Full review

Words and photos: Peter Vaughan

The Swift Voyager 510

When customers specifically ask for it, you’d be mad not build it. So, following numerous requests for a motorhome of around six metres in length at last October’s NEC show, Swift has added a new layout to its best-selling range, the Voyager. 

The result is the 510 model, which inherits much of the design and all of the spec of its bigger brothers, but in a more compact package – just 6.19m long. 

Here, then, is an exclusive first look at the prototype, with the first production vehicles arriving with dealers by the time you read this.

The first thing that strikes you about this newcomer is its tiny rear overhang, which should make this the most agile, best handling of the Voyager breed. 

The cab

Of course, up front it’s still a Ford Transit with the 155hp motor and six-speed manual gearbox (or automatic for an extra £1,795). 

The cab is in Magnetic Grey and spec includes a 9in Zenec infotainment system with reversing camera, stop/start, front fog lights and 16in alloy wheels. A new addition in the cab is the electric parking brake.

Like the rest of the Voyager range, there’s Swift’s SMART construction with a fully GRP bodyshell and large overcab sunroof. 

The exterior

Externally, there are shower and barbecue points, a 100W solar panel and a nice low entrance for access without an external step. 

Both water tanks are underslung (110 litres fresh, 85 litres waste), and the standard Winter Pack includes en route heating to keep them defrosted – pity the waste drain pipe looks so low and vulnerable to damage. 

There are fixings on the rear for a cycle rack but no spare wheel is provided, just a Fix & Go puncture repair kit. 

A garage is the casualty of guillotining so much length compared with other Voyagers but the 510 isn’t completely devoid of external storage. A slim, full-height locker at the rear nearside has a couple of shelves and a hanging rail and can also be accessed from inside the motorhome (toilet servicing is here, too).

The beds

There’s no garage because there’s no fixed bed, the main double lowering electrically from the ceiling (headroom beneath it when stowed is 1.90m). 

The comfy Duvalay mattress here measures 1.89m by 1.52m, with extra wiggle room at the head and foot. It lowers down to just above the sofas (once the  backrests have been removed and the table lowered).

Alternatively, you can park the drop-down bed at mid-height and create a second double bed from the settees below, but, in reality, the 510 works best for two people. 

The seats

That said, it does have four travel seats, thanks to forward-facing Aguti backrests that hinge up from under the sofas. 

The travel seats have a decent amount of legroom for adults as well as Isofix for child seats. There are even folding cup holders for rear passengers! 

As always, under-seat storage is compromised by this arrangement (here, the leisure battery is under the  nearside settee and the Truma Combi 4 E boiler is below the offside one).

The lounge

Not having a permanent bedroom in the 510 means there’s lots of space left for the lounge. 

The offside sofa is 1.65m long and its opposite number is hardly mean, at 1.15m – each has a comfortably raked backrest. 

Both cab seats can swivel for feet-up lounging and the table folds in half, so as not to be cumbersome. 

The kitchen

Then, aft of the lounge, the galley is on the offside, with the 139-litre fridge opposite. Comprehensive cooking facilities are catered for with three gas rings, a mains hotplate and a combined oven and grill. 

A microwave can be added in an overhead cupboard as a dealer-fit option, while there’s plenty of worktop thanks to a loose cover for the sink and a large flap that oversails the offside sofa.

The washroom

If the lounge is impressive for such a compact model, the washroom is even better. You step up into this space, but there’s still good headroom. 

There are also two wardrobes (the smaller one reachable from outside), a fixed basin with plenty of countertop adjacent, and a swivel cassette toilet that has unrivalled leg and headroom. 

The separate shower in the offside corner isn’t quite so generous but it’ll be big enough for most customers and has twin drains and a duckboard. Washroom storage is good, too – make that excellent as elasticated  straps keep the contents in place. 

Summary

If you can live without a garage, or you simply want a shorter motorhome (that doesn’t feel small inside), we can see this latest Voyager being a very popular addition to the range.