Final Report
For me, the best aspect of spending half a year behind the wheel of Volkswagen’s Caddy in a long-term test was discovering how good it is on the road: this is a smooth performer, with responsive steering and a firm ride, and a pleasure to drive.
At 125hp, the 1.4-litre TSI engine is the highest-powered of the petrol options available in the line-up.
It offers a top speed of 115mph and a 0-62mph time of 10.3 seconds, which translates to plenty enough power for motorways and dual-carriageways, while the six-speed gearbox that accompanied it was a slick mover that was easy to engage and didn’t lurch when pulling away.
The Caddy’s a breeze to manoeuvre around town, too, and reverse parking is a doddle.
To help with getting into spaces, Highline trim models (which is what ours was) come with rear parking sensors as standard.
Meanwhile, the vehicle’s average fuel economy edged up from 36.3mpg to 37.4mpg during the roughly 6,500 miles travelled, with a high of 42.3mpg and a low of 32.2mpg for individual fill-ups.
A load area measuring 3.2m3 handled almost every domestic carrying task I asked of it – the one occasion when it couldn’t cope was when the longest parts of a dismantled, second-hand sofa bed that had been acquired wouldn’t fit, which meant commandeering a seven-seater car.
Moving towards the front, the cab isn’t the most thrilling-looking of environments – it’s mostly finished in hardwearing, practical, black plastic – but it is comfortable, and the technology that’s on offer (satellite navigation, DAB radio, smartphone connectivity etc.) works well.
Bits of rubber strip came loose
The one downer we experienced in our time with the Caddy is the amount of road noise that enters the cabin, which was exacerbated on a couple of occasions by strips of rubber seal breaking free on the bottom of the windows and flapping against the vehicle exterior or window (I couldn’t tell which), causing a tapping that was particularly irritating, while it lasted, when travelling at motorway speeds.
When this long-termer first arrived we made use of the optional Winter Pack that was added to the Caddy, particularly features such as the heated seats and headlight washers, although you’ll have to decide if such extras, which come at a cost of £485 excluding VAT, are worth the benefits they provide for the months of the year when they’re useful.
As mentioned in the introduction at the top of this page, the Volkswagen Caddy is the current holder of the Highly Commended honour in the in the What Van? Awards light van category, and in its six-month stay on our fleet it did more than enough to confirm it deserves that exalted status.
End-of-term report
Safety 4/5
The latest Caddy range is well endowed with up to date safety technology, which could make all the difference in the event of an accident.
Options list 3/5
Nice cold-climate extras to go with the standard aircon and heated windscreen and door mirrors, although you’ll probably survive without them.
Driving 4/5
Gets from A to B in good time and once there negotiates tight spaces easily.
Load bay 4/5
Accomplished almost all that’s been asked of it so far.
Cabin 3/5
Sensible, if a little dull-looking, working environment, that lost a mark because of the amount of road noise you can hear.
Build quality 4/5
The “phenomenal build quality” we talked about when the Caddy picked up a Highly Commended recommendation in the Awards was let down by bits of window rubber seals coming loose.
OVERALL SCORE 73%
Highline C20 Eu6 1.4 TSI 125hp BMT 6-speed manual
Mileage 7,506
Official combined consumption 48.7mpg
Our average consumption 37.4mpg
Price range (ex VAT) £14,625-£22,205
Price (ex VAT) £17,735
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/10,000mls
Load length 1,779mm
Load width (min/max) 1,170/1,556mm
Load bay height 1,244mm
Load volume 3.2m3
Gross payload 645kg
Engine size/power 1,395cc/125hp
Gearbox 6-speed
CO2 133g/km
Click below to see previous report
5th Report
If you’re after a cabin to excite the eyeballs then the Caddy’s isn’t the place for you.
But if you want a mixture of get-on-with-it practicality and driver comfort, you’ve come to the right place.
It’s mostly finished in hardwearing, practical, black plastic.
However, both seats come with Austin cloth upholstery as standard and are comfortable, while the driver’s also provides lumbar support adjustment as standard on our Highline trim.
The steering wheel is covered in leather.
There’s storage overhead (a full-width shelf above the windscreen), below (under each seat), to the side (in the door pockets and between the seats) and in front (on top of the dash, in front of the gearstick, above the glove box, and inside the glove box, which is lockable).
The navigation and smartphone connectivity plus the DAB radio and CD player (some fun is allowed), which are all operated via the touch-screen system, work well.
The one downer is the amount of road noise that enters the cabin, which has been exacerbated on a couple of occasions by strips of rubber seal breaking free on the bottom of the windows and flapping against the vehicle exterior or window (I couldn’t tell which), causing a tapping that was particularly irritating, while it lasted, when travelling at motorway speeds.
Report Card: Cabin
A sensible, if a little dull-looking, working environment, that lost a mark because of the amount of road noise you can hear.
