What's the difference?
Spoilt. That's what we are. If you're in the market for a hot hatch, you can have your pick of German-built and French ones from as little as $27,000. There isn't a dud among them now that the VW Polo GTI has had a bit of an update and you can pick and choose your style. Audi's S1 is aiming to be king of the kids with its stiffly-priced S1.
Set the finances aside and consider for a moment what's on offer. As it turns out, a lot.
Over the past 12 months, some of the most significant names in camper-trailers have fallen victim to their own success. Ultimate Campers, one of the most interesting and (previously) desirable camping products was placed in voluntary administration and bailed out, while Kimberley Kampers, always the pinnacle of off-road camper design, still has a very uncertain future, if one at all.
But amongst all that, here is Patriot Campers, an Aussie company essentially building $40,000 to $60,000 soft-floor camper-trailers and flourishing where others are failing.
So what’s so good about them, and are they really worth all that money?
Cars this small shouldn't be this fast and useable at the same time, but the Audi S1 is. It isn't without its problems - the ride is harder even than the Fiesta ST which might weary some prospective buyers.
It's also a bit difficult to justify the price - in its basic form it's missing a few creature comforts that you'd expect in a $50,000 car - reversing camera, high-res screen, that sort of thing.
However, in the hot hatch world, those things don't matter. It has the bragging rights, the tech and the outright blinding speed to take on the bonkers Focus ST and equally zany Megane RS. And even the Audi S3.
The Patriot X1 GT is an expensive camper-trailer but there’s very little on the market with such attention to detail, such well-thought design and such practical features.Â
There’s almost nothing like it, which means, to some extent, as long as people keep buying them, the price, beginning at $52,990, is right on the money. I’d buy one, if I could afford it.Â
Of course, there is the standard X1, at around $46,000, which pares back the features a little to bring the price down.Â