The VW Caddy has been sort of an unsung hero in the country from the German manufacturer. While it does sell in numbers, it doesn't get the spotlight like some of the other models that roll off their production lines, obviously the hatchbacks get preferential treatment locally as they are the more popular ones from VW but as they say, you don't really notice a car or model on the road until you drive one and that is exactly what happened when I had the new VW Caddy, I began to notice how many of the older models were on the road that I never really took note off. They ranged from all-sorts, the panel vans and the family carrier, with the panel ones coming in majority. I spent some time with the Caddy Maxi 7-seater to find out why it has enjoyed some good market share in this segment.
DESIGN
When it comes to a panel style van, there's nothing sexy or sleek about it but I must take my hat off to Volkswagen, they've got elements to this car that really do make it stand out. Starting at the front with the revised headlights which are very modern and inline with their new design language, this is joined by the solid black bar instead of a grille that has the VW emblem at the centre. Moving down is where the really interesting bit comes, the bumper has a split style grille with a small opening at the top, a solid piece for the number plate and 3D like perforated bottom grill which gives the car a really modern look, almost concept like. It really is very eye catching and especially in this beautiful bronzed metallic colour I had it in. Moving along to the side profile, is is very similar to the old model, with the Maxi the car is much longer than the standard model so the side windows are larger and with the optional extra panoramic glass roof, the Caddy really maximizes on letting natural light into the cabin. The rear design is very neat and keeping to that modern look with a large rear window, with black accents bordering it, VW badge in the middle with the Caddy sign below and the handle to open the luggage hatch just below that. Overall, they've done a fantastic job on make what would be a very boring vehicle to look at, pretty nice. In fact many times I caught people walking up to have a closer look at the car.
PERFORMANCE
While the Caddy is predominantly made as a workhorse, this version has been converted to have 7-seats and serve as a transporter. So different kind of goods if you may, the Maxi comes fitted with a 2.0-litre TDI engine that delivers 81kW and 300Nm of torque which is a substantial amount for the car considering what it's general use would be for. During my time with it we utilized all 7-seats and the car managed just fine even on long distances. The 6-speed manual gearbox did help a lot in this regard but also had me down changing a plenty to get that torque I needed which did affect the average fuel use but nothing that was too alarming. Which the chassis is large and bulky, it did maneuver quite well on the open road and around the bends at high speeds, urban driving was also surprisingly easy with it, parking in certain places can get a bit tricky with it being a bit wider than your average Polo but with the read sliding doors it isn't an issue for the passengers to get in and out of tight spots.
COMFORT
While this was a 7-seater van, the Caddy isn't purposely built for comfort, it is pretty evident when you take a look at the interior. Much of it is made up of very robust materials, from the door panels to the dash and even the seats which is a strong fabric type to prevent short-term wear and tear. You'd understand the point of this coming from VW as the Caddy is used more as a cargo van but in this application where you have more of a passenger transporter vibe, I would have liked to see some added colour inserts into the dash and door panels just to warm the feeling up a bit in the cabin. It still comes loaded with tech like most of the new models with pre-loaded mobile applications, a touchscreen infotainment unit which has VW's latest user interface, the same as the Golf 8, it even has the touch sensitive climate control selectors which pop up on the screen like the Golf 8 as well with similar style light controls next to the the steering wheel column. The real deal breaker for the Caddy is the spaciousness of the cabin. The seats are formed in a 2-3-2 configuration with decent space for the second row seat and adequate room for the third row passengers. The seats in the third row are much smaller than the other days but are comfortable enough for an adult to sit on. The large sliding doors make it easy to get in and out for all passengers and the ease in which the seats fold both for the second and third row makes it simple enough for a small child to do so. Overall, very practical and much better than any other 7-seater in its price segment.
VERDICT
Overall, I can understand the application in which Volkswagen had in mind when making this car and like I said earlier, there is definitely a market for this type of vehicle locally. I've seen the type of people that were attracted to this car and listening to their applications for it just makes sense. A lot of them were adventure junkies or families that travel heavy and wouldn't mind the extra space every now and then. It certainly is a very attractive car, this colour is by far my favourite in the options list and while it not garner the attention like other VW models, it has its own charm about it. I've already seen loads of these new model Caddy's on the road since my time with it which only justifies my statement by saying there is a market for them but we don't really take note of it.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Engine | 2.0L TDI |
| 6-speed manual | |
0-100km/h | 12.8 seconds |
R600,400* |
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