Volkswagen Caddy Maxi TDI 250 2011 Review

Volkswagen Caddy Maxi TDI 250 Road test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $30,990?Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): colour-matched bumpers/mirror shells/door handles $890?Crash rating: commercial vehicles not rated?Fuel: diesel?Claimed fuel economy (L/100km):5.9 ?CO2 emissions (g/km): 152?

Also consider:Citroen Berlingo, Renault Kangoo, Peugeot Partner ?

When you've got lots to move, be it passengers or cargo, you've also got reason to think inside the box. Preferably, a bigger box. Cue the Caddy Maxi.

Even if the name doesn't prompt an instant epiphany, you've likely crossed paths with many Caddies here and there. However, chances are they've mostly gone unnoticed, because they just do their things without pointedly attracting attention.

Fact is, Caddies come with either regular or Maxi (long) wheelbases, divided again into five/seven-seat Caddy Life peoplemovers distinct from the workhorse two-seat Caddy vans.

Regardless of model demarcations, there are doors galore. Apart from one or (optionally) two sliding side doors, some Caddy variants have top-hinged tailgates where others sport asymmetric barn doors. Load five drivetrain combinations into the mix and you've got a range that caters to wide needs and tastes.

All up, the priced-from-$21,990 Caddy vans come in three short wheelbase and four long wheelbase forms, while the from-$28,990 Life lines offer two variants on both wheelbases.

As the heading tells, this report involves the Caddy Maxi TDI 250 (mit DSG). But because the test covers a light-commercial model, it went a bit beyond the usual core aspects covered in passenger-car reports.

Due attention was paid to all the usual driving aspects and creature features of course. On top of which, our seven-day tenure saw the TDI 250 laden high and heavy with several trips' worth of once-loved stuff for the local tip, followed by a couple of full loads of goods and chattels involved in a major residential transfer. All hard yakka, but no sweat; well, not for the Caddy at least.

It's in the stuff-swallowing department that the Maxi's job qualifications shine through. At your disposal are 2.2 metres of floor length and about 1.17m width between the wheel arches, plus another 350mm or so to the sides, with about 1.2m from the floor to roof. Collectively, the cargo box dimensions translate to 4.2 cubic metres of packable emptiness. Receptively roomy, then.

Incidentally, the Maxi's rear floor is some 470mm longer than the regular Caddy's, repeating the difference in their respective overall lengths (though the wheelbases only differ by 325mm).

Given its reasonably middling 1.5-tonne kerb mass, the Maxi TDI 250 is a capably heavy lifter. With DSG transmission the Maxi can shoulder up to 800kg payload. That's 50kg less than its manual stablemate but, either way, the carrying capacity is 70kg up on equivalent SWB siblings.

Of course the ability to accept sizeable loads is fine and dandy, but you still have to get your stuff from A to B with reasonable safety and decent (preferably enjoyable) driving dynamics. The TDI 250 delivers those aspects too.

At first acquaintance, the cockpit stirs a distinct and not unpleasing impression that the Caddy has paddled at least ankle-deep in the Golf/Polo gene pool.

Yet even while some generic family resemblances catch attention, they gel discreetly with the cockpit's unpretentious outlook. With clear focus on its job description, and no distracting frills or gimmicks, the working-class interior design mightn't titivate fashionistas, but proves every bit as professional and functional as every contemporary VW.

Yes, you've probably admired the instruments and the centre stack before, or something very like them, on VW passenger cars. But the Caddy isn't just a same-old carbon copy... Like, there's no glovebox in the usual sense; just an open cavity in the nearside dash panel for stuffing with, er, stuff.

Indeed there's no hide-away storage within the Caddy. But besides many open bins and pockets, there's a fairly large, deep pit recessed into the dashtop and a very sizeable 'top bunk' parcel shelf overhead.

If the cockpit's dedication to functionality imparts any hue of blue-collar ambience, it doesn't mean the Maxi TDI 250 wants for creature features. Cruise control, climate control air con, heated rear window/s, power front windows, height adjustability on both seats, hill-hold assist, and remote central locking are among the standard inclusions.

The reassuringly ample safety spec includes front airbags, stability control, anti-lock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution and brake assistance. Side bags are optional extras. This full complement of safety equipment see the van perform better than class average in our safety score.

Supportive in the right places, the hospitable seats provide long-run comfort, and help the driving position accommodate bods of (almost) all sizes.

Fields of view from 9 o'clock to 3 are fairly generous (better than some current high-cowled, thick-pillared sedans), and the sensibly large mirrors make the best of what's left.

The 1.6-litre turbodiesel identifies itself with the usual metallic chatter during warm-up and idle, but smooths and quietens as the revs rise. When cruising ordinarily, there's little or no engine noise to speak of.

Not that you'd easily hear it anyway, because, typical of vans with single-skin bodies, the cargo bay acts as a big, boomy amplifier of road/tyre noise, fuel slosh and other aural intrusions.

Still, whether or not the engine's heard, you certainly feel it whenever you work the accelerator pedal. Actually, there can be an exception when trying to rush away from standstill. Desire for motion must wait a gaping moment of lag before the DSG and engine management systems get their act together and normal activity resumes.

Other than that, there's always immediate and strong 'throttle' response at your disposal.

The Caddy's most accelerative with little or no freight aboard, of course, but even when well laden the TDI 250 is punchy enough to make an impression on the seatback and your cranial register alike.

Volkswagen specs (overseas) mention 0-100 km/h in low 13s, but the TDI 250 honestly feels decidedly livelier than that. Whatever the number, however, the muscular response is impressively ample and readily accessible.

Likewise, the fuel consumption -- officially, this model rates 5.9L/100km. This probably says more about the rating system than real-world results. We only know that during our test, the van's fuel usage averaged 7.0L/100km, which we'd rate as excellent considering the loads and driving conditions.

Characteristically, the DSG isn't the sweetest thing at very low speeds, tending to snatch irritably when edging into parking places, for example. That apart, the Caddy is a pretty good drive all round.

When the van is empty or just lightly laden, the medium-weighted steering is on a par with most small to medium front-drive cars for ease and accuracy. With a full load in back, the steering effort lightens somewhat, albeit without noticeably affecting the front-end's grip and tracking stability.

Some car drivers might envy the Maxi's comparatively smooth-sailing ride quality. The bump absorbency and body control are better resolved than in more stiffly sprung and thinly tyred cars biased toward sharp handling. In that regard the Maxi's lies largely with its obligingly supple yet well disciplined suspension and chubby 195/65R15 rolling stock.

For what it is and how it rides, the Caddy is no dunce in the handling department either. While its directional dexterity is unmistakably (and not unexpectedly) influenced by the load's weight, the variances between the 'empty' and 'full' conditions don't spring any nasty surprises.

Of course the more forceful the change of direction, the more apparent the inevitable understeer and degrees of body roll become.

Yet even in hard-pressed nudges outside the comfort zone, the Caddy's attitude remains co-operatively predictable and controllable. A driver-friendly sense of balance is intrinsic in its stability and handling.

The brakes deserve a praise too. When needed, they're arrestingly powerful for hand-of-God slowdowns, and, unlike some VW (Group) models, the pedal feel is palpably progressive in low-speed and/or light-dab conditions.

So, apart from a couple of generic wrinkles the Caddy Maxi comes across as an impressively well rounded light commercial package; reasonably compact, usefully capacious and also dynamically astute.

That makes the Maxi a very able cargo carrier, and a good drive to boot.

And almost van-tastic!

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