FIRST LOOK – Swift Challenger Grande 630 caravan

A family tourer that started out in the Sprite range is now in the Challenger line-up – wider, and with the new Truma CombiNEO heating system.

A twin-axle tourer with two dining/lounging areas and a double bedroom at the rear – family caravan layouts caravan don't come much better than this… 

This layout first appeared as the Sprite Quattro MB. It was unveiled last summer and went on to win Caravan magazine’s Best Family Caravan Award for its versatility. Now, it has grown in size and status. It now joins the ever-growing rank of eight-foot-wide caravans – and it’s elevated from the Sprite range to Challenger. And it has Truma’s new CombiNEO heating system.

While we were extremely impressed by this layout in Sprite Quattro MB form, we have to say the extra width of this tourer in its Challenger Grande 630 guise means that it excels even more as a family caravan, especially in the central area and in the bedroom.

The lounge is L-shaped, and with a monopod table. The leg fits into a metal recess in the centre of the lounge floor area. A cabinet forms a divide between this area and the offside C-shaped seating area, again with a monopod table, this time with a telescopic base that allows the table to be lowered to form the central section of the base of a double bed. 

So, two lounges, two dining areas, two play areas, if you like. And the double bedroom across the rear is totally secluded by a concertina divider that forms the barrier from the shower and wash area immediately forward of it. The door of the washbasin/toilet compartment on the offside opens across the caravan to close off this area from the kitchen. The bedroom contains a wardrobe with a cabinet beneath it, plus four top lockers and two shelves. On the wall between the bedroom and the shower cubicle is a shelf, beneath which is a slot to store away the dining table when it’s not in use in the front lounge. Above the shelf are television connections. 

Style points are grey upholstered padded panels on each of the side windows, plain pale fawn seating fabric and satiny brown curtains to the front windows. Four cushions, two plain, ultra-dark grey in a tactile-feel fabric, and two that mix white, fawn and brown in a weave pattern.

The kitchen has a double-doored lower cabinet with a wide drawer above it, and two top cabinets alongside the microwave. Surface space is augmented by a hinged flap. It comes into the space by the door but there’s plenty of space to walk around it.