Full review

If you can’t stretch to £85k for a Kon-tiki motorhome, the Bessacarr range is now the next step down the Swift motorhome hierarchy. And, to reflect the fact that Bessacarrs occupy the ground once home to the Bolero range, their numbering goes up a notch from 400s to 500 series

In the Bessacarr 500 series there are now 10 models. Five of the layouts are offered with a half-dinette lounge (with rear travel seats) or as a ‘Lounge’ model with parallel settees and purely two-berth accommodation.

In the case of this new 599 model that allows the use of a 3,500kg chassis rather than the standard 3,850kg base of the four-berth.

The new familiar Swift look of a metallic black Fiat Ducato cab continues to feature on these new Bessacarrs, as do Black Edition graphics. White extruded skirts link to the full GRP rear panel with LED light clusters and a reversing camera. Additional benefits this season are the 16in alloy wheels and slide-out skirt lockers (ideal for hoses, mains lead, etc).

Inside, the Skyview sunroof lets in plenty of daylight and has speakers set into its surrounding frame, while Oyster Grey upper locker doors have a gloss finish and there are new Silverado soft furnishings, or full leather at extra cost.

The rear travel seats are now more heavily sculpted for increased passenger comfort.

The central L-shaped kitchen comes with an exclusive-to-Swift full slot-in cooker from Dometic, as well as Fenix worktops that are said to ‘self repair.’ There’s a stylish, illuminated splashback, concealed overhead lighting and a high-level microwave, too. The tall, slimline 134-litre fridge sits opposite, while over the aisle is a roof vent with extractor fan. A shelf above the sink is convenient for the mains sockets.

It’s the rear bedroom that’s key to a layout like this, though, and as you step up into the rear en suite room you’ll note that there’s space to sit up in bed. The bed itself measures a fairly modest 1.83m by 1.34m but the Duvalay Apollo Luxe mattress promises above-average comfort. A TV mounting is sited at the foot of the bed (on the toilet wall) – a second one resides on the bulkhead behind the driver’s seat.

There’s decent external locker space, though the bed can’t rise to increase this as in many imports. Headroom is 640mm, while doors are on each side.

Back inside, the bathroom places the good-sized shower on one side and the toilet room (whose door shuts off the en suite from the lounge/galley) opposite. There is no privacy between shower and bedroom but there’s a useful vanity area in the corner of the bedroom, complete with mirrors and a mains socket for your hair straighteners, etc.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read loads more like it in the latest issue of What Motorhome magazine.

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