Final Report
I’ve just bade a fondish farewell to our long-term-test VW Caddy Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION.
Fondish? Well, what on earth can one say about a van whose dashboard clearly displays the words ‘Air conditioning’ when it doesn’t have such a facility fitted?
Apparently, you only get to enjoy icy breezes if the display also shows a logo that looks a bit like a snowflake. Bad news if you happened to be driving around (as I was) in this year’s boiling summer temperatures.
It’s a pity because in most other respects this VW is an incredibly admirable product.
Apart from the occasional reluctance of the nearside load area door to shut first time around, and the odd creak from the suspension, it felt pretty solidly built. That was reassuring as I embarked on a (heavily-laden) journey of over 1,000 miles that took me
from Herefordshire to the ferry port at Holyhead in North Wales, across the Irish Sea to Dublin, down to County
Cork, back up to Dublin, over the sea and back home again.
I drove across Wales in preference to enduring the UK’s dilapidated motorway network, and Caddy pulled strongly up some demanding Welsh hills despite all the weight it had on-board. Its smooth gear-change made the whole exercise that much easier.
It happily tackled some excruciatingly tight bends too – it handles the roads remarkably well.
Heading up Ireland’s M8 and M7 motorways towards Dublin in torrential rain made me almost pathetically grateful for Caddy’s plentiful on-board safety devices (some of which are optional extras, it should be added). I was rather less impressed however by the constant stream of nanny-knows- best advisory messages from the dashboard, most of which are intended to help you cut your fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
I know such missives are well-meant. They can also be extremely irritating, although I readily concede that had I obeyed them I might have achieved a better mpg figure.
Happily, Caddy offers a comfortable driving position and I eventually got used to the electronic parking brake release. The system’s auto hold function which stops you rolling backwards on steep inclines was certainly welcome.
The need for some tight low-speed manoeuvring in the centre of Cork city meant that I grew to be even more appreciative of the clear image delivered by the van’s (optional) rear- view camera.
Heaving lots of kilos into the roomy and easily-accessible cargo area improved the otherwise adequate- rather-than-outstanding ride. Noting that the DAB radio automatically switched to a selection of Irish radio stations as soon as I was on Irish soil enabled me to overcome any concerns about in- cab noise by tuning into RTE Radio 1, turning it up, and shouting at it when I heard anything that displeased me.
Made a change from regularly shouting at BBC Radio 4 instead.
End-of-term report
Safety = 4/5
To a high level, although some items are extra-cost options.
Options list = 4/5
No shortage of useful items to spend your money on.
Driving = 3/5
Strong acceleration and sharp handling have to be weighed against a so-so ride..
Load bay = 4/5
Roomy with good access from three sides, plastic rather than steel bulkhead.
Cabin = 2/5
Lack of air conditioning marred a good working environment.
Build quality = 4/5
Generally up to VW’s exemplary standard.
Overall score = 70%
VW Caddy Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION
Mileage 2,786
Official combined fuel economy 51.4mpg
Our average consumption 43.5mpg
Price (ex VAT) £24,870
Warranty 3yrs/100,000 miles
Service intervals 2yrs/18,600 miles
Load length 2,150mm
Load width (min/max) 1,230mm/1,614mm
Load bay height 1,275mm
Load volume 3.7 m3
Gross payload 675kg
Braked towing weight 1,500kg
Engine size/power 1,968cc/122hp
CO2 149g/km
3rd Report
If a touch-screen in the middle of a van’s dashboard clearly displays the words ‘air-conditioning’ then a driver would naturally assume that an air-conditioning system is fitted. That assumption would be completely wrong in our long-term-test VW Caddy Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION’s case, however.
Despite the fact that the phrase ‘Air conditioning’ stares you in the face, air conditioning is not present. All you get instead is air blown at you at whatever happens to be the prevailing temperature outside the vehicle unless you turn up the heater; not something I’ve been inclined to do in recent weeks given how hot the weather has been.
Apparently you only get air conditioning in a Caddy if the touch-screen also includes a symbol which looks as though it is meant to denote frost, which you press to get cool. If that isn’t present – and it isn’t on our Caddy – then you continue to boil.
Bizarrely, it took two visits to VW’s own workshops to determine that the reason the van’s air conditioning wasn’t working – something we highlighted in our last report – was that it wasn’t installed to begin with.
