Full review

Words: Val Chapman  Photography: John Chapman

The Swift Challenger X 880

The Challenger name has been a stalwart of caravans for more than 30 years. Through many layouts, many evolutions of equipment level – and many, many sales – the Challenger has been almost as much of a benchmark as Swift’s Sprite range. Never did anyone imagine both of them would grow to eight-foot width.

Happily, the eight-foot revolution has swept into all manufacturers’ ranges and has presented layout opportunities that were never possible in a narrower format. Challenger X gives buyers four options, all with island beds. Three have central shower rooms and one, our review single-axle 880, has its shower room at the rear, with the bed aligned across the caravan. It’s a layout that’s had wide appeal since its inception; now, even wider, more so.

A major difference between eight-foot-wide caravans and standard-width models of this transverse island bed layout is the size of the corridor at the foot of the bed. Manufacturers devised mechanisms to shorten the bed length for daytime in standard-width caravans. But there is no need for that in the 880; there is 56cm of floor space between the base of the bed and the wall.   

The bedroom

The bedroom is a delightful environment, with a luxurious bedhead that reaches all the way from the mattress to the lockers, in four deeply upholstered sections and clad in a fabric that has a sheen that catches the light from the two spotlights.

These lights have USB ports built into the bases (you’d put your phone in the locker above while it’s charging) – and they have a dimmer facility; a knurled wheel at the top of the cylinder shape enables you to vary the brightness. There are no curtains in the bedroom but that doesn’t diminish the cosy look, because, on each side of the window, there are panels clad in the same fabric as the lounge curtains.

Swift’s designers have been producing corner dressing tables for several generations of their caravans and the one in the 880 is among the largest. The triangular surface is 75cm wide, and the mirrored cabinet is 36cm wide and 70cm deep. TV points and a mains socket are built into the dressing table, above the double-doored cabinet, and there is also a mains socket set into the base of one of the wardrobes.

As with most transverse bed caravans, the 880 has wardrobes of different sizes. One is 70cm wide, with a cabinet of the same width beneath, and the other is 29cm wide. The table is stored in the larger wardrobe and, at first glance, you may assume you’d have to delve among the clothes to get it in and out.  But no. The table has its own door, forward of the wardrobe. Super convenient. We love it.   

The washroom

The 880’s shower room has ample shelving: three beside the basin, and a longer shelf under the 78cm-wide cabinet on the back wall, plus two shelves above the toilet. The cabinet under the washbasin is a good size, too.

The shower has a nice refinement that helps you to minimise the amount of water you use – the showerhead has an on/off button so that you can maintain the temperature setting when you turn the water off while you lather the shampoo.       

The lounge

The benefit of eight-foot width is appreciated everywhere in the 880, not least in the lounge, where floor space is nicely generous, and the central drawer unit is 79cm wide. That means, when you pull out the surface extension to create a table, it gives you 67cm by 79cm of dining space; plenty for two place settings.

The main table is 70cm by 97cm, which provides a good quantity of dining space. If you want to use both the main table and the pull-out front table, you get an enormous dining space.        

The Alde heating

Our cold-weather day at Leisure Sales had started well. Staff had turned on the Alde heating prior to our arrival and the 880 was already toasty warm. When we put the bedcover in place for our photography, we noticed the lovely warm air rising from the bedhead area. Warm air also rises from behind each of the settees. Alde heating cocoons you in warmth; if you haven’t yet experienced it, take it from us, this super-efficient heating system produces cosy luxury in the extreme.           

The kitchen

The 880’s kitchen gives you 1.1m of surface space with the 35cm-wide extension hinged up into position.

Two mains sockets are in the kitchen. Another socket, together with TV points, are on the dresser opposite. That’s where you find the major kitchen storage area: a two-shelf cabinet that’s 76cm wide. When you open the door, a concealed drawer is revealed, of a perfect size for a cutlery tray. There is also a smaller drawer, with two segments, ideal for utensils, in the cabinet between the fridge and the oven. Further exploration reveals a third drawer, almost hidden under the kitchen surface edge. This one contains a four-recess cutlery tray.

Storage space in the main kitchen area consists of two metal basket-style shelves that pull out on a runner, plus top cabinets flanking the microwave, and a locker for pans under the oven.          

What’s included

Challengers have alarm systems with PIR, tilt-sensors and key fob control as standard. There is a 100W solar panel on the roof, an exterior mains socket and barbecue point, and a socket in the battery box for you to connect a portable satellite dish.

Options include an Al-Ko Secure wheel lock at £265 and you may want to add in Al-Ko’s stability control system, at £375.

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