It’s surprising to hear that the Polish-built Volkswagen Caddy, built upon the latest Golf platform, is actually 14mm longer, 8mm wider and 199mm higher than the same company’s Touran. Available in panel-van and MPV guises, the VW’s likely to give Renault’s Kangoo, Citroen’s Berlingo and Peugeot’s Partner as severe a case of the jitters as the original Kombi gave mothers of pubescent girls twenty years ago.
The panel-van doesn’t replace the current half-tonne VW Caddy bakkie — the venerable Golf 1 derived pickup will continue to be sold, but under a different label. The goods-carrier version of the Caddy boasts double wing doors at the back for easy loading, and a sliding door on the left side of the goods area to allow loading from the pavement. An additional sliding door on the right side is available as an option, and buyers can choose whether they want windows or steel panels fitted to this and the other doors. The Caddy van is rated for a gross payload of 815kg, with 3,2 m3 cargo area, and loading is a cinch thanks to the many large openings.
The panel van comes with a choice of two engines – a 1,6 litre petrol unit delivering 75 kW with 148 Nm of torque, or a two litre diesel engine offering 51 kW and 140 Nm. I didn’t get to drive the naturally-aspirated diesel engined model at the launch, but those who did confirmed that it delivers very acceptable workhorse performance. The 1,6 litre petrol engine under the hood of the panel van I did get to drive performed well during the Eastern Cape introductory drive.
The people-carrying versions of the Caddy come in four models, with diesel or petrol options and two levels of trim – standard and Life. The petrol versions uses the same 1,6 litre 16 valve engine as powers the panel van, while the TDI Caddy relies upon the familiar 77 kW/250 Nm 1,9 litre turbodiesel engine used in the Polo and T5 Kombi ranges. We drove this version around the Gamtoos Valley during the launch and found it to be a healthy performer.
ABS and airbags are standard across the entire range — the base 1,6 has a single driver’s airbag, while the rest have dual front airbags as well as side airbags in the Life versions. All models have electric power steering, central locking and immobilisers, while the Life models also boast air-conditioning, a radio/CD player and electric side mirrors. The 1,6i base model is the only one of the four to do without a second sliding door. There are loads of stowage pockets and trays scattered around the cab, and there’s a very handy overhead storage shelf that runs the entire width of the cab above the windscreen in all versions.
Suspension of the Caddy is taken care of via McPherson struts and stabiliser bar up front and leaf-springs with a stabiliser bar at the rear. Ride and handling are remarkably car-like.
Pricing starts at R122 750 for the Caddy 1,6 Van, with the naturally-aspirated two-litre diesel costing R131 250. The 1,6 Caddy family wagon retails at R162 500 and the 1,9 turbodiesel will lighten your wallet by R185 000, while the upmarket Life variants of these two vehicles will set you back R182 500 and R195 000 respectively.