Volkswagen Caddy Van Review

Average Customer Ratings

• Handling:
• Comfort:
• Quality:
• Reliability:
• Performance:
• Practicality:
• Running Costs:
• Value for Money:

Our Review of the Volkswagen Caddy

Though the Volkswagen Caddy C20 is a little more expensive than its competitors it is arguably the best from the perspective of performance and comfort. The small van market is a curious niche as it slots in behind small wheel base commercial vans and slightly bigger than the car - van market. To that end, the Volkswagen Caddy is a well thought out and designed model.

The Volkswagen Caddy 1.6 TDi gives a driver 102 brake horse power to play with, while the impressive 250Nm torque ensures the van can shift an impressive capacity payload of 697kg around town and from a standing position without any problems at all. Fuel consumption stands at 48.7 miles per gallon.

Load space wise it is quite impressive for a van of this class. The load length is 1780mm, width 1558mm narrowing to 1170mm between the wheel arches, and the load height of the Volkswagen Caddy is 1257mm. Loading the Volkswagen Caddy is a lot simpler than most vans in its class thanks to the sliding door which allows easy access to the front of the loading area.

The Volkswagen Caddy handles city life with composure and class. The build quality on Volkswagens generally is outstandingly high and the Volkswagen Caddy is no exception to the rule. The van's wall to wall turning circle is just under 12m, but nonetheless, the drive behind the wheel is one that allows for fairly complex manoeuvres at low revs.

To enable the driver to have better control of the vehicle, Volkswagen have given the Caddy ABS and EBD braking systems together with engine braking control technology. The Volkswagen Caddy comes with driver's airbag and height adjustable seatbelts with pretensioners, together with an iPod compatible CD and MP3 stereo.

The build quality of Volkswagens is second to none with only Mercedes coming close to matching the German make of van. This is nicely illustrated in the cab where an uncluttered practical layout of the dashboard controls has a very solid and sturdy feel. There is no feeling that if a button is pressed the wrong way it will fall off with the Volkswagen Caddy.

Though the Volkswagen range tend to be a little more expensive than their competitors they do offer a lot more for the money. They have a better build quality, logical design, and excellent road handling and power output. All in all, very hard to beat.