So why on earth does the display say that it’s got it when it hasn’t? The only explanation VW’s UK head office could come up with was to the effect that that’s the way the factory makes these vans.
But why does it build them like that? Nobody seems to know.
It’s all very odd, and in more than 35 years of road testing and writing about commercial vehicles, it’s not a situation I’ve ever encountered before. In these strike-prone times I will leave it to readers to anticipate the likely reaction of unionised drivers working for a major fleet who are issued with a van they believe has air conditioning only to discover it hasn’t on the hottest day of the year.
Their annoyance is likely to be magnified when a display on the dashboard reprimands them for driving around with the windows wound down in order to keep cool because it increases aerodynamic drag and thus fuel consumption.
All I can suggest to VW is that it gets on to the factory immediately and ensures this air conditioning info anomaly is sorted out. It’s utterly ridiculous; and it’s certainly uncool.
It’s also a huge pity because in other respects our Caddy is an impressive piece of kit.
It’s solidly constructed, pulls strongly even when heavily-laden, and boasts more on-board safety devices then you could shake the proverbial stick at. It handles well and the 4MOTION system has allowed me to make some modest forays off-road with confidence – admittedly in bone-dry conditions and accompanied by clouds of dust.
I’ve always liked VW vans – Transporter in all its incarnations in particular – and I still view Caddy as a praiseworthy, durable, working tool; just so long as you don’t make the mistake of believing everything its misleading touchscreen tells you.
Report card: In-cab comfort = 0/5
So, where’s the air-conditioning gone exactly?
VW Caddy Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION
Mileage 1,505
Official combined fuel economy 51.4mpg
Our average consumption 43.5mpg
Price (ex VAT) £24,870
Warranty 3yrs/100,000 miles
Service intervals 2yrs/18,600 miles
Load length 2,150mm
Load width (min/max) 1,230mm/1,614mm
Load bay height 1,275mm
Load volume 3.7 m3
Gross payload 675kg
Braked towing weight 1,500kg
Engine size/power 1,968cc/122hp
CO2 149g/km
2nd Report
Well, I’ve tried everything. I’ve even consulted the handbook. The late Neil McIntee, the legendary and much-missed former editor of What Van?, would have been horrified.
Yet despite all my best endeavours, I cannot persuade our long-term test VW Caddy Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION’s climate control system to produce cold air.
Luke-warm? Yes. Chilly? No; and when the temperature rises I usually favour transforming the inside of the cab of any van I’m driving into something akin to the inside of a fridge.
Perhaps I’m missing something – I readily concede that it wouldn’t be the first time – but somehow I doubt it. I can only conclude that there is a fault somewhere that will need investigating by a dealer.
As a consequence I’ve been driving around with the windows wound down in hot weather, only to be soundly ticked off by the van’s ever-vigilant on-board computer for increasing aerodynamic drag and boosting fuel consumption and emissions as a consequence. What I called it can’t be printed.
It has also taken me to task for accidentally depressing the accelerator pedal when starting the vehicle because of the impact it has on fuel usage; a fair point, I suppose.
In addition I’ve been told to take a break after driving for an hour. Even at my advanced age I think that’s unreasonable, and it’s an instruction that is highly unlikely to be welcomed by a driver on a high-speed long-distance intercity run chasing a timed delivery slot.
On the positive side though – and putting the apparent inadequacies of the climate control package to one side for a moment – I remain in awe of the van’s overall build quality. The solid clunk the back doors make as you shut them – the sliding side doors and cab doors are the same – makes you want to open and close them again and again just for the sheer pleasure of it.
Put a heavy load on board and our test van pulls just as strongly as it does when it is empty, and when you push it hard around the highways and byways of Herefordshire you become more and more impressed with its handling and stability as each mile passes.
Safety and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles go together like Boris Johnson and cheese and wine parties at Number 10 (but with far more positive and praiseworthy effects) and our demonstrator’s safety pack includes Front Assist with Pedestrian Monitoring and City Emergency Braking System. The latter applies the brakes automatically should somebody step into the road just ahead of you; and I can guarantee that it works a treat.
As I drove around Queen Square in the centre of Bath late one evening a loved-up young couple who only had eyes for each other – and certainly not the traffic – wandered off the pavement straight out in front of me. The braking system reacted, and brought me to a halt – and the couple just kept walking, oblivious to the catastrophe that had just been averted.
