The toughest Week of a vans life

Be in no doubt, the Towcar Awards test programme gives the fleet of Swift caravans a hard time. In a few short days, the 10 tourers go through more emergency stops and violent manoeuvres than most caravans will see in a lifetime.

Take the lane-change test. This is the most severe manoeuvre of the lot, with car and caravan swerving first one way, and then the other, to pass through three parallel ‘gates’, spaced 30 metres apart. It’s not the kind of driving anyone would subject their caravan to voluntarily, but just imagine if a child ran out in to the road in front of you and there was no time to stop. Wouldn’t you want to know your car and caravan could steer around the child safely?

Every caravan also endures repeated flat-out acceleration and a succession of pedal-to-the-floor emergency stops. No wonder each tourer is subjected to daily safety checks to be sure its holding up to this tough treatment. We’re pleased to say that in three years, these checks have never revealed a problem with any of the Swift test vans.

Throughout the week, Swift works closely with our chassis supplier, AL-KO Kober, to monitor the dynamic behaviour of the caravans. The data gained from the sensors in the AL-KO ATC anti-snake device helps us work with our colleagues at AL-KO to make sure Swift caravans are as safe, stable and durable as we can make them.