Volkswagen Caddy Life and Caddy Maxi 2010 Review - International

Volkswagen Caddy Life and Caddy Maxi

Not so much
>> Still no side-impact airbags
>> Limited appeal of 1.2-litre petrol engine
>> Field of vision to the rear

Overall rating: 2.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 2.5/5.0
Safety: 2.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.0/5.0

OVERVIEW
--

It has been a lucrative niche for Volkswagen too, the Caddy outselling every vehicle in the VFACTS van segment other than the twin juggernauts, the Toyota HiAce and the Hyundai iLoad. But despite meeting a market need -- not altogether satisfactorily -- the Caddy was in need of a refresh. We're pleased to say that the new Caddy is a significantly improved vehicle.

In developing the 'GP' model, Volkswagen has ensured that the new Caddy is far removed from its predecessor -- boasting not only new body panels, but a range of engines and transmissions from the latest Golf and Polo models.

Built in Poland and due here around December, the Caddy is to be sold worldwide in a range of variants including CNG 'EcoFuel' variants, an all-wheel drive Caddy 4Motion and a 1.6-litre BlueMotion diesel variant featuring auto-stop/start.

For the local market, however, the Caddy will be offered in peoplemover or van guise. The standard wheelbase peoplemover will seat five and the longer-wheelbase Caddy Maxi Life will accommodate seven. Volkswagen plans to sell the peoplemovers in two different levels of trim, 'Startline' for the five-place Caddy and Comfortline for the seven-seater.

In other markets there's a Trendline peoplemover, but Volkswagen Australia has ruled this one out, locally.

Load-luggers will all be equipped to the same trim level, which will lack some of the niceties of even the basic Startline grade -- little things like painted bumpers.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT
--

With specs up in the air for the Aussie-market Caddy, we speculate that all peoplemover variants will come standard with remote central locking, reach/rake-adjustable steering column, four-speaker CD audio system, front electric windows and electrically-adjustable mirrors.

Based on pricing announced with the introduction of the latest Golf and Polo -- allied with the strength of the Aussie dollar against the Euro -- expect Volkswagen to set prices for the new Caddy at or near those of the current model.

MECHANICAL
--

Producing 77kW and 175Nm (between 1550-4100rpm), the petrol powerplant is good for city-cycle fuel consumption figures from 6.6 to 6.8L/100km. Based on the same test, CO2 emissions vary from 154 to 158g/km.

Expected to sell in larger numbers than the petrol, there's a 1.6-litre turbodiesel that is the default for the Comfortline variants. The smaller of two diesels, the 1.6 develops 75kW and 250Nm -- the latter occurring between 1500-2500rpm. Official stats for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, depending on the vehicle configuration, run from 5.6 to 5.8L/100km and from 147 to 152g/km respectively.

Volkswagen will offer Aussie buyers the 75kW TDI engine with either a standard five-speed manual transmission, or a seven-speed DSG -- the DSG being basically the dry-plate-clutch unit available also in the Golf.

By contrast, the DSG option for the larger diesel employs wet-plate clutches and provides just six forward speeds – to cope with the 2.0-litre TDI's stronger torque. The engine generates 320Nm between 1500-2500rpm and is rated at 103kW. Fuel consumption varies from 6.1 to 6.3L/100km and CO2 emissions measure from as little as 161 up to 166g/km in the combined-cycle test.

As standard, this engine comes with a six-speed manual transmission.

As for the model it supersedes, the new Caddy rides on MacPherson struts up front and a beam axle at the rear, but the former hydraulically-assisted steering has given way to an electro-mechanical power steering set-up that contributes to improved fuel efficiency.

PACKAGING
-- More civilised than before
Volkswagen's interior designers have been let off the lead for the new Caddy. Peoplemover variants now come with a fully lined interior, irrespective of the wheelbase and the second-row seat is now removable. Formerly, only the third-row seat could be removed in its entirety. The owner of a peoplemoving Caddy can thus convert the vehicle to a van, should the need arise.

Forward of the B-pillars, the Caddy gains a new steering wheel and head unit for the infotainment/ audio system -- both common to higher-grade passenger-carrying models.

With conventional VW ergonomics for such things as instrument legibility and switchgear placement, the Caddy is easy to master. Seats were comfortable and held the occupants in place very well.

