Full review

Words: Val Chapman  Photography: Richard Chapman

The Swift Elegance Grande

The Swift Elegance Grande range is targeted at buyers looking in the top price echelon of tourers and there is a great choice of island bed layouts.

Four of the six layouts have central washrooms, three have L-shaped lounge seating, three have beds backing onto the rear wall, and three have the headboards against the offside wall. All have very similar kitchen layouts… Which would you choose?

That depends on whether you prefer your island bed to have its headboard at the back of the caravan or against a side wall. If you prefer your bed at the rear and shower room in the centre, that narrows your list down to three. 

Then, there is the question of shower room size. The 850 and 860, identical in price and length, and  both with rear bedrooms, differ mainly in the size and layout of the shower room and that’s where your decision will take place if it’s between these two very similar models.

In the 860 you enter the bedroom through a door in the centre of the shower room, whereas, in the 850, there are doors on both sides of a centrally located washbasin. Thus, the 860’s bedroom has a more open aspect to the shower room.

It’s all down to individual preference, of course – and we can see that the Elegance Grande range gives buyers lots of dilemmas; you’re spoiled for choice!

And, given that models in this range scooped four awards – among them Caravan magazine’s Caravan of the Year and Best Luxury Caravan – it’s easy to understand how buyers can get a little lost. 

The washroom

So, why did we choose the 860 for this review? Because its shower room is super spacious and because you step from here into the bedroom via a sliding door in the centre of the shower room; somehow, this creates a very domestic en suite feel.

The shower cubicle is akin to the best you’d find in a boutique hotel room. The side walls are clad in   pale fawn marble-effect; the rear wall is in dark brown marble effect. 

There’s a stylish shelf for shampoos recessed into the forward wall, and a spotlight is set into the top of this recess.

The bifold door secures in its open position with a neat pull-release catch. A hinged towel rail is mounted in the roof. A double towel hook is on the wall just outside the compartment.

And, opposite, is the epitome of washroom luxury: a spacious compartment with a rectangular washbasin set rimlessly into a marble effect surface that gives you an unusually large space, by caravanning standards, for preening paraphernalia. 

There’s a wall cabinet and one under the washbasin, as you’d expect, plus three shelves illuminated by a strip concealed within the framework of the cabinet alongside it.

Lighting seems to flow onto the surface surrounding the basin, from another strip underneath the cabinet, and from yet another above the mirror. 

Plus, a fine line of light is concealed on top of the cabinetry frame that runs the length of the compartment. Yet more lighting hides within a shelf that follows the angled shape of the surface. 

The ladder-style towel warmer is finished in matt dark grey. And there’s an Omnivent extractor fan in the roof. 

The style and the finesse of the washroom and shower compartment are at a level you’d expect in a luxurious, newbuild house or bijou apartment.

The bedroom

The same level of luxury and superb styling continues in the bedroom. The curved wardrobes have lighting within, and light streams down from their bases to shelves on each side of the bed.

USB ports are in the shelf areas, together with the open-and-close control for the electrically operated rooflight. 

A mains socket is adjacent to the mirror and, on the opposite side of the room, are television connections, plus an acrylic shelf for your TV.

Upholstered panelling, involving differing angles, runs from the bed to the lockers above, to form a beautifully styled bedhead. 

The bed base incorporates a hinge mechanism that allows you to raise the pillow end, thus shortening the mattresses projection, to create ample walk space at the entrance to the bedroom. 

And the storage area under the bed is accessible from exterior hatches at both sides.

The lounge

So, a superior bedroom and fabulous en suite – Can the 860’s lounge match it in excellence? Prepare to be amazed…

The sumptuous splendour of the L-shaped lounge features plenty of illumination, upholstered panels on the walls, white gloss upper sections of the locker doors, a raised ripple-finished panel behind the TV position that is large enough for an enormous TV should you want one. 

The story of excellence goes on…

Lighting is concealed behind the dark grey panel where you would mount a TV. Within the cabinet below are a mains socket, a 12V socket, coax and satellite connections, all of which can connect to  your TV through the portal on the top surface of the media shelf.

There is a built-in wireless phone charger at the fore end of the media area. The media panel also has two USB ports, a 230V socket and an audio jack connector.

The kitchen

Kitchen surface and storage capability matches the excellence everywhere else in the 860. With the 63cm-by-34cm extension hinged up, the surface is 1.10m long, and its L-shape means it’s 83cm at its deepest point. 

Three drawers pull out from the L-shaped area, each 30cm wide and 60cm deep; the top one is divided into four areas for cutlery. Alongside are three more drawers; the top one is 30cm wide, the other two are 20cm wide. An extractor fan sits directly above the hob. 

The fridge/freezer (opposite) is the largest of the Dometic range, with a 177-litre capacity. It has a separate freezer and doors that can be opened from either the left or right-hand side.

There are lockers above and below, a small cabinet by the door, and a cocktail cabinet above it (so sophisticated, so practical and not at all bling), complete with two spotlights that make the acrylic glass and bottle recesses gleam.

The spec

Our review 860 has the fabric upholstery option; buyers can – at no extra cost – opt for leather-effect. It’s called Ultraleather. It looks and feels like leather, it’s made with durability in mind, and has a superbly soft feel.

This gorgeous tourer has Alde underfloor heating, a 30-litre internal water tank, and of course,

ATC and an alarm system. Even the control panel above the door is impressive. It’s very intuitive, with touchscreen controls and clear symbols for each function.

The Elegance Grande 860 has few true competitors in its twin-axle, 2.45m wide, £46,000 marketplace. There’s the Buccaneer Barracuda, at £46,949 and 1,940kg MTPLM, and the Coachman Laser Xcel 845 at £46,095 and 1,904kg MTPLM.

But neither of these has ‘leather’ upholstery as a no-cost option. So the Elegance Grande is one on its own.