Trakka tells me that's a specially patented feature
how do you get hot water i hear you ask well that's really cool too
Trakka has made the Akuna a single fuel source vehicle
meaning it has plumbed the crafters diesel fuel tank
for a water heater not only that but the standard stovetop is a diesel burner too
i have to say on our camp weekend it did take quite a while for the water to heat
up so you'll probably want to take your
time and the heated tank is just 10 liters so you'll probably
want to keep your showers short having the stovetop on diesel does
create some strange side effects the first of which being
the moment you light it it starts to make the cabin smell of burning diesel
which isn't the most pleasant smell in the world
the second is when it starts to heat up which again
takes a while this whole bench top area around here
starts to get really hot near the top end i actually put a plastic cup down
and it started to melt which is something you might want to watch out
for thankfully though Trakka do offer a
induction stovetop cooking option it's well priced it's safe it doesn't smell
of anything and honestly if you're spending this much money
just get it it will be better power comes by the way of a secondary lithium
ion battery which is charged either by the engine or a 200 watt solar system
monitoring and controls are tidally stored away in one location
too when off the mains power can last up to a few days without extra input
depending on how you use it and how cold you want your fridge to be
now all of your betting questions answered Trakka called this bed here a
double although it isn't quite full length i'm
182 centimeters tall and i don't quite fit a crossways in the cabin here
even though they've pushed out this window a little bit
i do have to bring my legs up now what surprised me
is even though this mattress is thinner than you might expect
it's actually quite comfortable it is built for durability though so if you're
used to maybe a softer mattress at home you might want to bring with you a
mattress topper just to add that little extra bit of comfort underneath
is a storage area which is big but perhaps not giant for longer
journeys and tracker have fully thought of the
australian climate meaning fly nets on almost every window
aperture as well as diesel-powered conditioning all the lights are power
saving dimmable leds there are usb charging points as well as
household power outlets strategically placed throughout the cabin
now on top of that 150 000 starting price
we also have a few options other than the already mentioned induction cooktop
our car is fitted with the alfresco pack which includes this
outdoor heated shower system this clip-on bench here which you can sit
with chairs and have some dinner and it also comes with a little
skin-ette sort of thing and on top of the roof as well it also
comes with a extended power supply for the solar power system
the Trakka alloys replace the vw ones at a price
and you can also option a vw plus pack which
puts all of the crafters active safety items together with the trendline
styling pack not fitted to our car are a series of
premium interior upholsteries and a tow bar what you might want to keep an
eye out for though is your gvm the Akuna all said and done weighs in at
almost three tons leaving you just over 600
kilos for your payload capacity a quick word on dimensions the a2m is
just under six meters long just over two
meters wide and almost three meters tall which
should keep you out of most multi-story car parks which brings us to
the drive experience so the good news is if you've driven
anything from a crafter like this to a golf everything in here will be
pretty familiar that means nice touch points ergonomic
use of things like the multimedia screen and all the rest of it
and as well you get the bonus edition of apple carplay and android auto
visibility out the front as you might imagine is
really good with these massive windows but at the back well
that's a different story you've only got a tiny portal of a window and while it's
easy enough to see if a car is behind you a motorcycle not so much
the crafter's two litre four-cylinder diesel engine
is adequate for dealing with the akuna's bulk
but obviously it's no athlete so there's a lot of sticking to the left lane when
you're on the freeway you do feel its weight and its length in
the corners and it's relatively high center of gravity and that is especially
true when it comes to looking after the rear of the car which
can be quite unsettling understanding as well that it's a commercial offering
there is a fair bit of noise and there's just
fittings rattling around and all sorts of stuff like that
but what do you expect now if you are spending this
much on a camper already just tick that safety box
as things like adaptive cruise control and the blind spot monitoring system
will be a godsend on those longer freeway drives
and our last thing to remember the Akuna is a front-wheel drive
only offering so that might be worth factoring in when you're picking your
campground and stay away from some of those more
treacherous surfaces so the Trakka akuna a2m it is pricey
compared to some camping options but then you could really
sustain some long distance touring in it with just a little bit of planning
you will need to keep an eye on not only your gvm but also a relatively long
options list just to make sure you get the exact right vehicle for you
but that having been said it was still the envy of other campers on our test
[Music] weekend
[Music] [Music]