Volkswagen Caddy 1.6 TDi Black Edition – Long Term Test Month 3

MILES, miles and more miles; that’s what month three with the Caddy Black Edition has mostly been about. In fact, part of the reason this report is filed later than planned, is that I’ve simply been too busy driving my smart Volkswagen commercial. After a quick wash and polish to get the pearl black paint and wheels shining, it was back to work and since then it has visited Farnborough, Stansted and Heathrow airports, the Cotswolds, Farnborough again but not the airport, Goodwood and most recently a trip to Bruntingthorpe. As such, over 1,000 miles have passed under the wheels of the Caddy and I have to admit the paint and wheels could again really benefit from some suds and a sponge. One epic trip that springs to mind from the last month was a day that started for me in Newcastle on a launch. After flying back to Stansted airport, there followed a late afternoon lightening dash in the Caddy to another launch in the Cotswolds. This Volkswagen felt made for this job, devouring the 100 miles or so of mixed motorway and B road driving with ease – just needing a splash of diesel on route. Another highlight was the two-day visit to Goodwood, which started with a BMW driving day at the circuit, where the Caddy mixed it in the car park with i8 supercars with considerably more power than its 101bhp – but it still looked sharp for a van in my opinion. Talking of the Caddy’s thirst, as the weather over the last month has got hotter, so has the need to use the standard air-conditioning more and this has had an effect on the Caddy’s range – which has dropped slightly from roughly 470 miles to a still respectable 420 miles.