The 2016 Sterling Elite 530 may be one of the very newest on the block, but in a (slightly convoluted) way, it’s also one of the oldest. Sterling is, in fact, closely related to Eccles, which is one of the oldest caravan marques in the business. So you’d imagine that, with all of those decades of experience behind it, Sterling’s current owner, Swift, will have poured all of its long-accrued know-how into its new premium contender.

After all, Swift is up against many rival caravan manufacturers, all of which launched new caravans for 2016.

The Elite’s welcome return to the showrooms for 2016 has come after a short absence during which there was, rather oddly, no Sterling equivalent to the long-standing Swift Conqueror. Happily, that obvious gap in the range has now been filled. And as tradition dictates, the 2016 Sterling Elite range is more unusually styled inside than the more traditional Swift equivalent.

And we expect this four-berth Elite 530 model to be one of 2016’s big sellers, thanks to its tried and tested layout (parallel lounge, side dinette and kitchen, end washroom) and close resemblance to the über Sterling Continental that sits even higher within Swift Group’s caravan hierarchy.

That similarity is more than skin-deep, too, now that the Elite shares much of the Continental’s SMART HT timberless construction; indeed, only the badging really gives the game away, especially to the uninitiated.

We grabbed an early test of the 2016 Sterling Elite 530 at Swift Group’s summer press launch, where we also found out more about the big changes they had planned for 2016 Swift caravans. And to see other Sterling caravans for sale, click here.