Score: 3/5
Highline C20 Eu6 1.4 TSI 125hp BMT 6-speed manual
Mileage 6,009
Official combined consumption 48.7mpg
Our average consumption 36.9mpg
Price range (ex VAT) £14,625-£22,205
Price (ex VAT) £17,735
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/10,000mls
Load length 1,779mm
Load width (min/max) 1,170/1,556mm
Load bay height 1,244mm
Load volume 3.2m3
Gross payload 645kg
Engine size/power 1,395cc/125hp
CO2 133g/km
Click below to see previous report
4th Report
The critical loading space dimensions for our long-term Volkswagen Caddy C20 Highline model read like this: load bay – 3.2m3, payload – 645kg, load length – 1,779mm, load height – 1,244mm, load width between arches – 1,170mm, and maximum load width – 1,556mm.
That equates to being the perfect size for our old, worn, bulky sofa bed that needed transporting to the tip (once I’d sought online permission from the local council for taking a commercial vehicle to a domestic recycling centre), but not long enough for the longest part (2,070mm) of the replacement sleeker, second-hand corner sofa you see in the picture below, when it was in its constituent parts.
That, unfortunately, meant another 30-minute round-trip, but this time in the family Nissan Qashqai seven-seater car, to pick-up the biggest piece.
It’s the first challenge the Caddy has failed, having previously swallowed a bulky, battered leather armchair plus an assortment of garden junk, while I expect it to succeed in its next test: carrying an old wooden fence, gate, and posts to a friend so they can make firewood of them, although the posts look like they’ll need to be positioned at an angle.
All the items mentioned so far have made their way into the back via twin, glazed, asymmetric rear doors, with the sliding passenger-side door largely being used for school drop-offs/collections when one of the kids has more bags than space in the cabin will allow.
The rear door can be swung through almost 180° if the stays are released, although I haven’t needed to.
The doors are defended against scratches to half their height with hardboard and the load bay’s sides are partially protected in the same way.
A driver’s side sliding door can be added for £295 (all prices quoted here excluding VAT), and a tailgate instead of the rear doors can be specified for no extra cost, although
if you want windows in it you will incur a £55 charge.
Our light commercial vehicle also came with a rubber load compartment floor covering (£105), six load tie-down points and a full, solid bulkhead, while to get a 12V socket in the load compartment (and dashboard tray) costs £55.
Rear privacy glass isn’t on offer for the panel van, but is for the Maxi kombi.
Finally, if the dimensions outlined at the beginning aren’t enough for your needs, Volkswagen also does a Caddy Maxi derivative.
Report Card: Load bay
Accomplished almost all that’s been asked of it so far.
Score: 4/5
Highline C20 Eu6 1.4 TSI 125hp BMT 6-speed manual
Mileage 5,997
Official combined consumption 48.7mpg
Our average consumption 36.9mpg
Price range (ex VAT) £14,625-£22,205
Price (ex VAT) £17,735
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/10,000mls
Load length 1,779mm
Load width (min/max) 1,170/1,556mm
Load bay height 1,244mm
Load volume 3.2m3
Gross payload 645kg
Engine size/power 1,395cc/125hp
CO2 133g/km
Click below to see previous report
All this almost, but not quite, fitted into the back of the Volkswagen Caddy
3rd Report
At 125hp, the 1.4-litre TSI engine in our Caddy is the highest-powered of the petrol options available in the line-up, the others being a 102hp 1.0-litre and an 84hp 1.2.
However, in top-of-the-range Highline form – which is what our model is – only the 125hp can be specified, although there’s the choice of either the six-speed gearbox or the seven-speed DSG automatic.
Our van comes with the former. It’s a slick mover that’s easy to engage and doesn’t lurch when pulling away.
In fact, the gearbox has been so issue-free I don’t notice it in everyday driving. The engine, meanwhile, offers a top speed of 115mph and a 0-62mph time of 10.3 seconds, which translates to plenty enough power for motorways and dual-carriageways.
Overall, the Caddy is a smooth performer on the road, with responsive steering and a firm ride. It’s fair to say I’m enjoying it.
It’s easy to manoeuvre around town, too, and reverse parking is a doddle. To help, Highline trim models come with rear parking sensors as standard, but Park Assist (a parallel parking aid using front and rear sensors) and a rear-view camera are available as options.
Similarly, while our LCV comes with cruise control and a speed limiter, adaptive cruise control, which automatically adjusts the van’s speed to maintain a safe distance from vehicles ahead, is available as an option.
We’re nearing the 6,000-mile mark, and economy is up from an average of 36.3mpg to 36.9mpg, due in part to one tank of fuel that is the only one so far to have returned 40mpg-plus (42.3mpg to be precise).
Report Card: Driving
Gets from A to B in good time and once there negotiates tight spaces easily.
