Volkswagen Caddy Review

If you want as much space as possible but don't want to compromise on the driving experience, a Volkswagen Caddy sounds like the perfect choice. It's not as cool as an SUV, but it's got a huge amount more room, while it's better to drive than other van-based people carriers.

If you're in the market for a van-based people carrier, you should also have the likes of the Peugeot Rifter, Citroen Berlingo and Vauxhall Combo Life on your shortlist. These are all very similar, sharing a platform and various parts between them. Then there's the Ford Tourneo Connect, a people carrier based on the award-winning Transit Connect van which we rate very highly.

How happy you'll be with the Volkswagen Caddy's interior quality probably comes down to your expectations. If you're trading in a mid-range crossover SUV, you might be disappointed with the slightly hard finish of the dashboard, or the flimsy door bins. But it doesn't feel a great deal cheaper than the latest Volkswagen Golf and it's certainly plusher than some van-based people carriers.

The leather-trimmed steering wheel (on DSG models) helps lift the cabin, as does the silver accents on things like the air vents and door handles. It's all pretty good for a van-based people carrier, really, but like the latest Golf, it's hardly the last word in soft-touch materials.

There are various different infotainment systems available in the Volkswagen Caddy. The standard Caddy makes do with a simple 6.5-inch display which won't do a great deal more than play the radio or stream music from your phone via Bluetooth. 

The Caddy Life comes with a bigger 8.25-inch display, which also brings with it Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Navigation isn't available on this system but, once you get used to using Google Maps from your phone, that isn't a big problem.

A bigger 10-inch unit is available as an optional extra. It's quite pricey (nearly £1000 on the Caddy Life) but it's an option box worth ticking if you really want your Caddy to feel like a Golf. Or if you just want built-in sat-nav.

Another desirable (and, again, expensive) feature is the Digital Cockpit. This replaces the dials with a 10.25-inch digital display which can be configured to show things like audio information or even navigation information including a map of your location.

If you're looking for outright practicality, no crossover SUV will come close to the versatility offered by the Volkswagen Caddy. For a start, its boot is simply huge, able to carry Volkswagen Caddy boot space is 1213 litres. Nearly three times the luggage space you'd get in a Nissan Qashqai.

Access to the boot is nice and low, without a noticeable lip – great for loading bulky items or encouraging a dog to jump in. Make sure you can close the boot easily before parting with your money, though. There's no electrical assistance and it's quite high – although power latching is available as an option, meaning you don't have to slam it quite so hard.

It's a usefully square luggage area, too, with tie-down points in the floor and an optional 12V socket (great for plugging in a cool box). If you need more space, the rear seats split 60/40 and drop easily, providing the kind of practicality you'd expect from a van.

Our test vehicle was fitted with just five seats, although you can get an extra pair of seats that pop up from the boot floor. We suspect these will be for occasional use only – particularly as, with them in use, you won't have much room left for luggage. If you need more space, Volkswagen sells a long-wheelbase model badged the Volkswagen Caddy Maxi.

There's plenty of room for rear passengers in the second row of seats. Access is via sliding doors, which are great in tight parking spaces, while fitting child seats should be a piece of cake (Isofix mounting points are provided on the outer rear seats). There's enough space for three adults to sit side by side although, while the middle seat is sufficiently wide, a lump in the floor combines with the centre console to eat into foot space. Picnic tables fitted to the back of the front seats are great for trips to your fast food establishment of choice.

The front is equally spacious, with an almost infinite amount of headroom and plenty of space between the driver and passenger. There are useful storage areas aplenty – the Life model comes with drawers under the seats, and even a useful bin within the door storage pocket. If we were to nitpick, we'd like a slightly bigger storage tray on the centre console to prevent your phone from sliding around when connected to the USB charger.

The Volkswagen Caddy dimensions sit like this – it's 4601mm long, 2100mm wide and 1832mm tall. 

