Swift Merlin 2027: nine layouts from £64,190 and how to pick the right one

Swift has built a new campervan, and it comes in nine different shapes. The Merlin is Swift's all-new entry point for the 2027 season, a conversion of the Fiat Ducato panel van with prices that Swift's launch story puts at £64,190 to £72,690 on the road. Nine layouts sounds like a lot of choice, and it is, but they sort neatly into four families once you ask two questions: do you want a bed you make up each night or one that stays put, and do you need to sleep two or four? Answer those and the list shrinks fast.

Where the Merlin sits in Swift's range

Swift describes the Merlin as an entry-level campervan and the entry point to its campervan range, and the numbers bear that out. Swift's Carrera campervan, now gas-free and on the same Fiat 140bhp base, runs from £77,790 to £85,740 OTR. Set those against the Merlin's £64,190 to £72,690 and the gap is £13,600 at the bottom of each range and £13,050 at the top. The Merlin also fills a hole in the line-up, because Practical Motorhome reports that the Monza, Swift's Ford Transit Custom campervan, has been discontinued. So for 2027 the Merlin is where Swift campervan ownership starts.

It is a panel van conversion, which matters for how it drives and where it fits. Swift says the Merlin is built on the Fiat Ducato panel van, so it keeps the van's own steel body rather than a wider coachbuilt habitation box. That means a narrower vehicle than a coachbuilt motorhome, easier on lanes and in car parks, with the trade-off that interior width is fixed by the van.

What every Merlin shares

Whichever layout you pick, the mechanical package and the kit list are the same. From Swift's own pages and its 2027 campervan quick guide:

• Base vehicle: Fiat Ducato with a 2.2-litre 140bhp Euro 6E-bis engine and a six-speed manual gearbox as standard; an eight-speed automatic is optional.
• Cab: cruise control, DAB radio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, double USB points and cup holders.
• Power: a 100Ah lithium leisure battery as standard, which Swift says is compatible with solar charging, plus a 110W solar panel (130W on some layouts).
• Heating and hot water: Whale 6kW heating and an 8-litre water heater.
• Washroom: shower tray, separate shower mixer and a Thetford cassette toilet with electric flush.
• Kitchen: Dometic two-burner hob and sink, built-in microwave and a compressor fridge of either 50 or 80 litres depending on the layout.
• Weight and licence: Swift lists every Merlin wheelbase at 3.5 tonnes, and the quick guide gives an MTPLM of 3,500 kg for the 112 and 212, so a standard category B car licence covers it, including for drivers who passed on or after 1 January 1997.

The 112 and 212 have a 50 litre Dometic compressor fridge; every other layout has 80 litres.

The nine layouts, sorted into four families

Every layout except the 122 has forward-facing travel seats, and the differences that matter most are at the back of the van. Swift's own product page is the source for what follows. Think of each pair as a two-berth van and its four-berth twin: the 1xx number is the two-berth, the matching 2xx number is the same floorplan with Swift's elevating roof added. Swift confirms that four layouts, the 212, 244, 264 and 274, have the roof.

Fixed double over a garage: Merlin 112 and 212

Four travel seats, a fixed high-level transverse double bed over a rear garage (load area 1120 x 830 x 825 mm), and the shortest confirmed length in the range at 5.41 m. The 112 sleeps two; the 212 adds the elevating roof and sleeps four. Swift's product page lists the 112 from £64,685 OTR and the 212 from £70,185 OTR. If you want the most compact Merlin with a bed that stays made, this is the pair to look at.

Lounge layouts: Merlin 144, 244 and 122

The 144 has rear parallel lounge seating, with four travel seats and two berths; the 244 is the same with the roof, for four berths. The 122 is the odd one out in the whole range: it is a two-seater, two-berth van with rear wrap-around lounge seating with storage under the bed. It is the only Merlin that cannot carry four on the road, so it suits a couple who never take passengers and would rather have a big wrap-around lounge than spare seats.

Fixed rear double: Merlin 164 and 264

A fixed rear double means the bed is made when you arrive and the seating stays as seating. The 164 sleeps two, the 264 adds the roof for four. Swift lists a high-level transverse double bed over garage storage, and its garage load areas are 1120 x 830 x 825 mm on the 112 and 212, 1620 x 1180 x 950 mm on the 164 and 264, and 1090 x 965 x 790 mm on the 174 and 274.

Rear single beds: Merlin 174 and 274

Two high-level rear single beds over garage storage, which many couples prefer for getting in and out without climbing over each other. The 174 sleeps two; the 274 adds the roof for four and, at £72,690 in Swift's news story, is the top of the range.

Two things to check at the show. Ask the dealer for the bed dimensions of each layout and lie on the bed you intend to sleep in. And the 112 and 212 are 5.41 m on the medium wheelbase; the other layouts sit on long and extra-long wheelbases, so take the length from Swift's quick guide before measuring your drive.

