Go up, up and away with the brand new era of roof tents and automobile campers

Automobile tenting has by no means fairly had the identical aura of journey as different types of getting out and about and eschewing standard beds. As soon as seen as extra of a necessity than a novelty, it’s now turning into a available possibility for city dwellers who desire a quick, sharp and easy method of tenting away from house with out fully retreating into nature.

Hyundai is clearly pondering alongside comparable strains. The South Korean automobile maker not too long ago flagged up the nationwide pastime of ‘Chabak’ (alternatively Cha-bak, or Cha bak, the title coming from the Korean phrase for an evening in a automobile), and the way it’s making inroads into European markets, notably the UK. It was a shorthand method of claiming that Hyundai has quite a few appropriate autos for the pastime, beginning with its new plug-in hybrid variant of the Santa Fe SUV.

Other than marketing-driven surveys, we dug into what else is new on the earth of automobile tenting, and the way roof-top tents and extensions – in addition to ultra-practical transformable interiors – are providing recent options to the standard camper van or journey trailer for brief stays off the overwhelmed observe.

Automobile tenting in consolation: completely pitched options

Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai is suggesting that amenity-loving adventurers are higher off with a extra Chabak-inspired method. This minimises set-up and maximises flexibility, presumably permitting you to take advantage of your heat, well-upholstered and -equipped vehicle in your escapes into nature, with the choice to interrupt camp instantly and head for house (or a lodge).

The Sante Fe is especially nicely suited to this featherweight method, with a seven-seater inside, and a tailgate space that may be handled as a ‘terrace-like dwelling house’. Add a roof-tent, and also you’re good to go. Based on Eduardo Ramírez, chief designer at Hyundai Design Centre Europe, ‘the inspiration for the Santa Fe was to create a car that is not simply transport however a gateway to journey – a non-public retreat on wheels that mixes house comforts with the nice outdoor’.