An icon of British motorhomes is completely redesigned for 2022. This is the all-new Swift Kon-tiki
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2024
- In this video we review in detail the all-new Swift Kon-tiki Grand Prix 794. The flagship from Britain's largest motorhome maker has a complete redesign and we test the island bed version in high-spec Grand Prix form.
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◼️ REVIEWED BY: Peter Vaughan, Group Motorhome Road Test Editor for MMM magazine and What Motorhome magazine Editor. Peter has been writing about motorhomes since the age of 14, has a love of touring France and is mad about old Italian sports cars.
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Great review as always Peter but for a flagship MH it just doesn’t cut it vs the competition.
I agree, the island bed doesn't deserve the name given there's only a short bit at the end where you can walk. The tankage is way too small for this size of MH and for me the reconfiguration needed to get extra seatbelts is way too much of a faff. The lounge area does look nice but for the money there are much better options in my opinion.
I liked very little about this motorhome.
Good review. Won't be buying one of those, that gap by the bed would drive me mad, and forget the build yourself a travel seat kit too.
You are the best motorhome reviewer. Always enjoy your presentation.
Wow, thanks! Appreciate your comments
I do love the honesty of this guys reviews.
Thank you!
Good review, thank you Peter, and exactly the same thoughts as we had when we viewed it. No MH is perfect, whichever one you buy you will have to accept compromises; in this case the cab and the lounge are good, the washroom and shower fine, the Island bed a bit tight but ok, but the gap around the bed is unacceptable. It’s possible that this MH was a prototype, I know they had to rush it through for the NEC show; We have one on order, so I hope Swift watch your video and make the necessary changes.
Fingers crossed. It certainly needs a wider mattress
I enjoyed watching the Video Review. Now better than ever
You looked like tyrion lannister in the garage 😂
Yes at least the video is very informative and good quality
Couldn't help but pick up the rattles and bangs as you were driving, this kind of thing could drive you nuts on long journeys.
That's why you should always take a test drive before buying. The best 'vans don't rattle nearly as much and rattles give you a good idea of build quality
This can has a great looking seating area. Those bench seats do not work as bed at all.
Kitchen average as is the toilet and shower.
Rear bed ok if the gaps are filled.
Continental vand seem better for the same cash.
Great review of a rather disappointing motorhome. For the so-called 'flagship' of Swift, this really was rather bland, naff, and underwhelming. The kitchen area was alright-ish, but nothing all that special for size, the storage was somewhat small, and that was really the highlight of the entire thing. The compromises everywhere, from the garage to the lounge to the bedroom to the water tankage all seemed very notable and poor trade-offs.
naff is the word !! the interior looks like a cheap furniture showroom . just no style . Not sure why people keep buying these dull UK motorhomes !!
@@justinlinnane8043 -mr boring
@@greenjacket66 ahh A Kontiki owner? Mr exciting !! 🤣🤣🤣
Another great, honest and comprehensive, balanced review. It would be interesting to see how K-T fans rate this new model over one that's a few years older and not just for new tech but for build quality. I do think that the bed, both the fact it is manual and the fact that you have to 'mind the gap'. The lounge looks spacious and the bedroom cramped and if one can tell that from a video....
Lots of flaws in the design but a lot of Van for the money. An excellent honest reveiw!
Great review i have the 2019 model with the stargazer window and by the looks of it they have cut back on so many things to obviously cut the cost of the build but still ask top money like the windows not flush anymore . Not impressed to be honest .
Yes, that Stargazer window was quite a USP of the old one.
I always enjoy your reviews thank you. I realise you are in a difficult position but if you just got underneath or removed any random item and looked behind, you would see just how thrown together these Swifts are, in comparison to others. On the other hand ignorance is bliss.
yes, they have an awful reputation for poor build quality and water ingress. A friend bought a brand new tag axle 679 in 2014, Cost him a fortune. He was a woodworker in his working life and has pointed out lockers that aren't even straight, leaky plumbing and a solar installation using what could best be described as bell wire. He has threatened to turn up at one of the Swift stands at a motorhome show with a megaphone! The build quality is appalling, I'll stick with my German built Carthago.
dogs dinner comes to mind
Good review but crazy prices
It looks like this has no double floor. Also, are panels joined with seals or flexible sealant?
No double floor in this model
What a very thorough and easy to follow handover. I’ve been motorhoming for many years. This young man has just given a refresher course that I really needed. Keep hinm on your payroll he’s worth his weight in gold. Thanks for video 🚐👍
Thank you, especially for calling me a "young man" - that doesn't happen too often these days! Glad you enjoyed the video and hope you've subscribed to the channel!
