If you’ve ever wondered why journalists write “claimed” or “approximately” about performance and economy figures supplied by the manufacturers at a vehicle launch, it’s because we haven’t tested that particular vehicle.
Invariably, these figures are slightly slanted. That’s not to say that the manufacturers are trying to pull the wool over your eyes, but that vehicles are tested and evaluated by professionals under ideal conditions.
For a Polokwane trip I procured one of the recently launched Caddy Life models, Volkswagen’s latest addition to an ever-growing multi-purpose vehicle market, with its 1,9Tdi engine.
Turbo diesels have become increasingly popular in South Africa over the past five years, and the engines are no longer restricted to commercial vehicles. Luxury marques such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Alfa, Chrysler, Renault and Land Rover have introduced upmarket models in their ranges.
And if you’ve ever driven a Tdi, you’ll understand why they’re so popular. Besides their frugality, they’re a pleasure to drive, thanks to enormous amounts of grunt on the lower rev ranges, and their ability to offer effortless cruising over long distances.
On the downside, most require frequent servicing thanks to the high sulphur content in our fuel, which can negate the savings you make on fuel costs. With most models, that’s taken care of by a maintenance plan, and legislation is in place for fuel with very low sulphur content within two years.
Though we drove the Caddy with a feather balanced on the accelerator, there was occasion to use it energetically, particularly when overtaking or on steep inclines.
We varied passenger loads and routes. The urban test was pretty much driver only, while our trip to Polokwane took four passengers plus a hound. We used the toll road up to Warmbaths, then took the R101 through Nylstroom, Naboomspruit and Potgietersrus.
With the current heatwave in Gauteng, we used the standard climatic air conditioner liberally, just to make sure that our figures were realistic.
The five seater’s 1 896cc four-cylinder motor produces a sensible 77kW from 1 900rpm, while torque is a hefty 250Nm, which also comes in at a rather low 1 900rpm.
VW claims that the Caddy will consume 5,2 litres per 100km of diesel for the country driving and 7,4 litres for city driving. Our urban figure surprised us, and it seems VW has done its homework diligently and accurately on this one — we got it down to a very realistic 7,6 litres.
Our trip off the highway included some twisty, undulating roads. Here, the consumption dropped dramatically to 6,7 litres, but remained quite a bit higher than the 5,2 litres claimed by Volkswagen.Â
In fairness, we made generous use of the optional cruise control, which no doubt upped the consumption. On our return trip, with manual input on the accelerator, the computer yielded 6,2 litres.
The Caddy Life got us there in style though, and even with a solid rear axle more suited to commercial applications, the ride proved comfortable.
It is reassuring that anti-lock braking system, airbags and traction control are standard. The servotronic steering — the same technology used in the Golf — proved nice and direct, although the front suspension mumbles slightly when negotiating speed humps at nominal speed, probably because of the heavy diesel mill up front.
With electric windows, central locking and height adjustable steering, this versatile family carrier can be transformed into a capable load-lugger. Including a service plan would have been advantageous.
Like all Volkswagens, the Caddy, is covered by a 120 000km or three year warranty, and retails for R195 000.