VOLKSWAGEN Caddy Review

Do we really need to? When we first set foot into the car, we admit it wasn't such a bad feeling. As far as the driver is concerned, the driving position is not bad at all, as he has the adjustable seat and steering wheel to make use of (unfortunately, both manual) in order to secure a comforting drive. Heated seats are available, only not present on the model tested by us, and would add to the driver's comfort.

Also on the good side, we should add the adjustable front passenger seat and the considerable amount of space for both front and rear passenger. The rear seats are placed at a considerable height, thus improving the passenger visibility.

However, the model we tested did not benefit from grab handles for the rear passengers. In case you find that odd, know that the driver DOES have one, in case he might need it for keeping his balance while driving...

Also, the modifications brought to the rear suspension for the accommodation of the Haldex all-wheel-drive system makes it unbearable to sit in the back. Every little bump on the road turns into a baby-earthquake – and we're really far from exaggeration – due to its jumpy configuration. Imagine you want to take a few friends for a short trip to the mountains during a sunny weekend. Better take our word for it and change your mind quickly, in case you don't want them to hit the doctor's office for back pains afterwards.

Also on the downside, we couldn't help noticing that the glove compartment is not closed. It actually resembles an usual door storage compartment, only featuring less depth that usual. Often you might find that some of your stuff will be thrown down the floor, given the suspension package we've been telling you about in the aforementioned paragraph.
The undisputed news about the new Caddy is the 4th generation 4 Motionall-wheel-drive system. Being the first ever Caddy model to benefit from all-wheel-drive, the new Caddy can now successfully tackle the difficult off-road conditions, and our tests were pretty convincing of its effectiveness.

The use of the four generation Haldex coupling came at the expense of several technical modifications at the rear section of the car. First of all, in order to accommodate the 4Motion system, Volkswagen had to revise its exhaust system, fuel tank and rear shaft. In day-do-day traffic, the 4WD system usually turns into a front-wheel-drive one, as the road conditions don't require traction on all four wheels.

In off-road or other extreme road conditions such as these, the power is distributed to all four wheels and, in case needed, the system could turn the Caddy into a rear-wheel-drive vehicle.

Volkswagen chose not to replace their classic not-benefiting-from-common-rail-technology 1.9 TDI unit, aiming to keep fuel consumption down to a minimum (we'd assume quite logically). Hopefully, they'll make the transition to a more developed TDI plant in the near future, as it would boost the car's performances and help with that annoying noise we've been telling you about earlier on. Coupled to the 1.9 TDI is a 6-speed manual transmission, nothing special about that.

In terms of power steering, the Caddy features the same Servotronic system as implemented in the Golf, making it easier/lighter for the driver to steer at low speed and giving it a more direct feel at high speed. Also standard are the remote central locking with an alarm immobilizer and anti-tow.
We have to admit we really have to push the line in order to get something on paper here. But you can't really blame Volkswagen for that, as this is hardly a family-purposed car. If it were the Life model, they would have had some explaining to do, but from a Kombi that's usually used for carrying loads and rarely some people on the rear bench, high-tech gadgetry is not something one would expect.

Now that we've got that out the way, we still need to rate the Caddy on the “Useful Toys” category. However, the aftermarket audio/MP3 player did not help much. Nor did the poor configuration of buttons on the dashboard, whose purpose was only to control the semi-automatic dual climate control and defogging system.

Our Caddy was also equipped with a standard trip computer, controlled via the windshield wiper knob.

In order to preserve space in the back of car, the German manufacturer opted for a TireFit kit instead of your usual spare tire. The kit is comprised of a foam spray and an air compressor – either electric or manual – and is used to cover the holes in the tire for approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles). The spray is inserted into the tire through the tire valve and, while pumped in, attaches itself to the inner walls of the tire, sealing the holes.

The only disadvantage of the TireFit kit is that, once used, it has to be replaced. Other than that, it's great for saving space and also time while experiencing a flat tire on the road.
Here's where it gets tricky. The 2007 Caddy Life – passenger configuration of the new Caddy – scored a decent 4 stars at the EuroNCAP crash tests, including a 12.5 score for front occupants and 15 for the rear passengers. However, the Caddy 4Motion we've tested only benefited from front airbags for the driver and passenger (lacking side body airbags).

That can only lead to two conclusions. Firstly, the score for front impact might feature an improved figure when talking about the driver's side, as the left-hand side doesn't have a rear door like the Caddy Life (making it more compact in case of impact). Secondly, the rating for side impact will most likely be affected by the lack of side airbags. Either way, we can't possibly find a reasonable explanation why Volkswagen chose not to equip the Caddy 4Motion with standard side airbags.

On the good side, the new Caddy features standard Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) – which can be disabled via a central console button in front of the gear knob – as well as ABS, ASR and MSR systems.

Also new on the Caddy is the Hill Hold Assist, a function that we didn't get to test much since it wasn't part of the test-drive package we were offered.

At the end of the day, we didn't really figure out why Volkswagen launched a Kombi version for their Caddy anyway. With the risk of repeating ourselves, this particular version is neither an all-time player on the load-carrier market (the panel van seems more appropriate for that role) nor a family car (the Life surely covers that area in a more fashionable manner).

Reasons why one would buy this car certainly relate to its new 4Motion system, aimed to provide some feeling of certainty in difficult road conditions. Needless to say, the new Caddy 4Motion does very well in off-road and, as noisy as its engine is at high speed, provides better stability. Also the ESP is a very valuable asset for every driver out there and, although most of the car makers equip their models with ESP nowadays, it's still a high point for Volkswagen for including the system on their standard feature list.

On the downside, however, we couldn't keep ourselves from noticing that you don't get to talk much to a potential passenger at high speed, because of the noisy powerplant. Apart from the lower fuel consumption, we cannot find a perfect good reason why Volkswagen chose not to update their 1.9 TDI unit for the revised Caddy. It's old, noisy and soon to be discontinued by the German carmaker. So why use it in the eleventh hour?

The poor comfort, at least for the people sitting in the back, has already been covered in our “Feed me lies” section. Needless to say, you don't want to carry people in the back of your Caddy 4Motion unless you'll drive on perfect road or want to make enemies out of them.

All in all, we want to assure the Caddy enthusiasts that they will not be very disappointed with the revised model. After all, Volkswagen did bring some slight improvements to it, the 4Motion being the most significant of the pack, with our sole annotation that they could have done a lot better.