New Unicorn 4 Cadiz

We visited a dealers today to have a close look at the new Unicorn 4 Cadiz,so here are my thoughts.

Just to say that these are my thoughts and obviously other people may see things differently.

First off to the exterior,which I liked,Bailey have got rid of the ugly joining strips to give a smooth front and rear with an extended black grab handle across the back and single black ones at the front.

The A frame cover is also black and looks rather stylish,the windows are also now square and tinted black as well.

There seemed to be a lack of Bailey's trademark of zealous over application of sealant everywhere but this may have been cleaned up as it was a show van.

There are the usual Al-Ko hitch,ATC and shock absorbers.

The exterior 230v and TV input on the nearside also look more professional as well :-

Access to a wet locker is now on the off side rear which shifts it from possibly interfering with a porch awning,very good.

The toilet cassette locker on the offside rear is rather clever with storage for chemicals etc.:-

I noticed the Michelin tyres which were trumpeted for the U3 have now been replaced with presumably cheaper ones.


Now to the interior where things go slightly downhill.

The main table has fortunately made its way out of the wardrobe to under the nearside bed.

The front sofas are now shorter,seat four instead of six and extend to the front of the van,but feel comfortable,storage is therefore limited to the top of the centre chest with its pull out table as in U3.

There are no TV aerial or 12v sockets at the front but there are two 230v sockets at the side of the chest,oh deary me,not good.

They look like someone had a brainstorm  one Wednesday afternoon whilst high on illicit substances.

The alarm sensor is to the right of the front chest at lower level where I can see it getting a kicking eventually,especially from children.

On to the overhead lockers which are larger with white doors,the handles of which feel flimsy compared with the U3.

The corner space where the U3 has a shelf is now enclosed behind a door,why ?

The radio/CD is located in the left hand one.

The plug surrounds and Alde  control panel are now gloss black and the Alde now comes with battery back up as standard.

There are dimmable reading lights in the same place as in the U3 which handily have USB charging points in them which I may consider fitting in our van.

Moving to the kitchen,the sink is now square surrounded by a grey granity work surface,the pop-up flap looks like it is attached with the same pathetically short screws as in the U3 so it will only be a matter of time before it drops off.

The hob has a grey matching cover over the glass lid to give another work surface which I liked but it has been pointed out that when raised it cuts out light from the window.

Under the sink are three large white fronted drawers which are OK but have low backs to them so things can quite easily fall over the back to the drawers below.

Opposite is the usual large fridge with a small ledge and cupboard to the right of the entrance door,all positive.

Now we move onto the TV situation.

Gone is the excellent swivel mount as on the U3 to be replaced,if replaced is the word,by two optional ( optional as in pay £25 for each plus,presumably,fitting,Bailey dress this up as giving you "choice" ) TV mounts which can be screwed to the right of the entrance door where it will stick out into the door space,possibly get damaged and look like an abortion and/or to the other side of the fridge where it will look like an afterthought.

So if you want to move the telly from viewing in the lounge to watch it in bed you will need to unplug it,move it to the bedroom mount and plug it in again rather than just swivel it around as in the U3,and this is progress ?

Not a good arrangement especially as the mains plug and aerial in the door position are near the ceiling so will hang untidily down the wall.



Pre-wiring is installed for a motor mover,the red-key socket of which has been located in the shoe locker to the left of the entrance door,but sadly it has been attached the wrong way round so it can only be accessed via the front locker which will be handy when the aforementioned locker is full,I don't know which nig-nog thought that one out.

Moving to the bedroom,the beds I believe are two inches narrower than in the U3 for God knows what reason,I can't believe any focus group pleaded for that one.

The handy quadrant shelves in the corner above the bed heads are gone,the padded headboard pieces are now centrally vertical rather than horizontal,no I don't know why either.

Now onto the bathroom which is a complete disaster zone in my opinion.

The grey fully lined shower now has a bi-fold door which is all to the good but there is no shelf or anything for soap or shower gel etc. but there is a nifty fold down towel rail suspended from the roof

The whole bathroom to me felt claustrophobic and very small,whether it is actually smaller than the U3 I don't know but it certainly feels it.

Sadly there is no window which is replaced by a large horizontal illuminated mirror.

It would have been better I think with a smaller mirror and a window,there is a roof vent but don't have a smelly Number 2 as the stink will last all day.

There is an Alde radiator.

There isn't a lockable cupboard,apart from the wardrobe,of any sort in the bathroom to keep things in whilst on the move as in the U3,just three open shelves which will be totally useless when on the road.

Where you are supposed to put soaps,toothpaste etc. whilst travelling is not clear,well it is clear,nowhere.

There is a small dirty washing sack secreted in a cupboard under the sink

The toilet is the same on as in the U3 but the "cistern" bit is hidden away so the flush button is flat to the wall,how the excrement gets to the cassette I couldn't readily work out but obviously does.

To top it all there is a "salad bowl" sink which looks ridiculous but I suppose satisfied some twenty-one year old designer who thought it looked "boutique" instead of actually looking like a pimps boudoir


Sadly Bailey have persisted with the ridiculous leak prone roof join along with a wood floor as opposed to a composite one.

I wonder when the first U4 roof leak will be reported.


All in all I think my verdict is "could have done better" especially as Bailey have reputedly been three years in the planning and taken users and dealers opinions into consideration.

I can see no reason to even consider upgrading from our U3,yes there are a few plus points like the USB lights and the exterior but these are outweighed by the negatives such as the washroom,plus of course there is a price increase.

I can see it being more of a van that people will buy into who haven't had a Unicorn previously rather than by people who already have a U3.

As I say you may have a different view.

Ian