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IMPRESSIONS
IAN CADDY PICKUP
Price as tested: £7,070 (ex VAT).
Engine: 1.9-litre, 63hp (47kW) diesel.
GVW: 1,600kg. Payload: 530kg.
Fuel consumption (laden): 45.9mpg (6.214/100km).
After a career break of nearly five years the Caddy Pickup is back in business. It's fresh, ready and willing to take your clubs to the moon and back. It has, however, undergone some pretty radical surgery during its absence so don't be surprised if you don't recognise it.
Most striking is the fact that it's now a rebadged Skoda. A rebadged Skoda Pickup to be precise, based on the Skoda Felicia hatchback.
So does this mean there will be a new rash of jokes along the lines of swapping caddies for spark plugs? There shouldn't be. We've already tested the Skoda Pickup and it ain't bad at all. It drives fine and is right up to date in terms of build quality. This will come as no surprise when you remember the company is owned by VW The same indirect-injection diesel unit as that found in the VW Caddy high
cube van and Seat Inca van also appears in the Skoda Pickup and, of course, the Caddy Pickup.
Without studying the price list you'd assume the VW to be more expensive than the Skoda and attract sales on the basis of cachet alone. This is what happens in the majority of cases. But the two are fairly close on price with the main difference being that the Skoda has three years' warranty and AA membership while the Caddy has 12 months' warranty.
• PRODUCTIVITY
Comparisons aside, the Caddy is the smallest and cheapest of VW's recently re-vamped CV range. It comes as a conventional pickup or, with the addition of a Truckman top, as a cheaper alternative to the Caddy high-cube van. If you opt for a Truckman, there are two models on offer. The C model (£715 ex-VAT) has a single skin roof which can withstand a 75kg load. The S model (£795 ex-VAT) has a double-skinned roof which accommodates 100kg.
The diesel is the only power unit on offer so petrolheads will have to look elsewhere. It's proved to be a strong and frugal unit in the Caddy van so with its lighter GVW it should be even better suited to the pickup.
A quick blast round CM's Kent test route showed the fully laden Caddy to be superlatively economical. At 45.9mpg it thrashes its only other serious competition, the Fiat Fiorino, by 4mpg. It also compares favourably with the Skoda Cubevan (the pickup with fixed GRP hardtop) although this suffers in terms of aerodynamics as it's shaped like a high-cube van.
The only factor that counts against our fuel consumption is the small matter of a petrol engine available in the Skoda Pickup. This returned 42.2mpg which is a commendable result considering the petrol variant is £1,000 cheaper than the diesel model.
Oil changes come every 5,000 miles while a full service is necessary after 20,000 miles.
Payload is 530kg with a 75kg driver on board which is what you would expect from a halftonne pickup. The load space of 1.5m long by a maximum of 1.37m wide gives a useful area of a fraction over 2m2—enough to accommodate a one-metre Europallet.
The sides are good and deep (495mm) and they're sturdy thanks to double-skinned steel construction. There's a neat push-button which lowers the tail gate and this looks like it can stand a beating or two, To secure your load you get four tie-down points and there's a load liner available for £170 (ex-VAT).
• ON THE ROAD
The Caddy's natural environment is in town where the light power steering makes it easily manoeuvrable while the 91.51bft of torque helps it keep pace with traffic. The steering could be improved further with better control effort or a larger steering wheel. At speed the Caddy is less poised with understeer becoming quite apparent. Grip could be in better supply too, although when the back end does begin to go it's thoroughly predictable and easy to control.
The brakes are fairly powerful although we do have a complaint with pedal travel. Useful performance occurs too far down and there's quite a lot of resistance before you get there.
The gearbox was light enough considering our example had covered only 2,000 miles but it could have been more precise.
Spending long hours inside the Caddy shouldn't be too much of a chore. The indirect-injection diesel is suitably quiet and the cab is far less austere than, say, a Transporter. The layout makes sense and the dials are easy to read. It's also well put together with no rattles or squeaks being evident.
Stowage space is entirely reasonable considering multi-drop applications are unlikely for this diminutive pickup.
There's a top-hinged glove compartment—which will accommodate drinks cans standing up—and a couple of door pockets.
The cab is capacious enough for tall drivers in terms of head and elbow room. Our only real complaint is with the driving position. It would have been nice to adjust the steering wheel for reach but this isn't an option which in itself is probably a function of the size of the cab.
III SUMMARY
In a market dominated by three vehicles (or two depending on how you look at it) the VW is definitely first (or first equal). Which brings us directly hack to the Skoda question.
Our answer to this is pretty succinct. If you have no prejudices concerning Skodas then get the Skoda—if you do, don't Either way you'll end up with a solid workhorse with modern levels of refinement and excellent fuel economy. The Caddy's career break has obviously done it a world of good.
0 by Charles Young MODEL
Volkswagen Caddy Pickup.
ENGINE Four-cylinder, indirectinjection, naturally aspirated overhead-valve diesel, mounted transversely. Capacity: 1,896cc. Maximum net power: 63hp (47kW) at 4,300rpm. Maximum net torque: 91Ibit (124Nm) from 2,500-3,200rpm.
TRANSMISSION Five-speed, all-synchromesh manual gearbox, driving the front wheels.
WEIGHTS
GVW: 1,600k9. Payload: 530k9. Axle design weights: Front, 770kg; rear, 900kg. Maximum braked trailer weight: 750kg.
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 2.45m. Load area: 2.02m2.
TERMS OF WARRANTY 12 months' unlimited distance RIVAL TESTS Skoda Cube Van 1.9D: CM 17-23 July 1997.
Fiat Fiorino 1.7D: CM 9-15 June 1994.
Skoda Pick Up 1.3 petrol: CM 16-22 May 1996. CitroLin Berlingo 1.8D 600: CM 24-30 October 1996. Ford Courier 50 1.8D: CM 25 April-1 May 1996. Seat Inca 1.9D: CM 28 March-3 April 1996. Vauxhall Combo 1.7D: CM 4-10 Nov embed 993. VW Caddy SD: CM 15-21 August 1996_
VW Caddy SDI: CM 19-25 June 1997.