Carry a crew in a Caddy convertible
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by Toby Clark ▪ Volkswagen has finally announced a passenger-carrying version of its successful Caddy high-cube van.
The Caddy Kombi has side windows in the rear load compartment and will carry up to five people—the rear bench seat folds to allow larger loads to be carried, giving the Kombi the same 2.5m3 load volume as the conventional Caddy with a claimed payload of up to 625kg. However, this variant is taxed as a private car and VAT cannot be reclaimed.
Dual-purpose vehicles based on high-cube designs have long been popular on the Continent, where they are generically known as "combi" or "kombi" vans, but they have been slow to catch on in the UK. Ford was the first to enter this sector with
its Courier Kombi, followed by the more car-like Citroen Berlingo Multispace. Seat has shown a combi variant of the Inca van (which is identical to the VW Caddy), but this has not gone on sale.
The Caddy Kombi is avail able with either a 1.6-litre petrol engine or VW's 1.9-litre ID! SD diesel. VW is keen to emphasise that the cab is derived from the Polo hatchback, with a driver'sside airbag, cloth upholstery (vinyl is a no-cost option) and head restraints front and rear. The load floor is covered in carpet, and there is an overhead parcels shelf.
Options include a split folding rear seat, anti-lock brakes, a passenger airbag, heated front seats and air conditioning. PRICES Model Power output Price (on the road)
1 6P 75hp (56kW) £11,350 (inc VAT) 1 95D 64hp (48kW) £11,233 (inc VAT)