Motorhome of the Year awards - Swift Edge 486

Family-friendly and offering value for money, the Edge 486 so impressed our judges, it won Best family motorhome for 2020. Sarah Wakely finds out more.

Verdict

This ‘van that features in our best 6 berth motorhomes guide offers a practical floorplan that should really appeal to families. There’s plenty of space for everyone to enjoy their holiday, and loads of room for them to take all of the kit that they need, even for longer tours. It’s not the cheapest of models, but is good value – and a great entry-level ‘van for first-time buyers.

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Pros

Plenty of workspace in kitchen
Layout offers zones for adults and children

Cons

Not the cheapest of 6-berth models

Swift has a strong reputation for value-for-money, family-friendly coachbuilts: witness the popular Escape range, which was launched with a fanfare at the February 2009 NEC show. The name, at least, has run and run – there’s an Escape line-up for 2020 – but these days it’s a more sophisticated affair than its early ancestor. So there’s a gap to fill.

Enter the Edge, launched with similar fanfare this summer. This five-model line-up majors on value: prices start from £46,625 OTR, resulting in one model – the 494 – taking the Best Budget Motorhome category win in our recent awards.

The model on test here, the 486, was another winner, scooping the Best Family Motorhome trophy.

Children can make the mid-dinette their base for the duration

Living

Adults are sure to love the rear lounge: it’s a good size, and is surrounded by windows to allow in masses of natural light.

The ‘Vittata’ soft-furnishing scheme looks smart and feels hardwearing; Swift AirWave foam features in seats and backrests for comfort. All occupants should be kept snug and warm by the Truma Combi dual-fuel heating system.

Kitchen

Sizeable kitchens are vital in family-friendly ‘vans, allowing the convenience of cooking up a feast for multiple occupants with ease. This model scores well here: there’s plenty of work surface to make use of – and a foldaway flap offers even more. The worktop is in ‘Fero’ dark grey, which should prove a practical colour for a family on tour.

The kit list has a Dometic 8 series manual energy selection fridge, combination thermostatic oven, three-burner gas hob and a grill.

Washroom

A spacious washroom is also an essential in a family ‘van, and that in the 486 should prove large enough for most families.

There’s no separate shower cubicle (although that should make hosing down grubby children a bit easier); there is, however, a handy towel shelf up top, and a small amount of storage in the unit beneath the handbasin.

Beds

The rear lounge can be made up into one of the three double beds: it’s the smallest, but they’re all a good size (ranging from 2.14 x 1.31m upwards). One other is made up from the double dinette, with the final bed living in the overcab area.

This overcab bed gets Swift’s exclusive Duvalay Duvalite Gravity Luxe mattress.