Swift Charisma 620; Stering Europa 620 and Conqueror 630

[Dustydog]

The new 2008 Conqueror should be at our dealer within next two weeks. Very tempted from what we have read. Must say the new Bailey Senator Wyoming didn't have the "wow" factor that we had expected.We feel a disappointment here.

I think the latest Europa and Charisma 620s now come with a fully lined shower cubicle? This may swing us towards them and save a few grand.

It is our intention to keep the next caravan for at least five years. Our quandry therefore is do we go the whole hog on the Conqueror or opt for the 620 model, either Sterling or Swift.

Looking at the forecourts it is hard to discern what 620s future residual value may be.

Any thoughts out there?

Cheers

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi alan, we are in the same boat. i didnt get the wow factor either from the new wyoming.

we are changing our 6 berth end bunks to a fixed bed. we both like the 620's great value for money, great layout and not to heavy. but now the new spectrums, sterlings and conq's are coming out and the L shaped lounge has gone and the layout is simular to the 620's but the bed is the opposite side and you get a fridge freezer and lots of other goodies but you lose the sideboard opp the kitchen that the 620 has got so you lose the more open feel.

yes you get, satalight tracker, some have silver sides, flatter windows, fancy blinds, tv/dvd and cd, radio,mp3 but is it really worth the extra

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi joanne,

What a problem to have, we made the mistake of buying single axle, convinced ourseleves we would be OK, just did not work for us, so went back to a twin. Michael Jordan may be a long way for you, but we have bought 2 vans from them,very good deal both times, no problems to get serviced locally and no problem to trade in when the time came. Are you still going to Carnon Downs, we will be there from Saturday all being well.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi keith, thanks for your advice i will take that on board. we dont want to make another mistake of buying the wrong van again.

keith we should have gone last sunday but i cancelled it a couple of weeks ago. i wanted to do it stay overnight half way and then off again in the morning but craig wanted to do it in one go. its 6 hours for us with all the stops for the kids and the dog oh and me, lol.

the kids wanted to go to skegness so we are going to sutton on sea on monday for a week.

chat soon

jo-anne

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

alan, if you go onto the swift leisure site you can click onto the new conq section and check out the pics, prices, etc etc. if you got last months pc mag there was an article on the new abbey spectrum but there all the same layout.

jo-anne

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Jo-anne

Thanks for your thoughts.

Yes, have seen the mag and microsites, that's what's got us going! Do you know if the Charisma 620 etc will now come with a lined shower cubicle. The water spraying onto the wall panels turned us off. Long term it cannot be good.Our Pageant has a lined shower and it does give you some confidence that the shower waste water is not damaging the caravan.

Our local dealer , Swindon Caravans, will have a new conq in end next week. Will let you know if it is worth the extra spend. This is a long term purchase and now we are semi retired we are fortunate that the extra

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

alan, when i rang swift 2 days ago they told me that none of the brochures were printed. welll guess what arrived in the post this morning all the abbey range, the sterling range and the ace range, no swift as yet maybe they forgot.

ill have a look later about the shower but i know what you mean. i know the 620 now comes with an insulated water tank which it didnt a tank before and if it makes a difference one of the front seats is a foot longer than the higher spec models. if you order the 620 before dec you get a microwave, cd player and digital fridge all in.

im not keen on the wood in the abbey but i love the ace and the sterling is my fave but i havent got the swift brochures yet. is just a shame they dont do a 620 in the mid range yet.

alan please keep me posted on what you thik of the top ranges and what you deceide to do.

jo-anne

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Jo-anne

That's very good news if the 620s are being upgraded. We prefered the colourings of the scandinavian styled Sterling Europa 620. Where do we draw the line on gizmos? Is an electric flush toilet any better than a manual flush? Do I need a manufacturer supplied tv and cd radio? We always use our own "tesco" lcd tv with our sky box. This gives all the tv and radio I need. And so on etc. I think the residual factor issue must be taken into account.

The Swift Conqueror microsite really has excited us especially the silver sides; how sad we are! As I said previously this will be a long term buy whereas we always planned to upgrade the Bailey Pageant within three years.

I'll be in touch.

Chers

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi alan, when i rang swift today about the missing swift bro's they answer phone said that all bro's are out now just leave your details etc.

ive had a look at the new bro's on the 620 and i dont think the showers are fully lined because in the sterling eccles range (mid range) it states they are.

there is two tv points in the new elite and conq ranges one above the bed on a small shelf or you can have a bracket fitted onto the wall (gadget or what). the other tv point im afraid is by the chest so instead of us chillin leaning against the window watchin tv you will either have to sit up or face the window (god i sound lazy) . i also think that its a lift up chest not a pull out so that makes things a little harder if the skybox and tv is on it ( check this out for me next week please).

with the 620 you can put your own tv, skybox etc etc on the side board and watch tv the correct way.

keep me posted

jo-anne

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi alan, when i rang swift today about the missing swift bro's they answer phone said that all bro's are out now just leave your details etc.

ive had a look at the new bro's on the 620 and i dont think the showers are fully lined because in the sterling eccles range (mid range) it states they are.

there is two tv points in the new elite and conq ranges one above the bed on a small shelf or you can have a bracket fitted onto the wall (gadget or what). the other tv point im afraid is by the chest so instead of us chillin leaning against the window watchin tv you will either have to sit up or face the window (god i sound lazy) . i also think that its a lift up chest not a pull out so that makes things a little harder if the skybox and tv is on it ( check this out for me next week please).

with the 620 you can put your own tv, skybox etc etc on the side board and watch tv the correct way.

keep me posted

jo-anne

i forgot to say check out the height of the microwave aswell im only 5ft.

thanks

jo

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Jo-anne,

Will do.