Score: 4/5
Highline C20 Eu6 1.4 TSI 125hp BMT 6-speed manual
Mileage 5,770
Official combined consumption 48.7mpg
Our average consumption 36.9mpg
Price range (ex VAT) £14,625-£22,205
Price (ex VAT) £17,735
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/10,000mls
Load length 1,779mm
Load width (min/max) 1,170/1,556mm
Load bay height 1,244mm
Load volume 3.2m3
Gross payload 645kg
Engine size/power 1,395cc/125hp
CO2 133g/km
Click below to see previous report
2nd Report
Our Caddy is equipped with an optional Winter Pack for £485 excluding VAT.
Now, it includes heated windscreen washer jets, which aren’t quite what the name conjures up, namely jets of warm water fizzing upwards to defrost your windscreen on miserable January mornings. No, the heating only defrosts frozen washer jets – it does not heat the hoses that the water flows through. Shame, as I quite liked the idea of what I’d imagined.
Incidentally, did you know that, according to the VW manual, you’re to never use the windscreen washer system at winter temperatures before the windscreen has been heated by the ventilation system because “the anti-freeze mixture may otherwise freeze on the windscreen and restrict vision”?
No, neither did I.
Next up are the headlight washers, which, hopefully, are self-explanatory. Interestingly, though, while the headlights will be washed the first time the windscreen washer system is used, they then work on every 10th occasion thereafter.
A washer fluid level indicator light that warns when the fluid is low and appears on the instrument cluster display forms part of the pack too.
Finally, in terms of providing additional features to aid interior warmth over and above the standard aircon/heating controls, the Winter Pack also includes heated driver’s and front passenger seats and, if you have the diesel engine, which we don’t, an electric auxiliary air heater.
The seats have three temperature choices with the ‘Mummy Bear’ setting of ‘2’ being, in my opinion, just right.
Report Card: Options list
Nice cold-climate extras to go with the standard aircon and heated windscreen and door mirrors, although you’ll probably survive without them.
Score: 3/5
Highline C20 Eu6 1.4 TSI 125hp BMT 6-speed manual
Mileage 1,943
Official combined consumption 48.7mpg
Our average consumption 35.4mpg
Price range (ex VAT) £14,625-£22,205
Price (ex VAT) £17,735
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/10,000mls
Load length 1,779mm
Load width (min/max) 1,170/1,556mm
Load bay height 1,244mm
Load volume 3.2m3
Gross payload 645kg
Engine size/power 1,395cc/125hp
CO2 133g/km
Click below to see previous report
1st Report
Among the changes that Volkswagen has made to the 2018 model-year Caddy – the latest light commercial vehicle to join What Van?’s fleet of long-termers – has been the addition of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) as standard.
The manufacturer’s version of the safety technology is called Front Assist with City Emergency Braking, and it applies the brakes should the driver fail to react effectively to a vehicle that has slowed suddenly or stopped in front of the Caddy.
Driver Alert, which monitors the driver for signs of tiredness and advises them to take a break, is also included as standard across the range.
If we’re both fortunate and sensible, than neither AEB nor the Driver Alert feature will come into play in our six-month stint with the Caddy – however, we will be more than happy to sample Volkswagen’s Discover Media Navigation system, that comes with flagship Highline models such as this as part of the purchase price.
Our VW Caddy also comes with several optional extras that’ll be tested in the coming months.
First up is the Winter Pack. It includes headlight washers, heated washer jets, washer fluid level indicator, heated driver’s and front and passenger seats, and electric auxiliary air heater (the whole lot amounts to £582) all of which, with the exception of the washer fluid level indicator, have been put to the test in a UK winter and found to be up to the task.
App-Connect (£144), meanwhile, enables you to bring smartphone apps to the Discover Media Navigation touchscreen.
Further options include the Starlight Blue metallic exterior paint with Titanium Black upholstery on the inside (£492), rubber floor covering in the load area (£120), and the full, solid bulkhead, which is a no-cost extra.
The Volkswagen Caddy achieved the status of Highly Commended in the light van category in the recent What Van? Awards. We said in our Awards summary of the vehicle at the back end of last year that “the 2018 version of the van is more complete than it’s ever been, with a great blend of comfort and practicality”, and that it boasts “phenomenal build quality, a praiseworthy approach to safety, impressive on-the-road performance”.
We’ll see how both of those assertions stand up to long-term scrutiny over the next six months.
We look forward to trying App-Connect
Report Card: Safety
The latest Caddy range is well endowed with the latest safety technology, which could make all the difference in the event of an accident.
Score: 4/5
Highline C20 Eu6 1.4 TSI 125hp BMT 6-speed manual
Mileage 1,732
Official combined consumption 48.7mpg
Our average consumption 35.4mpg
Price range (ex VAT) £14,625-£22,205
Price (ex VAT) £17,735
Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls
Service intervals 1yr/10,000mls
Load length 1,779mm
Load width (min/max) 1,170/1,556mm
Load bay height 1,244mm
Load volume 3.2m3
Gross payload 645kg
Engine size/power 1,395cc/125hp
CO2 133g/km
Options (ex VAT)
Winter Pack £485
App-Connect £120
Load compartment floor covering – rubber £100
Bulkhead – full solid, high without window £0
