VOLKSWAGEN CADDY LIFE
Volkswagen takes the Caddy panel van and adds more windows and seats to turn it into an MPV.
It doesn’t sound all that glamorous, taking a van and turning it into a passenger vehicle. However, this is a formula that has consistently proven solid over the years, with many MPV’s on the market built in this manner. With the Caddy Life, Volkswagen has made room for 5 or 7 people with the ‘Maxi’ model for a comfortable and highly practical machine with a lot of space for passengers and goods.
While the Caddy panel van has been around since the very beginning of the 1980’s, Volkswagen didn’t start producing the Caddy Life model until 2004, shortly after the third generation of the Caddy had begun production. The ‘Maxi’ model was added 3-years later on and is an extended wheelbase version of the same machine.
Power comes from either a turbocharged petrol or a turbocharged diesel engine, which are the same units found in the Caddy panel van. This means they’re intended to be strong-pulling but not particularly powerful units built for efficiency. For the petrol, it’s 1.0-litre 3-cylinder unit on offer and for the diesel it comes as a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder. All engines produce around 100bhp and feature either a 5-speed manual gearbox, though a 6-speed DSG automatic transmission is also available as a cost option.
There are no trim levels with the Caddy Life, it just comes as it is, but for many this is a welcome breath of fresh air from a German manufacturer. The interior is nicely arranged but leans towards being durable and easy to clean above all else, a trait from its commercial vehicle origins. As expected, there’s lots of head room for passengers thanks to that high roofline, and maximum load capacity exceeds over 3,000-litres when the rear seats don’t need to be in place.
Synergy customers with a busy family life may well find the Volkswagen Caddy Life a valuable companion. While not as glamorous or luxurious as a fashionable SUV, its practicality and space simply cannot be ignored.