Most Caddy buyers will find the diesel engine will suit their needs best. This is a 2.0-litre TDI unit, available with 102PS or 122PS. The less powerful engine comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, while the more powerful motor comes with a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission.

While we're yet to try the entry-level unit, we've sampled the 122PS diesel in the Caddy Cargo van and found it to have plenty of guts. The auto gearbox can be a little hesitant at low speeds – a typical DSG trait – but it changes gear surprisingly rapidly once you up the pace. While we're yet to try a manual Caddy, the automatic gearbox adds to the car-like vibe and is a worthwhile option, in our opinion.

If you live in a city centre or don't cover many miles each year, a petrol might be a better option. The sole offering in the Caddy is Volkswagen's 1.5 TSI which provides 114PS and can be paired with the manual or automatic gearbox. 

We've spent time in a Caddy Life featuring this engine and the automatic transmission and it's great. Acceleration to 62mph takes around 12 seconds, which isn't going to keep up with a Golf GTI but it doesn't feel out of breath when joining a motorway and will happily cruise at 70mph.

We've driven the standard Caddy back-to-back with a Caddy Cargo, and it's surprising how refined the passenger model is compared with the van version. This might be a car that's based on a commercial vehicle, but it does an incredible job of hiding it in terms of refinement.

Wind and road noise is kept to a minimum, while the engine note of our 1.5 TSI test vehicle remained extremely subdued. Sure, if you stamp on the throttle and demand the automatic gearbox drops a gear or two, there'll be a bit of a thrum, but it's no worse than in something like a Volkswagen Golf.

Based on our experience with the 2.0 TDI Caddy Cargo, the diesel engine has a slightly more obvious engine note. It's not likely to be intrusive, though, and certainly no worse than rivals like the Ford Tourneo Connect.

The latest Volkswagen Caddy is yet to be crash tested by Euro NCAP but Volkswagen claims that the Caddy's fitted with no fewer than 19 safety and assistance systems, including five fitted to the Caddy for the first time ever. 

Highlights include Emergency Assist (which will help bring the car to a safe stop if it detects a lack of response from the driver), Travel Assist (the car can centre itself in its lane and use adaptive cruise control to adjust the speed), and Trailer Assist (a very useful system which will take over the steering when reversing a trailer while you control the brakes and accelerator).

All of this makes the Volkswagen Caddy feel like a very safe car to travel in. Attempt to stray from your lane or perform a slightly dodgy manoeuvre, and the car's in-built brain will, at the very least, suggest it's probably not a very good idea.

Volkswagen has a gleaming reputation for reliability but survey data suggests the reality might be somewhat different, Honest John – our sister website – rated Volkswagen 10th on its list of the least reliable manufacturers. On the bright side, the Caddy is a relatively simple model (so less to go wrong) and, like all VWs, it comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty. 

Insurance groups for the Volkswagen Caddy are yet to be confirmed, but we'd be surprised if they were prohibitively expensive for the majority of drivers. If in doubt, shop around for a few insurance quotes before parting with your cash.

There's no hybrid tech here so you'll pay a flat rate of £155/year to tax the Volkswagen Caddy.

There are two main trim levels in the Caddy range. There's the standard Caddy, which covers all the basics, and the Caddy Life – which adds the kind of nice-to-have features you'd probably want if you're trading in your family car.

Standard kit on the regular Caddy reads like a brochure for an early-noughties Volkswagen Polo. Highlights include electric front windows, 16-inch steel wheels and air conditioning. A high point is the small 6.5-inch infotainment display with DAB radio.

The Volkswagen Caddy Life adds 16-inch alloy wheels, LED rear lights and black roof rails. On the inside, you'll find drawers under the front seats, adjustable lumbar support and a removable waste bin in the door pockets. There's also a bigger 8.25-inch infotainment system with Bluetooth and App Connect (featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto). Front and rear parking sensors are on hand to help you slot the Caddy into tight spaces.