VOLKSWAGEN TDI CADDY
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IPRICE AS TESTED: £11,464 (ex-VAT). Includes £9,220 for basic model; £922 for anti-lock braking system; £822 for air conditioning; £294 for driver's airbag; and £206 for heated seats. ENGINE: 1.9-litre turbodiesel. GVIV: 1,770kg. PAYLOAD: 550kg (including 75kg driver). FUEL CONSUMPTION (laden): 49.0mpg (5.81it/100km).
Volkswagen's Caddy and Seat's Inca are the identical twins of the high-cube van sector. They started out with the same engine and both got
the SDI unit after a bit of market growth. Now the Caddy has hit puberty in a big way with a new TDI turbo-diesel which could leave its sibling floundering in its wake.D
he VW Caddy and the Seat are spliced from the same egg, so to speak, developed together and built alongside each other in the same factory. The Caddy has pretty colour coded bumpers to the Inca's black numbers and a couple of extra goodies besides, but essentially the Seat has always been the same good van for less money. Price has never been a compelling reason to choose a Caddy over an Inca.
Seat offers the Inca with its only engine choice, the 1.9-litre SDI, for £8,295. This is only a smidge less than the equivalent Caddy, but Seat's price includes delivery and number plates, for which VW charges L431.28, making the Inca a good isoo cheaper
Buyers might be attracted by Volkswagen's reputation and, possibly, stronger residual values: Glass's Guide values a 1996 N-registered Caddy with 75,000 miles on the clock at £500 more than a similar Inca, so it looks like a case of swings and roundabouts.
Either way, it's all changed now with the Caddy ahead of its sibling in the power stakes if nothing else—the Caddy's new power plant is a winner.
PRODUCT PROFILE
Volkswagen has three versions of the Caddy van for buyers to go for, now that the indirect-injection 1.9-litre SD diesel variant has been dropped for 2005.
Baby of the line-up is now the SDI, directinjection, normally aspirated diesel which develops 64hp (47kW) at 4,200rpin and 1.2,8Nm (941bft) at 2,400rpm. The price of this variant was cut to the SD level of £8330 last November.
There's a big leap up to the new turbodiesel tested here; it is also 1.9 litres but with considerably more power and torque: 9ohp (67kW) at 4,000rpm and 2o2Nm (1491bft) at just rgoorpm.
PetrolLheads can pick a r.6-litre model for f8,33o, which is Liao cheaper than before. It delivers 74hp (55kW) at 4,800rpm and r35Nm (iciolbft) at 2,800-3,600rpm.
Then there's the pope-mobile look-alike Kombi with a second row of seats and windows, which means buyers won't be able to claim back their VAT (daylight robbery for the 21st century). The Kombi range will eventually be available with any of the engines for a £660 premium over the van. Rounding off the range is the Caddy pickup (actually Skoda-based and not a dose relative to the van); this will only be available with the old SD engine for £7070.
Options include a choice of eight colours, anti-lock braking, alloy wheels, stereo upgrades, air conditioning and heated seats. Mechanical warranty is for a year with further two-yearfroo,000-mile cover for the driveline. The body is guaranteed for six years and the paint for three, with services required every io,000 miles.
PRODUCTIVITY
Unusually, Volkswagen got straight to the point and claimed the new Caddy engine would return 51.4mpg. Even though our laden run didn't quite hit this impressive figure, we did record a thrifty 49.ompg, beaten only by the Ford Courier we tested in 1996 (it will be interesting to see how our impending longterm Courier TDi performs). Unladen results from the Caddy were similarly impressive, returning 53.3mpg on our Kent test route.
Payload from the VW is as good as it gets in this company at 55 okg. Its 2.5m3 load volume is beaten by both the Kangoo and the Combo from Vauxhall, but it's still big enough for a Euro pallet. The Caddy's load bay is well thought out, with six lashing points, a fullheight bulkhead (albeit half mesh), plastic floor covering and half-height wall lining.
The rear doors open to 18o° with an easy-touse release. They are asymmetric, which can improve rearward vision a little but is otherwise of no real benefit. Being a high-cube the Caddy has no side access to the load bay, but a loading height of 568mm is acceptable.
