First look: Fairway Platinum 635
This dealer special is part of a line-up based on Swift’s best-selling Challenger
ANY DEALER SPECIAL worth considering has to offer more than just new upholstery. It should also include lots of extra spec – in some cases, unique spec – that makes the van extraordinary, but not at an extraordinary price. So dealers offering special editions often base them on entry-level ranges – there’s not much chance of improving on a Buccaneer or an Alaria, for example. Occasionally, a gap opens in the market where other arrangements are possible. This season’s Swift line-up is a case in point. With the demise of the Conqueror, there is now some difference between the Challengers, with their optional Alde heating but still fairly midmarket look, and the nextrung-up Elegances – not to mention the Grandes. Broad Lane Leisure is now hoping to exploit that gap with its 2019 range of Fairway Platinum caravans, based on the Challenger. To continue our look at dealer specials on offer this year, we went to Kenilworth to see how the dealer, which has offered Swift-based specials for more than 25 years, believes it can improve on the best-selling Challenger 635.
Pitch and set-up
Many of the Platinum’s new additions are on the outside, but they amount to much more than the lettering on the three front windows, chrome grab handles and a window in the door. To start with, a handle on the A-frame makes this twinaxle easier to move. This model’s rear heavy-duty corner steadies have a steel tube attached, down which you slide your steady to reach the bolt. Just as importantly, they have special sections where you can fit a lock to keep the steadies down. On the side of the van is an external barbecue connection, a fairly conventional dealer special addition. This and the external access to the nearside front underseat locker are included in the Lux Pack on standard Challengers. But Broad Lane has added another locker here, with a TV bracket and sockets, so you can watch TV outside or in the awning. Next to this is a Truma Aqua Source mains-water connection, while the 100W solar panel on the roof is 20W more powerful than you get with standard Swifts. The ATC is an option with Swift, as is the Al-ko secure wheel lock.
Lounge
The Platinum has a Fairway branded doormat, a standard addition in dealer specials; so we’re not sure you’ll also need Fairway spelled out in large letters on the front pelmet. But Broad Lane has done well with the furnishings. Standard Challengers for 2019 have Glacier soft furnishings, with purple crushed velvet scatter cushions and purple and white curtains. That might be a little colourful for some, and Broad Lane has toned this down in more neutral curtains and base cushions, with a suede-effect stripe on the backrests and scatter cushions
in warm yellow or grey check. You still get Aralie Sen doors to the two overhead lockers. This can’t disguise the fact that the front lounge is on the small side, due to the central washroom and island bed. But it is well lit, with an extended sunroof and plenty of LEDS and spotlights. A TV point by the door, and a shelf for fobs, are also helpful, and this Fairway includes the Alde heating system.
Kitchen
Inclusion of the Lux Pack gives you a lighted splashback and an Omnivent. Apart from this, the kitchen here is similar to that of the standard Challenger, with a dual-fuel four-burner hob, a microwave with an overhead locker on either side, and a Thetford K 1520 oven with a separate grill and glass lid with safety cut-out, as well as a slimline 134-litre fridge. Workspace is good, with an extension, and underneath you get a large cupboard that is divided into shelves and baskets. There are also pan lockers below the oven and above the fridge.
Washroom
Additions in the washroom are cosmetic – you get an illuminated mirror (and in Platinum models with end washrooms, a clothes rail), but otherwise, it’s standard. But it includes a sizeable dressing area with a rooflight and an opaque window, and a large wardrobe and drawers. The roomy shower has no roof vent, but there is a towel ring above the Alde radiator.
Beds
Broad Lane has fitted larger headboards to the island bed, and they are illuminated, too. The second TV point here isn’t standard in Challengers. Anyone using the settees as single beds would need to be under 5 ft 1in, but it is easy to turn them into a double.
Storage
Storage is the same as in standard Challenger 635, with external access to the area under the island bed. The externally accessed nearside front underseat area is clear, while some space in the offside unit is taken up by the Alde heater and electrics. Both can be accessed via flaps and slats. As this is a 2019 Swift, the front chest has a large drawer with a smaller drawer inside. Alongside three wardrobes, there is plenty of space in five overhead lockers.
‘A dealer special should include lots of extra spec, but remain at a good price’