Price £45,795 Berths 4 MTPLM 2051kg
This luxurious twin-axle provides plenty of payload, but you will need a substantial vehicle to tow it
Words Peter Baber Photos Olly Curtis Tested at Cote Ghyll Caravan Park (www.coteghyll.com)
WHEN SOME IDEAS catch on, they are suddenly everywhere. It seems like only yesterday that 8ft-wide caravans were the new thing in the UK, having become fairly popular on the Continent already.
Now they are so common that Swift no longer offers its most upmarket Elegance in what you might call a conventional width. For the 2023 season, they have all become Elegance Grandes – and all twin-axles.
It’s what you might expect from a range that, when introduced in 2014, considerably raised the bar in caravan design with its SMART construction. For a while, Swift was so confident in how this timberless system had evolved, it offered a lifetime water-ingress guarantee on new models.
That no longer applies to the latest vans, partly due to a change in suppliers, but a Swift Elegance is still clearly something many caravanners aspire to.
We had a quick look at the new Elegance Grande 845, with a rear washroom and a transverse island bed, when it was launched last year. But we thought that it was due a closer inspection, with an overnight stay at Cote Ghyll Caravan Park, near Osmotherley in North Yorkshire, this summer.
Design
Along with that widening, Elegance models were also treated to a new look both outside and inside this year. On the exterior, that means new front and rear GRP panels. The front panel contrasts with a graphite gas bottle locker door, while the rear panel is graced with new LED light clusters.
The chrome ‘Elegance’ lettering is a real touch of class, and this year you also get diamond-cut alloy wheels. Red and black decals on the side add a touch of sportiness.
Towing
Some people might feel intimidated at the prospect of towing an 8ft-wide caravan, but you shouldn’t be with the Elegance Grande. It’s not just the twin axles, but also ATC fitted as standard and an AKS stabiliser that should reassure you.
We took our test model along a breezy A-road, including a dual carriageway, then (due to some misleading road signs) right into the centre of medieval York (not quite the Shambles, but not far off) and then up some winding lanes on the way to Cote Ghyll Caravan Park. But throughout the journey, we never had any problems.
Pitch and set-up
As you would expect from a caravan of this size and price band, the Elegance Grande comes with heavy-duty corner steadie
