Full review
AS things become more difficult financially, whether it be due to low interest rates on savings or inaccessible loans, price has never been more important.
And now Swift Group have the answer for those still wanting a new motorhome in these austere times: a new brand of motorhomes dubbed ‘Escape’, available from all Bessacarr and Swift dealers.
There are four models on the drawing board, including the 624 (the ‘62’ denoting its approximate 6.2m length, and the ‘4’ being the number of berths).
Consequently, the 622 is the same length as the 624, but offers a rear wrap-around lounge instead of the former’s front dinette.
Then there’s the longer 664, with its fixed French bed at the rear, and the 686, which has a front double dinette and a rear lounge.
The 664 is a low-profile, while the other versions each have an overcab bed. All have a gross weight of under 3.5 tonnes. Obviously, though, the bigger the body the more the standard 2.2-litre 100bhp engine will struggle, so the 686 has the 130 Multijet engine as an option.
Look at the exterior of this Escape 624 and tell me that it doesn’t look worth much more than its asking price. And inside, the story is the same: simple woodwork complete with decorative silver striping, inoffensive fawn and cream upholstery (which also adorns the cab seats), and removable press-studded carpet in a sensible darker shade of brown.
Decorative drapes hang at the windows, there’s a good-sized MPK opaque rooflight above the lounge (although it’s slightly smaller than a Heki), and the illuminated control panel looks positively space age.
The only thing that’s omitted in the name of economy is an electric entrance step – it’s purely manual I’m afraid. You’ll have to make do with just the one airbag, too, although you do still get a JVC CD/radio (with an iPod connection), electric cab windows and central locking (excluding the habitation door).
The 624’s layout comprises an end kitchen/bathroom and large double dinette/longitudinal settee front lounge, this latter making into one double and one single bed.
The front of the overcab double bed rises on struts to increase headroom as you move to the cab, but as the front seats don’t swivel, you won’t have to take this route often.
The cooking facilities comprise a three-burner cooker and simple Thetford combination oven/grill. A large pan cupboard sits at floor level, while up high are two more lockers: one shelved; and the other offering plate and cup racks.
The stainless steel sink has a plastic removable drainer, while there’s lots of worktop space forward of the caravan door, although this will also be home to the TV when on site.
Both above and below this surface are more storage cupboards, which, coupled with the underseat areas, other high-level lockers and wardrobe, adds up to plenty of storage. All the lockers have positive locking catches too.
The bathroom has a swivel cassette toilet, white plastic-moulded washbasin unit, and a separate showerhead. None of the Escapes stretch to a separate shower cubicle, but the 634’s all-in-one washroom is practical nonetheless.
Apart from the larger engine, the only option currently available on Escape is the Comfort Pack. The main addition is an Ultraheat dual-fuel blown-air heating system, although other niceties include a concertina flyscreen on the caravan door and a pleated blind for the windscreen (thermal screens are supplied as standard).
I would consider this pack as a must, if only for the blown-air; otherwise the space heater would leave both the bathroom and the motorhome’s forward end cold in winter. And if I owned a motorhome as nice as this I’d want to use it all year round!
Verdict
There are a few items missing from the Escape’s spec list, but at £30,000 you’d expect there to be. Apart from the standard (non-blown-air) space heater, there’s nothing that would compromise your motorcaravanning experience, though. This new brand will bring a new Swift Group motorhome within the reach of used motorhome buyers – and that alone must be applauded.
This review first appeared in the February 2009 issue of Which Motorcaravan. To subscribe to the magazine, click here.Content continues after advertisements
This is an excellent value for money coachbuilt offering four berths for just £30,000.