While other brands chose to be cautious in bringing out new models for the 2023 season, Swift has been ambitious, launching three ranges.

Voyager, with its new base vehicle, grabbed a great deal of attention, and our review of the Swift Voyager 584 reveals more about what you get with this model. There’s also been a lot of interest in the Carrera van conversions, too.

On the outside, the new two-berth Swift Carrera 122 certainly looks like a punchy little number, decked out in Lanzarote Grey, with black cab trims and 16-inch alloy wheels. Other exterior features include a gas barbecue point, and for al fresco dining, a tabletop that clips into the outer edge of the kitchen peninsula.

The cab itself is standard Ducato, with drinks holders in the middle, although very tall people might find legroom a little limited in the driving position. Both seats swivel around
very easily, however, and although there is a step down from the cab, the rest of the floor is flat.

Fiat Ducato cab
Standard Fiat Ducato cab with central drinks holders

Swift (who you can find out more about in our best motorhome manufacturer guide) doesn’t provide an additional small table up front, but you could use the kitchen extension to rest a drink and a snack on if the two of you want to admire the view through the sliding door. Instead of opening the extension with a hinge, you pull it out from its dedicated slot, then slide it back in.

The rear lounge has loads of room for more than just two occupants. You have to fetch the pedestal table from the forward side of the washroom, where it has its own storage space. But it is wisely set back in the lounge, with the leg off centre, so there is plenty of room for taller people to stretch out, the sort of useful touch that we keep an eye out for when looking for the best campervan.

Rear lounge
Rear lounge with parallel facing settees has plenty of room to relax

As well as daylight coming through large windows on both sides, ambient light from behind the lockers will help as needed. TV sockets are in the front offside corner in the lounge, where a bracket could go up on the washroom wall. There are USBs here, too.

The kitchen includes a two-burner gas hob in line with the sink, and has ample workspace once you pull out the extension, . You also get a Dometic combined oven and grill, and a useful bin at the end of the peninsula.

Marble-effect lining adorns the walls in the washroom, with a mint-green splashback behind the handbasin. The shower shares space with the basin, but there’s a separate showerhead. The basin folds away, to leave extra space for showering. The whole room is well lit, and you get a toilet roll holder.

The new bed is a major improvement. Have you ever worried that platforms making up a double might drift apart during the night? You need have no such fears with this bed – once you’ve lifted up the single base cushion, the central slatted platform folds out from under the nearside settee, then clips to the edge off the offside base. You could, of course, use the settees as single beds, but why would you want to, when you can have a double as comfortable and sturdy as this?

The only potential downside is that either of those options would really be most comfortable for those people under 6ft 1in (1.86m) tall.

As a result of that bed arrangement, the nearside underseat area is clear for two huge drawers. You have to lift the offside base cushion to get to the space, but it is ample, despite the battery there.

There are also large overhead lockers here, so you might not have too much need for the half-height wardrobe, which is right up by the front seats, under the fridge. At least in that spot it is useful for storing outdoor clothing.

The fridge, at 90 litres, is big enough for the food of two, and next to it are two narrow shelves.

In the kitchen, there’s one overhead locker, partly taken up with the aerial, a shelved cupboard below, a cutlery drawer and two drawers under the combined oven and grill. Washroom storage includes a shelved cupboard next to the mirror.

Overhead locker
Ample overhead locker space

Practical Motorhome Says…

Incorporating clever touches such as the new kitchen extension and the sturdier bed arrangement, Swift has really enhanced this rear-lounge van conversion layout. The bed could perhaps be longer, and the wardrobe larger, but these are just small niggles in what is otherwise a well-thought-out model.

Technical spec of the Swift Carrera 122

  • Price: £71,495
  • Sleeps: 2
  • Belts: 2
  • Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato
  • Engine: 2.2-litre, 140bhp turbodiesel
  • Length/width/height: 6.00/2.26/2.72m (19’7”/7’4”/8’9”)
  • MTPLM: 3500kg
  • MiRO: 2929kg
  • Payload: 571kg
  • Water (fresh/waste): 93/58 litres
  • Leisure battery: 80Ah
  • Gas: 2 x 3.9kg

Or you could try these:

  • Adria Twin Supreme 600SX: outdoor enthusiasts are bound to love the excellent spec provided by this sporty ‘van.
  • Joa Camp 60G: this bright and cheerful two-berth is a competitively-priced ‘van.

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