As far as build quality goes, the Volkswagen Caddy eclipses the competition. This van feels as if it could still be running in the next millennium (where it would no doubt spend its life trundling underneath all those 500-tonne hover trucks).
All panels fit perfectly and feel exceptionally solid, while the build and quality of plastics and other materials in the interior are in a class of their own.
Having said that, after all the fuel runs and testing had been completed a small bolt fell from somewhere beneath the steering column. Rather alarming. A search underneath the steering column revealed no conspic
uous holes or dangling parts and, thankfully, the steering continued to work. We still have the bolt if you want it back, Volkswagen.
ON THE ROAD
Ride, handling and power match the Volkswagen's fine build quality, making this a relaxing vehicle to drive. Gear change is positive, well aligned and swift, and progress through the ratios is pretty rapid if you want to play tunes with the throttle.
The delivery of power from the turbo engine is very smooth with only a hint of lag and whistle, taking the van up to speeds well beyond the SDI's best efforts. The Caddy accelerates remarkably well. From a standstill to 50mph takes a mere 10.5 seconds—five seconds faster than the SDI we have driven and two seconds ahead of the Kangoo, which is a fast performer in its own right.
Progress through second and third, from 3o-5omph, is just as sprightly at six seconds; again, ahead of the Renault, and well beyond the likes of the Courier and the Vauxhall Combo, which took just under 16 seconds when we tested it in 1993. Unsurprisingly the story is just the same for our final benchmark from 40 to Gomph, which took just 7.8 seconds.
Few vans manage the demanding 33% (I-in-3) test-track hill start but it was no problem for the Caddy. Owners may not be keen to try it too often, if only to save the clutch, but it's nice to know that the torque on offer is more than just numbers in a brochure.
The power of the new engine is well handled by the suspension and chassis of the VW which provides an assured drive. Body roll is held to a minimum round tight bends, where understeer will come into play if you push it.
Turn-in is well measured and tracking performance is on the straight and narrow. In all the TDI gives a fast, accomplished drive, combined with that remarkable fuel consumption.
Braking performance is good with the best figures so far for a van in this class. Distances from 20mph, 30mph and 40mph are ro.5m and t8.1m respectively; all in a straight line thanks to the optional ABS system. Feel was very good and little action was needed on the pedal to get a response.
Visibility is adequate. The windscreen has quite a slope, the A-pillar can be a bit intrusive and the wing mirrors are rather small and could do with a blind spot section (like many others on the market) but overall it's not a problem.
CAB COMFORT
It's a pleasure to spend time in a cab as well put together and well laid out as the Caddy's. The pleasant cloth trim of the seats, carpet and tasteful bomb-proof mouldings add up to a great package.
Storage, such as it is, is well arranged with door pockets, a handy overhead space, a small glovebox and a little compartment underneath the steering column. You also get the standard cigar lighter and ashtray.
Switchgear is found where you'd like it to be and it's all very, very solid. One minor drawback is the stereo, a mini-buttoned nightmare from Sony which produces good sound once you've worked out how to operate the thing but is too fiddly to use on the go. Big buttons are better; the Kangoo's steering mounted controls are by far the best.
Other noise in the cab is minimised, with excellent readings from our decibel counter at the track. This doesn't really come as much of a surprise considering the solid clunk of the door and the tight build of the vehicle.
The steering wheel comes with an airbag as standard (but is still rake adjustable); a passenger airbag costs an extra /276. Combined with the rake and reach adjustable seat, which is nicely supportive, most drivers should be able to find a comfortable enough position, but taller owners might find it difficult to get enough leg room: one of our testers had a pain in his right leg after a few hours in the saddle.
Dials are extremely clear but still lack a rev counter as standard—a large clear analogue clock takes its place next to the speedo.
SUMMARY
The addition of this well proven turbo-diesel engine gives buyers a more nuts-and-bolts reason to plump for the VW version of the duo. Fairly indistinguishable before, the new Caddy stands head-and-shoulders above its brother and pretty much the rest of its class. If you're after a high-cube van, you'd be hard pushed to find anything better.
• by Peter Lawton