The Swift Group owns Sterling, among other caravan brands, and Swift’s shake-up of its mid-market ranges for 2012 earned it success in Practical Caravan’s Tourer of the Year Awards 2012. The sleek-looking Sterling Eccles Sport 514 SR won Tourer of the Year for having “the appearance of a more expensive tourer, sensible weights, plenty of kit and looks that won’t date in the next decade”. 

The same can be said of the rest of the eight-model range, which replaces the Sterling Europa. The range’s sloping, aerodynamic GRP front moves away from the boxy profile of many tourers, giving it a sleek, modern look, as you’ll see in the video of the twin-axle Sport 636 at the end of this review. The vans’ sandwich-construction shells have earned Grade 3 classification for heating and thermal insulation. Standard kit includes Al-Ko’s ATC system, a hitch-mounted stabiliser and shock absorbers, as well as an aerial point for portable satellite TV in the battery box. 

The four-berth Sterling Eccles Sport 544 SR under scrutiny here is a twin-dinette layout with a transverse rear washroom. The rear dinette has a horseshoe-shaped seating arrangement that occupies the same space as a fixed bed.