Adventurous new look for Brit vans

Swift RV has just landed the first batch of its stylish 2014-model Sterling Eccles SE caravans, featuring avant-garde white and hessian furniture and sleek new exterior styling.

They will sit alongside the existing Swift Challenger SE models in the Australian Swift RV line-up, offering buyers the choice of conventional or more adventurous modern décor.

Based on the ‘Colour Concept’ caravan shown at the 2013 Birmingham Caravan Show in the UK, the Eccles SE comes in eight models, including a tandem axle six-berth model with an L-shaped lounge.

However Australia is initially getting the four-berth Quartz, which is a 19ft 2in (5830mm) internal body length four-berth model. It’s expected to have an Australian Tare weight of less than 1500kg and sell for around $55,000.

The new Sterling models will be seen in public at caravan shows around Australia from early in the New Year, beginning with the Newcastle Caravan, Camping & Holiday Expo from February 7-9.

While the new Sterling models match those of sister-brand Swift in terms of construction, specification and price, they are differentiated by their colours and finishes, with the Eccles SE range now offering buyers a much more stylish European take on the contemporary interiors that have been available on Australian-built vans for some years.

Unlike the light timber tonings with brush stainless steel hardware used throughout the Swift range, the furniture in the Eccles SE is finished in white with chrome hardware and has plain tweed-look upholstery, while the flooring is a dark French oak-effect, giving it a more contemporary domestic feel.

Under the skin, the Sterling caravans share the new SMART construction of all 2014 Swift Group caravans, with body panels featuring polyurethane framing in place of timber, resulting in a claimed weight saving of between 10kg and 14kg, depending on model size.

SMART is Swift’s rather elongated acronym for ‘Strong timber-less body frame with Modern desirable looks and a leading Aerodynamic shape that is Resilient to moisture, all wrapped up in a caravan that has undergone the most comprehensive Testing’.

To underscore their belief in the future of Swift in Australia, Melbourne dealer Caravan Super Centre has placed a large order for the British brand’s motorhomes and caravans and plans to have the full Australian range on display in its expansive Hume Highway, Campbellfield showroom by early-2014.

This will include two caravans from each of the three major Swift ranges, as well as a top-of-the-range Swift Kon-Tiki motor home.

They will soon be joined by the latest Autocruise Rhythm motorhomes – also produced by the Swift Group – which received full Type Approval in December.