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quoteYour island luxury
The popular, long-running Radio 4 show, Desert Island Discs, has a category where the guest is invited to suggest one luxury they’d want to take with them on their otherwise deserted habitat. Nobody has suggested a caravan yet – but something with as much luxury as this Swift Elegance 560 could be a contender!
Not quite so long-running – the range was introduced in 2014; and this, the 560 is new for 2019 – Swift’s Elegances have nevertheless made their presence felt at the top end of the caravan market.
There are eight models today, five of which have island beds of varying orientations. This is the most standard of them all, arguably, with the main bed at the very back and a full-width washroom just forward of it, which means you walk through either side to join the rest of the living facilities.
Latest Elegances from the third generation of Swift’s SMART bodywork construction, which is now totally timber-free between its GRP outer and inner skins (including the all-important floor) and benefits from a market first – a lifetime water ingress warranty. There are terms and conditions, of course.
There’s definitely a distinct Elegance look, too, with items like heavy-duty corner steadies, alloy wheels, rear-view camera, 80Watt solar panel.
Swift caravan fans will have noticed a new-look front too.
Inside, the 560 is very much the model of a modern touring caravan. Two-tone gloss finish to the upper lockers, lots of decent quality plastic mouldings, large sunroof over the lounge, where the front bulkhead also incorporates a series of sockets (mains, 12V, USB). A DAB/FM radio is also standard.
The luxury continues all the way up to Alde central heating, along with features like Swift Command, meaning you can operate lighting, gas and electrical items via a 7in touchscreen or remotely by an app. Plus this comes with the Swift Command Tracker by Sargent, which will give owners a healthy discount on their caravan insurance.
At the back, that main bed is some 1.90m x 1.33m. It’s a Duvalay one-piece mattress, flanked by his and hers wardrobes with mirrored doors and mini ledges over drawers and lockers. There’s a mains socket offside, USB nearside, plus speakers.
All the fittings are here, too, for sitting up and watching TV in bed.
Plus, it’s easy to hinge up the bed’s metal framework for access to the storage area below, where you’ll also find the spare wheel.
Forward of the bedroom, washroom facilities are spread across the width of the 560, with two sliding doors for access. The shower cubicle includes an Ecocamel showerhead with water-saving on/off switch.
The towel holder and double clothes hook just outside the part-circular cubicle are handy – and the radiator beneath the latter will surely help as a towel warmer.
There’s a fixed basin with locker below and illuminated mirror above on the central bulkhead, whilst the swivel-bowl toilet takes up the offside. Beyond it is a large, opaque window.
Step forward again and the main kitchen unit stretches along the offside.
Again, all very neatly laid out, with Dometic cooker to the far right.
That worktop is in a material called Fenix NTM (it’s scratch resistant and deliberately designed for food preparation use), with the stainless steel sink inset and a flip-up worktop extension. Overhead are two lockers with a microwave oven set between them directly over the sink.
Fresh food storage is catered for by a slimline 134-litre fridge with freezer.
The rest of this Elegance is a list of equipment that stretches to pages. It lacks for little, as you’ll find out. Weight and cost are, inevitably, the only real downsides.
Verdict: Top-of-the-market single axle, island bed offering.
Plus: Sheer level of equipment, modern-day styling inside and out.
Minus: Weight, price
In-a-nutshell: Elegance not just by name
There’s more information on the Elegance range on the Swift website. To find out more about insuring this or your current caravan visit our caravan insurance discounts page.
Alternatives: Bailey Unicorn Cabrera, Coachman VIP 545, Elddis Crusader Aurora, Lunar Clubman SR
Swift Elegance 560 factfile
| Model | Swift Elegance 560 |
| Dimensions | 7.54m L, 2.28m W, 2.59m H |
| Internal length | 5.93m |
| Berths | 4 |
| MTPLM | 1,684kg |
| MIRO | 1,528kg |
| Payload | 156kg |
| RRP | from £29,220 |
| Safety & security | Swift Command including Thatcham Cat 6 tracker (subscription required), Al-Ko AKS 3004 stabiliser, Al-Ko ATC, Al-Ko Secure wheel lock, infra-red alarm system, smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector, CRiS, VIN Chip |
| Key options | options Alternative upholsteries (from £195), wraparound cushion and backrest (from £175), satellite TV system (from £1,945), Swift Command Tracker annual subscription (£95) |
maybe try same as us… just wrap the tyre in a dustbin bag then roll it out….also keep in with the spare some gloves for tyre changing and a couple of spare bags for the flat.. You won’t need to put it away just yet as it will need repairing ASAP..
Having experienced the ‘fun’ of extracting an underslung spare wheel from AlKo carriers many times, I can actually appreciate the reasons behind storing it under the island bed.
When we bought our 560 model during 2018, one of my first checks was a ‘dummy run’ of removing the spare and carrying it out of the caravan as a comparison with removal from a carrier.
I soon noticed how easy it was to damage both the underbed PVC casing and the interior of my caravan. Getting through the bathroom was particularily interesting.
So, underslung or under bed ? Neither is easy IMHO.
For under bed, I would recommend keeping a strip of cheap plastic groundsheet ready so the spare could be rolled out, in the event of a puncture. Carrying 20kg has risks !
But all buyers have a choice here. For me ? I decided to buy another underslung carrier and they are easy to fit.
Agree with you here, it’s not well thought out. New rubber smell made our camper smell terrible for the longest time too. And if you did replace tyre, do you our used filthy one in with your storage under bed?
With the carrier underneath it is nearly impossible to get at with a flat tyre as the caravan is too low. Far better and cleaner inside.
Have you ever tried groveling under a caravan with a flat tyre obviously not.
Hi, we have a cheaper model with exactly the same layout the Swift Sprite Major S4EB (Freestyle edition). It’s a great caravan with plenty of extras for around £20,000 OTR. One thing I can never understand is why Swift put the spare wheel under the bed. Once you use it for storage (what’s left of it with the spare wheel taking up a lot of room) it would be a nightmare to access if you needed to change the tyre especially on a motorway or busy A road. I bought an alko wheel carrier (~£80) which slides underneath the chassis. The mounting points are already in place for this! Why Swift don’t do this in the first place I’ve no idea.