Two berths or four: what the roof costs you

The 112 and 212 are the cleanest comparison in the range, because they share a length and a floorplan and differ mainly by the roof (the 212 also gets 130W solar and a table extension). On Swift's product page the 212 is £70,185 and the 112 is £64,685, so the roof and its bed add £5,500. Swift's quick guide gives the 112 an estimated payload of 815 kg and the 212 an estimated 685 kg, so the four-berth twin carries 130 kg less. Ask the dealer what accounts for that 130 kg, but the lesson for buyers is clear: the roof costs money and carrying capacity, and every four-berth Merlin uses it, because none of the nine layouts has four fixed berths.

If you will only ever sleep two, the two-berth twin keeps the payload and the money. If you need four berths, the question becomes which bed type you want underneath the roof, and whether the remaining payload covers four people's luggage. Check Swift's 2027 campervan quick guide or ask the dealer for the payloads of the other pairs, and compare each 1xx with its 2xx twin the same way.

Working the payload sum on a four-seat Merlin

Payload is MTPLM minus mass in running order. Swift gives the MTPLM (3,500 kg) and the payload (815 kg for the 112, 685 kg for the 212), both marked 'estimated', and its notes say vehicle weights are estimated at time of print. Swift's mass in running order includes a 75 kg driver, engine coolants, 90% of the fuel and one 6 kg Calor Lite gas cylinder, with the fresh water tank empty.

Take the 212 as the worked example, since it is the four-berth van with a published payload. Three passengers at 75 kg each is 225 kg. From 685 kg, that leaves 460 kg. Because the running-order figure assumes an empty fresh water tank, every litre you carry comes off that 460 kg at a kilogram a litre, up to 91 kg with the 91 litre tank full on the 112 and 212. Then the real-world list: bedding for four, clothes, food, chairs, a table, an awning, bikes on a rack, a toolkit, and any factory options you tick, the automatic gearbox included if it changes the weight. For a family of four, 460 kg before water and kit is workable, but it is not a figure to ignore; it rewards packing light and leaving the paddleboards for a two-up trip.

The 112 does the same sum more comfortably: 815 kg less 225 kg for three passengers leaves 590 kg before water and kit. Two points apply to both. Type-approval rules allow a motor caravan's actual running-order mass to differ from the declared figure by up to plus or minus 5 per cent, and Swift's own weights are estimates for now, so the final figures should be confirmed on the vehicle's plate and certificate of conformity. And once you own it, a loaded trip to a public weighbridge is the only way to know for sure.

Manual or automatic

Every Merlin comes with the six-speed manual as standard, and Swift lists the eight-speed automatic as a factory-fit option; get its price in writing alongside the delivery date. When you ask about the price, ask two more things: whether the automatic changes the running-order weight, which would come straight off the payload figures above, and whether it affects lead time. The manual keeps the price and the payload where Swift quotes them; the automatic is the choice for town driving, stop-start touring and anyone who finds a long manual journey tiring.

Prices, and what OTR includes

Swift's range runs from £64,190 OTR for the Merlin 122 to £72,690 for the 274; the 112 starts at £64,685 and the 212 at £70,185. Prices can change after launch, and dealers may show the vehicle with options fitted, so treat every figure here as a starting point and check the price on the day. Swift's OTR price includes 12 months' VED, the first registration fee, number plates and delivery to the dealer in Great Britain. Price the layout you want rather than the headline from figure.

The best place to do that this autumn is the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC Birmingham, 13 to 18 October 2026. Swift's NEC line-up story places the brand in Hall 6, stand 6.33, with 71 vehicles. That does not mean all nine Merlins will be there, so ask whether the layout you want is on the stand before you make the trip for it.

Picking yours: a short decision list

1. A couple who never carry passengers and love a lounge: the 122, the only two-seater, with its wrap-around rear lounge seating.
2. A couple who want the bed left made: the 112 or 164 (fixed double over a garage) or the 174 (singles), with the garage sizes compared.
3. A couple who want the most compact van, or a rear lounge by day: the 112 at 5.41 m, or the 144 with its rear parallel lounge seating.
4. Four people on board: the 212, 244, 264 or 274, chosen by the bed type below the roof, with the payload sum worked for your own family and kit.

The bottom line

The Merlin gives Swift a campervan range that starts around £13,600 below the Carrera, with a spec list that includes lithium power, Whale heating and an automatic option, on a base and a licence category that suit most UK buyers. The nine layouts are less daunting than they look: pick the bed, pick the berths, then check the payload. Take Swift's weights as estimates until the plate says otherwise, get the automatic's price in writing, and confirm the on-the-road figure on the day. Do that and the right Merlin chooses itself.