I am no marketing man but I do wonder why Swift haven't brought out a Challenger version of teh Charisma 620. This would give the Challenger version exactly what we are looking for , a little more upmarket but not as dear as the Conq.

Are we just too hard to please?? I don't think so!

Cheers

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

alan, did you know they are doing a 610 aswell?. its an end island bed, side kitchen the door side and the bathroom is an all in one opposite the kitchen. its also on a twin axel. i prefer a side bed but it a better layout than the toilet and shower opposite eachother.

jo-anne

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Jo-anne.

I've seen the 610 detail. Not for us. We have an end transverse bed with side bathroom now. Whilst the shower is fine using the toilet is a bit of a squeeze. Thus we are definitely in Wyoming 630 Conqueror territory.

Spoke to my local dealer yesterday. He will have some single axle Conqs next week, but the 630 doesn't arrive until end of september. We did have a look at an Elldis super sirroco. Loads of space and massive but not for us.

Cheers

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi alan, im not a lover of fixed island beds either.

i like the look of the super sirocco but never been in one why wasn't it for you if you dont mind me asking?.

did you know that elddis /compass are bring our there version of the 620 called the avante club cant remember compass name. ive got all the bro's now sterling is still my fave. i like the wood and the upolstry better than in any of the others. the lounge tv point on chest and height of microwave still bothers me. you spend more time in the lounge than in bed dont you.

chat soon

jo-anne

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Jo-anne

4 years ago we did a full market research on quality , reliability and after sales service. The winner for us was Bailey followed extremely closely by Swift Group. The rest fell by the way side.

Today I still feel our view remains unaltered although there will be others who will say our top two choices are rubbish. Fine by me but just remember Bailey were the first to offer 6yrs guarantee on the bodywork integrity. Swift soon followed. Explorer Group only give 5 years at the moment.

The Elldis Crusader Super Sirocco is a very large beast but no bigger than the Wyoming or Conqueror 630. The ECSS has a MTPLM of 1900kgs against 1678 for Wyoming & 1815 for the Conq.The Elldis felt well made but there were aspects that didn't suit us. The Seitz privacy windows, no thanks, but they do look sexy. Internal lighting not as good as the others. Didn't like the maple veneer wood.Still has an L shaped lounge. We have that now and want to go for parallel this time.The bathroom and its fitings are not on par with Wyoming and Conq.

Bear in mind the Wyoming and Conq are brand new 2008 models, I think the ECSS is last years so we are not comparing like for like just yet.

I agree about the TV position in the other two. BUT where do you draw the line. The Wyoming wont be a problem because we can use the side unit for the sat box and tv. The "free" supplied one doesn't appeal to us. On the Conq I guess we will have to view from further afield leaving the tv by the bed. I suppose we could try the centre chest of drawers and sit facing the front windows. Hmm, need to experiment next time we visit the dealers.

Hope to see the single axle conq next week. Looking at the microsite I think the Swift has lighter woodwork than previous although the Sterling is pure Scandinavian, and very attractive. If we opt for Sterling I have to travel 35 miles to the dealer; if Swift , the dealer is 4 miles down the road and very decent people. Difficult isn't it???

Cheers

Alan

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi alan have you seen the new conq yet?.

jo-anne

 

[Diane1]

I have. Now i can't decide between the Abbey Spectrum 540 2008 or the swift conquer! Probably go for the spectrum as we have one now. It really dose knock Bailys in to a cocked hat!

The pure Quality of these two vans grabs you straight off, and the up grades are well worth it.

 

[Diane1]

PS. can't have the conquer as we would have to change the car!

We would have to buy a silver Navara to go with the silver sides on the van! LOL

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

diane, i had a look at the new abbey spec and i didnt like it. i thought the wood looked to light but thats personal choice. we are hopefully off tomorrow to have a look at the sterling elite onyx with the silver sides and i cant wait. i think we may well have a single axel now we always use site facilities and i think

 

[Conquerorman]

Jo anne youve been discussing the Swift Group 620 models for months now and now you have come to the conclusion that it is

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi, i like the 620 dont get me wrong so if i go for the elite onyx then i get the same layout just not the bathroom and a foot shorter on one of the seats.

you never know i might go and look tomorrow and not like it.

what am i like?.

jo-anne

 

[Conquerorman]

Good luck

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi, well i did go and look at the sterling elite onyx with the silver sides, single axel, fixed side bed and side washroom. i love the van inside and out and deceided to get the single axel with a bradcot classic and 2 annexs for extra room. i cant justify a twin axel and a twin motor mover as we always use cc site facilities. so we have ordered the onyx with a bradcot classic in grey and blue and 2 annexs if we need the extra room. we wouldnt use the shower in an end bathroom so thats why we ordered the onyx.

good luck to you all on what you choose there so many nice vans and layouts out now.

jo-anne

 

[Val & Frank]

Nice to see you have made the choice Jo-Anne. Now you will have to decide which site to go to !!!!

Enjoy your new van,

ps 100% agreement on the comment of the view from the Lake District.

Val & Frank

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

thanks frank and va,l i cant wait to get it now and no more bed making and a full awning hooray and top of the range luxery.

jo-anne