Peter, you usually identify the flush windows as superior to the non flush style. My experience with both types, flush on an Autotrail & non flush on an Adria is that the non flush appears to reduce rain entering the cabin when open. So I am interested in why the flush system is considered "more upmarket".
They are more secure, more expensive and look better. They're also less likely to get damaged when driving past overhanging bushes, etc. Hope that helps.
Thank you for your reply , appreciate your point of view. Based on my experience with both I would choose non flush , appreciate your point of view
Shocking quality, come on Britain up your game
Great review again, we have a 2016 swift bolero 744, which was £65k new, I can't believe how the prices have increased by over £25k and the quality seems to have gone backwards.
Yes, prices (not just at Swift) have rocketed. An Escape is way more than £65k now
Excellent review, thank you. I would be interested to hear which motor home you rate as the best.
All depends on what you want. I have a VW T6 HemBil Urban, which I love.
Of the 'vans I've reviewed recently, the Hymer WhiteLine impressed, while the Joa Camp looked great value. Personally, I like campervans and I've tested some great ones, including Pilote Van and Dreamer D51.
You can view all of the above on the channel.
@@MotorhomeCampervan Thank you so much for your reply. We would need a large 4 birth, because we travel with two very large German Shepherds and friends often join us. It will get kind of cramped no matter what we get. Thank you again.
How does this compare to the Baileys?
I'd suggest you take a look at What Motorhome's Summer 2022 issue, which reveals all the very best models this year. You can get the digital version at motorhome.ma/whipocketmags
Thanks for the vlog, but I prefer the Pilote D626 Evidence with DD bed after seeing yr vid on that model, that has a better use of space and as a dog owner more suited to my needs, cheaper and shorter. 👍
Fair enough! The P626D is a lovely 'van and a nice size
Great review as always Peter and like many have said before me, what a dissappointing flag waving top of the range vehicle, it just looks cheap and way over priced. I also noticed the usual Swift door squeak when you went through the door to the rear of the vehicle, do manufacturers ever test/use their vehicles prior to putting on the market and does no one in their so called Quality Control Departments have the guts to tell the Boss that its awful and they need to change. I just hope they read some of the comments here and for once act upon them as the comments here are not just words but potential future customers. I also have a gripe about the same fixtures and fittings being used throughout a groups vehicles when you see it from the so called entry level vehicles, which are still very expensive, right through to the top of the range model, how can they justify these horrendous prices. A longer lounge couch just doesn't justify sky high prices especially when they have removed a drop down bed and who really needs over two metres head room they must think people are stupid. Manufacturers should buck up their ideas without delay as the internet is a very powerful tool, should they decided that they know better then they will pay the cost. Thanks Peter looking forward to the next one. 👌👌
Got to say the whole van seems like a car crash of ideas, the only plus point is the new fiat cab and auto box, what on earth were the designers thinking?
The dimwits who described this mess as “business style esthetics” tells you all you need to know about those making the decisions.
Island bed you have to slide out the bottom in the middle of the night then crawl back in. What were they thinking.
A lot of poorly thought out compromises and cut corners like the manual bed height adjustment make it seem about £20,000 to £25000 over priced.
Hmm, it's all a bit of a faff really isn't it? Positivly underwhelming. Great & honest review Peter, thank you.
Excellent review again. Thanks for going into detail on the main points that your viewers would be interested in. Having said that - the British motor homes are very poor in comparison with their US counterparts. I would still purchase won if I could afford one.
They’re also (generally) very poor quality compared to their European competitors
Good review but if that's the upper end of the market I would hate to see the lower end. It looks very MFI to me.
Why not have a look at some of the other high-end motorhomes we've reviewed recently, such as this one from Carthago - th-cam.com/video/S5ssCvK0sQY/w-d-xo.html
Or this superb new Coachman - th-cam.com/video/gGPkGYwvo3s/w-d-xo.html
Both are much less "MFI" I think you'll find.
I'm very disappointed with this MH, if this is the best the UK can come up with, then the continental maker's have nothing to worry about. I hate to say it as I would love to fly the flag for UK.
Can't believe how much faffing about for seats and beds with pillows left over in such an expense motorhome
Nice mh but the gaps and rattles would do my head In think ill keep my gazell
Thanks for the review; good as ever. However, Swift build quality is still poor in my opinion. One of the worst when we were looking to buy and wanted to support British manufacturers, but the quality was invariably poor to appalling.
Needs the extra two tyres on the rear.
Handling problem.
Not really. At this size, one rear axle is absolutely fine, especially as it's an Al-Ko chassis.
Love the video and review but this Swift does not compare to the competition. A very low standard of equipment and comfort. A design error on wheels.