Our one misgiving about the driving position was the pedal placement, which seemed to be skewed to the right on the left-hand drive variants tested. It will be interesting to see how that translates in the Australian market, once the pedals and wheel are shifted across to the right side of the car.

We're doubtful about the field of vision to the rear for such things as parking or merging lanes. When fitted with barn doors, the Caddy vans were limited in the scope of vision to the rear.

The peoplemover versions on the long wheelbase (with three rows of seats) were also hampered by the headrests for the rearward field of vision. Any van variant with blind sides would leave the driver literally blindsided, but these are minor concerns shared with other similar vehicles on the road.

For build quality, the Caddy seems to have moved up a notch, but the interior plastics are still fairly hard... Durable though, as you would expect of a commercial vehicle.

There was no opportunity to assess the third-row seat accommodation, but both the front-row and second-row seats provide copious head and legroom, in both the standard wheelbase and Maxi variants.

SAFETY
-- Standard stability control to avoid Caddy stack
Long story short: Stability control is now standard, but there's still no sign of side-impact airbags for the rear passengers. Despite this, Volkswagen regards the Caddy as one of the safer options for buyers of vans or small peoplemovers.

That may well be true, but there are other vehicles around that will accommodate seven and also provide the peace of mind afforded by side curtains. And those cars are bound to be cheaper to purchase as well, if current Caddy pricing is any guide.

As a peoplemover, the Caddy faces competition from Kia's Rondo, the Citroen C4 Picasso, Peugeot 308 Touring and 3008, Renault Grand Scenic and the Toyota Avensis Verso. With the exception of the 3008, all are seven-seaters (although the Peugeot has to be optioned with a third-row seat to get there) and the French cars can be ordered with diesel engines.

Not everyone is smitten by its looks, but for our money, the 308 Touring with the optional seating is a pretty hard package to pass up. It's a genuine passenger car, against the Caddy's commercial-vehicle origins, and in the French car you have greater safety and refinement.

The fact the 308 Touring is cheaper in some variants (and Peugeot dealers are probably pretty willing to do a deal at the moment too) is just icing on the cake. The Caddy's only real advantage over the Peugeot is its sheer spaciousness.

Still, if the dead axle at the rear remains unassessed for ride quality, we feel on firmer ground offering the view that the front MacPherson struts provide a more compliant ride and better front-end grip as well. For cornering, the new Caddy feels altogether more poised and less prone to understeer than its predecessor.

While a full evaluation will have to await the car's local launch in December of this year, it's already apparent from the drive program (and especially in the peoplemover variants, which weren't artificially tweaked for weight distribution), that the new car is closer to neutral and responds better to steering input.

The Caddy was blown around a bit by crosswinds, something we believe will hold true while the car remains styled like half the Sydney Opera House and rides on a beam axle at the rear. Of course, when we say 'blown around by crosswinds', this was on a German autobahn at significantly higher speeds than are legal in Australia.

Refinement and noise abatement seems to be better overall, although there's still some drivetrain rumble at speed.

The engines are all quite different in character. Driven first, the 103kW 2.0-litre turbodiesel was everything you would expect of a modern turbodiesel: powerful, economical and refined enough for any passenger car.

By contrast, the 75kW 1.6-litre turbodiesel felt peakier at lower revs, which is entirely understandable, given its capacity and torque deficit. Like the 2.0 TDI, the DSG box defaulted to higher gears quickly, leaving the engines to labour at lower revs. In Sport mode, this engine held gears much longer than the six-speed DSG coupled to the larger diesel.

The final engine sampled for the day was the 77kW 1.2-litre TSI (petrol engine) with five-speed manual. First impressions suggested this was a peaky engine from a standing start, but that's not actually so. The tiny petrol engine is torquey enough to trickle away from a green light, but also provides adequate performance if the driver asks for more.

It's out of breath from around 5000rpm and the driver might as well change up a gear at that point, but there's a fair amount of poke in the mid-range. Bear in mind that while it's turbocharged, it still displaces just 1.2 litres.

All three engines were smooth enough in operation, but the 1.2 TSI sounded stretched higher in the rev range; another reason to change up earlier. As the only variant tested with a manual transmission, the Caddy five-seater with the 1.2 provided a light, easy-shifting action and the clutch pedal take-up was about right too.

Volkswagen Australia's sales forecast of 10 per cent for the 1.2-litre variant is probably right for the local market -- but we bet the figures are very different in Europe, where the 1.2 would be the volume-selling model.

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