Volkswagen Caddy
It is a curious thing. VW's panelvan is one of the most car-like out there. The Caddy is car-like enough that many small business owners with smaller families, make that no families, have taken to using their work van as an everyday car. Slowly but surely, since its launch in 2004, the VW Caddy has become a feature on our roads. VW even claims 57% market share since 2006. So it was that I began to anticipate the test of the people carrier variant of said Caddy. The new bodywork gets current VW DNA as would be expected, it manages to look fresh and very VW, which isn't too bad a thing.
Vehicles with three rows of seats are becoming a common sight; here VW makes this available in a very compact body. In Trendline version most of the convenience features one has come to expect in premium vehicles are here. Nets and drawers and other hidden storage options abound. In Maxi Trendline the third row of seats makes its appearance. Second and third row seats are removable through the rear. One wouldn't want to do this daily, but easy enough with an assistant to do when you need to move a serious load of stuff. Sadly options like cruise control and Bluetooth are extra cost. Worth considering and reasonable as options, are rain sensors, a towbar and auto headlights.
Mechanically the Caddy I tested had the 2 litre TDi with 103kW, which fitted with the DSG 'box, returns around 6.3l/100km and gets to 100km/h in just under 11 seconds. Here was the surprise. As a van it seems the most car-like. As a mini-bus it seems very van like. Utilitarian, VW's normally outstanding DSG box even comes over as sluggish and you somehow know you are driving a van with seats. I cannot put quite put a finger on it, and certainly for those among us who want something practical this will hit the spot perfectly.
For those of us expecting more, after perhaps driving the superbly car-like VW Caravelle, may be a tad disappointed. At R292,080 it is an option for those with more than one kid or dog.
It comes with a 3 year 120 000km warranty but sadly the maintenance plan is an option. It has all the VW-ness you need to feel you are in a suitably upmarket space. You just need to know you will be driving a van.