All those years to develop and refine it and ends up as very poorly optimised. A bed that length in a motorhome that size is unforgivable. Do all motorhomes on a Ducato rattle like that ?
The Fiat's hard ride certainly doesn't help with rattles and coachbuilts are often worse than campervans but they don't all rattle. Always take a test drive!
@@MotorhomeCampervan Do the rear air assist bags help with is at all ? Already committed to my PVC
@@nigelk780 Hi, I fitted VB semi air to the rear of my Sunlight i68 on a Fiat chassis and it did reduce the rattles and improved the cornering. A bonus was being able to raise the rear for boarding ferries. All these motor homes have a terrible ride quality, I don't know why they don't improve on this. Full air suspension is the best but expensive
Fantastic honest review, your review started with promise, the huge turn off for me the bed, what a stupid design, then the full set of nails in the coffin, those belted travel seats for the rear passengers, what an absolute disaster they are. that when I stopped the video and wrote this, I'm off to watch something else.
So the design team sat down with the management team at the boardroom table and they signed off the garage and wind down bed idea…..someone needed to grow a pair and be a bit honest
So many design faults. Do the people who design these Motorhomes ever actually use one? Terrible.
No they use hotels lol 😆 😂 🤣
165bhp is way too low unless you plan on driving flat or downhill roads. Fully loaded the RV would struggle to go uphill.
It's not the bhp that really matters but the torque - 400Nm for the automatic version here is plenty
I’m astounded that for this level in the market, that bloody lounge bed was so awful. I simply can’t understand swift one bit. I’ll be steering clear thank you. Good evening.
Not a great van, poor design compared with others. That front lounge bed should be illegal! Can't imagine how many backs that will ruin LOL
Great review. Poorly designed motorhome. Usual Swift cost cutting and lack of thought on design features. It could be so good…
100k for that !, still it did have a towel hook in the so called bathroom.
I don't like it inside at all, fittings are aweful, eg those screwed on LEDs in the garage, switches, other lights, all looks like boards screwed together, cab is nice
Just look at those door hinges that separate the bedroom dreadfully cheap....this Morrisons is not built to last I'm a joiner and its way behind German built
Not impressed with this motor home. It doesn't seem that a lot of attention has been paid to the detail, especially in the front half. That lounge bed has to be more than a "secondary bed" if more than two are travelling. I don't like the fact that it is made up of lots of seperate cushions with different contours. That can't be very comfortable for a good night's sleep.
Also the skirt lockers seem a bit stiff, and if the runners do get dirty, then they will become very awkward to open.
And even little things, like the cutlery drawer, which you need to open the cupboard door to gain access to, is a poor design choice imo.
Also, the intrusion of the wheel arch in the shower, would be a BIG inconvenience to me, as it is not a big shower to start with. And a 100w solar panel is pretty much useless, as even on the sunniest of days, it wouldn't provide enough power to even boil a kettle.
So nah, not for me.
The solar panel is there to top up the leisure battery, so no it won't boil the kettle. If you want off-grid capability, you'll need an inverter
@@MotorhomeCampervan The solar panels can be upgraded I suppose, but that is only a small criticism. There are just too many compromises and faults with this van to make it a viable choice imo. Especially amongst irz competitors, it falls way short of the mark.
Wow that gap in the bed is appalling !!! and as usual with UK motorhomes the interior looks low quality and very cheaply put together. Dull as ditchwater I'm afraid and no competition for the European rivals I'm afraid .
Swift are taking the pi## with this motorhome, poor quality, poor design, poor workmanship and overpriced, sad to say those running the company are determined to ruin it. The company already had a bad name for quality and value and this is yet another opportunity missed to restore the name in the motorhome community, all in all it’s a sad state of affair.
£90,000 for a Swift. Poor build quality, Poor customer service, Cheap components made to look good but don,t last. Ive owned one, never again
Pretty poor eh. Not you or the video… the van.
Not really impressed by this unit. It is just, what’s the word, forgettable. Nothing inspiring or really satisfying about the layout and execution of this van. Visually, it looks cheap and cluttered. And a bit haphazard in its function. I get the feeling this van is more annoying to actually use than it satisfactory and enjoyable to use functionally. This camper would definitely not make even my long list of models I would consider to purchase. There are many better and more functional layouts available out there.
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What a badly designed van that is. I’ll stick with my Burstner thank you
It looks poorly made , cheap fixings and fixtures........that's why I always buy German
What a weido van not keen on all the assembly bits what a drama putting it together main bed is silly.
I would give this a big miss
You will spend all your time fiddling with gadgets. Very low intellect in their design office. Looks like an e-bay parts bin build
Really nice van but to many ergonomic niggles that would drive me insane