A family-friendly motorhome with a keen price
Swift Voyager 485
FIRST came the Voyager 5 Series, Swift’s first-ever Ford-based coachbuilts. Now, for 2024, they’re followed by the Voyager 4 Series, a range of overcab models, also on the Transit.
The 475 (rear lounge) and 485 (twin beds over a garage) are both five-berth ’vans with five belted seats, so these are aimed right at the heart of the family market. They’re priced right, too, at just under £70k. You don’t need a second mortgage for the options, either, with no expensive packs to add, although you might want to consider Ford’s automatic gearbox. Otherwise, it’s just dealer-fit accessories, such as a microwave, habitation air-con or a bike rack.
The new 4 Series models aren’t just replicas of the 5 Series with the addition of an overcab bed, although that feature is a key part of the 485’s family appeal. The big double up top (1.92m by 1.34m) has an opening window at one end and a reading light at t’other. As is typical, headroom reduces towards the front of the ’van (so check it out carefully), but, of course, using this bed doesn’t in any way reduce the usability of the lounge below.
That lounge is also a change from the norm, as, rather than a half-dinette, it’s a pullman arrangement. These can often be too formal but Swift has put extra effort into the shape and rake of the seating to make it more comfortable, and, with the table stowed away, it feels spacious, too. There’s a swivelling passenger cab chair but no inward-facing lounge seat, creating a more open feel with a wider aisle. Instead, where you might have expected the extra seat, you’ll find a slim storage cabinet with TV point above.
Importantly, as the Voyager 485 is a full five-berth, the dinette makes into an additional berth and the rear-facing seat offers the fifth seatbelt. Isofix is fitted on the forward-facing bench, too.
In manual gearbox form, this is a 3,500kg motorhome (to suit any driver) and it comes with a rear garage fitted with twin loading doors, fixed lashing hooks and 12V, 230V and USB power points. The bike locker sits over a new Sawiko lightweight chassis extension but the floor level is quite high for loading, and, if you need both five belts and an automatic gearbox, then you’ll also require a C1 licence as the maximum gross weight has to be increased.
Other external features include a cold water shower point, barbecue point and 100W solar panel, while the gas locker accommodates two 6kg cylinders. A
