Model Year | 2018 |
Class | Twin Axle |
Price From (£) | 29,285 |
Internal Length (m) | 6.36 |
Shipping Length (m) | 7.97 |
MRO (kg) | 1625 |
MTPLM (kg) | 1,785 |
Max Width (m) | 2.28 |
External Height (m) | 2.59 |
The 2018 Swift Conqueror caravan range is slightly wider and lighter – and now boasts rear view cameras
Swift's long-established Conqueror range has always appealed to buyers looking for high spec and many refinements. Each new incarnation of the model first introduced in 1990 has raised the bar.
For 2018, Swift has made its Conqueror range slightly wider and given it a wider sunroof. It has also introduced a rear view camera – when you are reversing onto a pitch there's no need for a passenger to get out of the car to guide you!
The new Conquerors have additional background lighting on the front lounge corners, and fixed bed models have illuminated headboards. Other changes for 2018 include a new-style gas bottle compartment door, wider, with carbon fibre-effect finish in dark grey. It has a sturdy, three-point locking system. Little details like new-style grab handles arrive, together with new, burnished steel, alloy wheels.
The two centimetres of additional width has been achieved because the Conqueror now moves to Swift's SMART construction system, with a polyurethane timberless framed bodyshell and polystyrene insulation core.
In case you are wondering what SMART stands for, it's Strong timberless body frame with Modern looks and an Aerodynamic shape highly Resilient to moisture and Tested for durability.
The SMART construction system also enables Conquerors to be slightly lighter; in the case of the 650, it's 11 kg lighter, weighing in with an MTPLM of 1785kg and a MIRO of 1625kg.
There are seven Conqueror layouts. The three on twin axles are all the same price and the same length. We picked the 650 for this review because it has the in-vogue central washroom, rear bedroom layout – and because it's the best-selling twin-axle layout in the range. It's easy to see why.
If you like your caravans spacious, and would rather like to feel your bedroom has an en suite shower room, like a bijou flat, this layout will surely be on your shortlist. The 650, in common with the other two twin-axle Conquerors, (both with rear washrooms; one with a transverse bed, the other with a nearside bed), has an internal water tank.
That, together with Alde heating, makes these models ideal choices for year-round caravanning; with a water tank inside the caravan, there's no risk of your morning shower water supply being interrupted by frost.
At 1.04m long, the 650's shower room is among the biggest you can find in a caravan. A new feature introduced for 2018 is the coronet of light surrounding the top of the pale grey panel on which the shower and riser bar are mounted.
The shower is a good size, at 67cmx77cm, but there are no shelves for shampoos, a tad inconvenient, hence it misses out on an A-rating.
There's a towel loop on the wall alongside the shower, plus a double hook; buyers who need more towel provision would want an extra loop on the forward door of the shower room.
Sliding doors on each side of the washroom lead into the bedroom. At 1.9m, the length of the double bed will suit most tall caravanners.
Mainly couples by the Conqueror 650s. But, if you are looking at the 650 as a potential four-berth, one of the settees makes a credible single bed for an adult, at 1.88m long; the other is 1.53m long. And, of course, there's the option of making a double bed here.
In the bedroom, wardrobes flank the bed; each provides 38cm of hanging width, with a drawer and cabinet beneath. These, together with the two-shelf lockers above the bed, provide adequate clothing space.
Each wardrobe door has a mirror – practical, of course, but also making the bedroom look a little more spacious than it is. And we love the upholstered panels on each side of the windows.
The two tiny spotlights at floor level (on either side of the bed) are excellent additions to the lighting. And the bright strip of LEDs concealed behind the headboard is a new feature for 2018.
The under-bed space is generally regarded as a caravan's greatest storage asset.
But in the 650 it's compromised by the spare wheel – something we all hope will never be needed, but if it should be, this one would be rather difficult to extract, because of the position of cross members supporting the bed frame, The under-settee storage, though, is first-rate, with both front and top access.
Because the offside settee is longer than the nearside one, the locker-run above it is correspondingly longer, with two 50cm-wide lockers. Two corner lockers maximise on space.
By the door, there's a 45cm-wide wall cabinet, plus a smaller cabinet at floor level which, we discovered, provides just enough space for two pairs of shoes, in the perfect place as you take them off on the doormat to preserve the beautiful fawn carpet. Storage provision is fine, especially considering most 650 buyers are couples.
The snack table which extends from the front chest of drawers is well-proportioned, providing 71cmx66cm of level surface. When you need the main table you have to go to the other end of the caravan, to extract it from the nearside wardrobe, fine so long as the wardrobe is not full of clothes (you'd have to remove some of them).
But lifting it in requires patience and strength – you have to lift it with one hand (there's not enough space for two), with your arm outstretched, while taking care not to scratch the lower edge of the wardrobe door frame with the edge of the table. Take care, too, not to scratch your arm on the central wardrobe door hinge.
Both photographer and writer did this several times, just to be sure it wasn't a case of 'first impressions', so, unfortunately, it must be a C for dining.
Conqueror went into 2018 with unchanged soft furnishings, a combination of cream and aubergine shades. SwiftShield fabric, treated to resist stains and is designed to be cleaned using just water on a cloth, is an option.
At 1.9m and 1.52m, the settees provide plenty of seating space for four, or stretch-out relaxing space for two.
With the hinge-up extension in place, there is a 1.14m-stretch of kitchen surface interrupted only by the circular (and good-sized, 37cm diameter, 10cm deep) sink. The surface is smart plain dark brown but somehow the neat sink cover doesn't look commensurate in quality with all that surrounds it, hence a B-rating.
Kitchen storage, though, is excellent, with a 72cm-wide drawer plus a double cabinet of the same width beneath it, two top lockers – and two more lockers above and below the 190-litre Dometic fridge-freezer. We especially like the generous size of the four-compartment cutlery tray fitted into the drawer, with almost as much space alongside it for cooking utensils.
With four wheels and the added reassurance of the ATC automatic electronic device to control the first sign of a snaking motion before it has chance to develop, the 650's towing characteristics are surely among the best in caravanning.
Our 2018 review 650 wasn't available for a test tow, but we've towed previous 650s and praised their predictable, glued-to-the-road feel.
There's a lot to like about the Swift Conqueror 650 – lovely bedroom, spacious central shower area, great kitchen storage space and more. And a few foibles – the spare wheel under the bed, insufficient shelving within the shower compartment and the storage position of the table.
The 650 isn't perfect but it is the best-selling twin-axle model in the range, which speaks volumes for it. If the foibles we discovered during our review day don't worry you, you'll find the 650 is a big package of high-spec, attractively furnished caravan that fights its corner competently in its class.
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