What it is to be a teenager…
Report card: Equipment = 5/5
Stress on safety deserves top marks.
VW Caddy Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION
Mileage 1,137
Official combined fuel economy 51.4mpg
Our average consumption 43.5mpg
Price (ex VAT) £24,870
Warranty 3yrs/100,000 miles
Service intervals 2yrs/18,600 miles
Load length 2,150mm
Load width (min/max) 1,230mm/1,614mm
Load bay height 1,275mm
Load volume 3.7 m3
Gross payload 675kg
Braked towing weight 1,500kg
Engine size/power 1,968cc/122hp
CO2 149g/km
1st Report
Volkswagen’s latest Caddy has just joined What Van?’s long-term-test fleet, and we are pretty confident that it will have no trouble tackling some of rural Herefordshire’s more-demanding farm tracks. That is because it is a Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION; and the 4MOTION designation means that extra traction is delivered to the appropriate wheel should the van start to lose grip on a loose or slippery surface.
Maxi is the bigger of the two Caddy models with a 3.7m3 load area – down from the more-generous 4.2m3 provided by its predecessor. Powered in our case by the 122hp/320Nm version of the 2.0-litre diesel, and with a six-speed manual gearbox, it can handle a 675kg payload.
Access to the cargo area is by means of a sliding door on each side and two asymmetric rear doors. Six load tie-down points are provided and a full-height bulkhead is there to protect the occupants of the cab should cargo slide forwards.
It is made from hard plastic, doubtless in a bid to save weight. Sorry VW, but I am a traditionalist, and feel more comfortable with a steel sheet behind me.
The traditionalist in me also favours a full-size spare wheel rather than our demonstrator’s inflator/sealer, especially if I am going anywhere where the highways are a bit rough and ready; a description which encompasses almost all of the A and B roads in my locality.
In-cab storage facilities include large bins in each of the doors and a big lockable glove-box. You will find those all-important cup-holders between the seats.
Safety has been a key priority for VW for many years, and that continues with the latest Caddy. Our demonstrator boasts a comprehensive package of built-in devices designed to minimise the risk of drivers getting into difficulties, including front assist with pedestrian monitoring and city emergency braking system.
It applies the brakes automatically should somebody using their smartphone wander out in front of you, oblivious to everything around them, when you are pottering down your local high street.
With an auto hold function to stop you rolling backwards on inclines, the electronic parking brake releases automatically as you move away. Head off down the road and you immediately start to appreciate Caddy’s slick, sharp gear change. Start to tackle a few sharp bends, and you begin to applaud its confident handling too. It is more than happy to be pushed hard into curves, and strong acceleration and an ability to maintain motorway speeds mean that it is more than capable of keeping up with the traffic.
Drawbacks? The ride is adequate rather than outstanding, and in-cab noise levels are a tad excessive.
Early days of course, but at 43.5mpg, average fuel economy is some way behind the official figure. To be fair though that reflects a preponderance of high-speed motorway work with some weight on-board. I would expect the figure to improve over more mixed routes.
Back on the plus-side I continue to be astonished by VW’s high standard of build quality – and Caddy exemplifies it.
It is extraordinarily well put together, looks as though it should last forever. The Caddy also even manages to make some of its rivals look like flimsy tin boxes on wheels. Good news for residual values.
Flicking through the options fitted, I like the wide-angle rear view camera. It comes in handy if you are reversing off a drive and want to be sure that you are not backing into the path of a wayward cyclist.
Report card: Handling = 4/5
Reassuringly sharp.
VW Caddy Cargo Commerce Maxi 4MOTION
Mileage 875
Official combined fuel economy 51.4mpg
Our average consumption 43.5mpg
Price (ex VAT) £24,870
Warranty 3yrs/100,000 miles
Service intervals 2yrs/18,600 miles
Load length 2,150mm
Load width (min/max) 1,230mm/1,614mm
Load bay height 1,275mm
Load volume 3.7 m3
Gross payload 675kg
Braked towing weight 1,500kg
Engine size/power 1,968cc/122hp
CO2 149g/km
On sale December 2020
Options (prices ex VAT)
App-Connect £150
Carpet flooring in cab £60
Discover Media DAB+ sat nav with 10ins colour touch screen £1,280
Floor mats in front £50
Timber load floor cover £315
Mobile phone interface with wireless charging £285
Parking sensors front and rear £465
Rear view camera £240
Metallic paint £530
