Best Family Caravan
Welcome to the Caravan Awards 2026 award for Best Family Caravan. Not purely the territory of families, there might be many reasons for a caravan that sleeps up to six
Best Family Caravan 2026
Elddis Whirlwind 868
The shortlist for this title was a tough call for our judges. Two twin-axle, spacious, maximum-width family caravans, both with outstanding layouts. Would the the one with the lowest price tag claim the title?
It wasn’t that simple, although price is undoubtedly an important factor when assessing family caravans.
The Elddis Whirlwind 868, at £30,749, is the largest model in a new range launched for 2026 and was devised specifically to appeal to family buyers looking for great-value prices.
It’s a six-berth caravan with a true family bedroom at the rear, providing a double bed plus two bunks.
So it has credibility in spades. Furthermore, it’s 2.45m wide. Yet its MTPLM of 1,745kg ensures it has a wide field of towcar matches.
Its heating system is Whale CompleteHeat, with a quiet setting for night time, and the Whale Expanse dual-fuel underslung eight-litre water heater. It’s also equipped with the Whale IC intelligent controller that turns the pump off if the water runs out.
And it has Al-Ko’s automatic, electronic stability control system. Large fridge size is important for families of six – and the 868 has Dometic’s 153-litre fridge with separate freezer.
Overall, our judges decided the Whirlwind 868 should claim the prize – it sets out to give families a lot of caravan for gheir money, and succeeds superbly.
Fact file
Swift Challenger Grande 630
The runner-up Challenger Grande 630, at £33,945, also has a brilliant – and innovative – family layout, this time with a transverse rear bedroom, and an offside dining area that creates a double bed, plus an L-shaped lounge that also transforms into a double bed.
This layout was unveiled for 2025 in the Sprite range; now, it’s grown in width, to 2.46m – and in spec level, to form part of the Challenger range.
In last year’s Caravan awards, the Sprite version, the Quattro MB, took our Best Family Caravan title. Now its successor, too, finds itself earning high praise from our judges and a place in our awards line-up.
View the rest of the awards
We want to recognise the best of the best, the top caravans your money can buy right now in the UK and so we present the Caravan Awards.
The Caravan Awards 2026 will be presented to the very best models for the coming year to help you make the right buying decision for your next tourer.
Discover the best of the other awards here!
