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my sister has a coachman pastiche and is at the moment looking at buying a challenger i think it was the 530 (four berth). she has had very bad luck with the past three caravan all new. going back to a swift corniche 10 years ago this had on going big problems. abbey changed after two years due to leaking. she has now got a pastiche and although she has had a lot of problems with this van. coachman have had excellent after service but the van is now 5 years old and she has decided to change it.

please can you give me any feed back on the challenger. this is a nice looking van and the body work appears sturdy , she is going to the show in cardiff this week end to re look at this van   thank you for any advice.

Hi Nora

We looked at both the Swift Challenger 490? i think it was, but done out as a dealer special,Impressed with the build quality but other half preferred the Bailey Pageant,guess which  one we ended up getting?. The swift,to me, looked very upmarket and as it was a special had a few extras,ie alloys,stereo cd,etc.At least your blue face has gone now and hope this starts other comments for you.

Mike+Judi

I think the Sterlings are nicer inside than the Swifts ( I would of course!! ) , the finish is a bit lighter and more modern in my opinion.  As they are from the same "stable" I would think the quality is similar. 

 We have been happy with ours and will possibly go for another Sterling in a year or two.  Looked at the Baileys, they are nice too, so it is a difficult decision as they are a bit cheaper.  The layout we really like is a Bessacarr but the price is a bit steep , and the upholstery a bit " old fashioned " , so................we shall look at the bank balance ( and the fabrics ) when the time comes!!!

I have a Swift Challenger 530se. It's a 1997 model but I only have it 2 years. It's our first caravan and so far no major problems. I like the layout (4 berth) and it has all the conveniences we could want. Of course having looked at newer models they appear very nice but I'm not going to change for a few years at least.

At the time we got the van we could, for a couple of thousand more, have gone for a basic new van but to be honest they were little more than 'empty shells' in comparison to the comforts of the Challenger.

Would I go for another Swift? Possibly but I do like the look of the Bailey Pageant.

I have to agree with Stressed Al...the Challenger is a very nice kitted out van. We have a Yr 2000 530se with mover...cost us £9k last year and it is a smashing van. For the same money we could have got a new van but it was like comparing the ritz with a travel lodge....i think Ikea have something to do with the interiors...sorry Ikea fans!!

Our only concern with the Swift is the weight especially having traded Our TD5 discovery for a new vectra CDTi..we haven't towed the van yet!! 

We have always had Swifts (4in all, 2 Challengers, one Charisma, 1 Sterling) .

Have had one or two annoying niggles but on the whole build quality is excellent. We looked at the new 570 but decided there was not enough room in the lounge area.

The Sterling we have now is the first one I have not had to do anything to (Yet!)

Go for it. Suggest you go to the NEC in Birmingham if you are looking for a new one or wait until after for all the part exchanges for a 2nd hand one.

We have had 3 Swift Challengers the last two being the 530 model. No major problems with any of the vans. We are about to take delivery of a new  530 (2006 model) We like to change vans after about 3 years if possible but this time we have traded our 2004 in due to a good deal plus the 2006 Challenger seems a major step forward. The decor may not be to everyones taste but we like it.

To us the most important thing is to buy the van from a "good" dealer with good aftersales service. All our vans have been bought from Highbridge Caravans who are excellent.