Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 TDI Trendline: 2nd report

Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 TDI Trendline

MONTH two of Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 TDI Trendline ownership has mostly revolved around piling more miles on this attractive metallic blue van, with launch trips, company visits and a two-day trip to the CV Show in Birmingham, adding to this Volkswagen’s clock. The lack of standard sat-nav in this Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 TDI Trendline saw me using the Maps app on my iPhone via Apple Carplay. The maps are not as detailed as those with the standard-fit Volkswagen sat-nav, but along with the voice directions it was enough to get me to some hard-to-find locations. This was all well and good, until I got a warning text from my phone service provider telling me I was almost out of data! Luckily, it was the end of the month and almost time for it to renew. But it has made me reconsider using my phone and Carplay for directions! Instead, my trusty portable Tom Tom sat-nav is now back stuck to the Caddy’s large windscreen for use on any long trips!

The Siri voice control for writing texts and calling people continues to impress however, with it only dialling the wrong number just a couple of times – for which I can forgive. Also, I might have moaned about the smaller wheels and wheel trims of our Caddy, but the lack of road noise and comfort has really appealed on the long motorway trips our Volkswagen has been on. I’m sure the small wheels are having a positive effect on the fuel consumption figures too, as I managed to squeeze an impressive 520 miles out of the last tank of diesel. I still wish we had six gears to make it even more refined, rather than the five we have, but am reliably informed by the press office that a six-speed version is available and I’d probably go for that if I was making the choice again. Volkswagen also kindly sent down another petrol-powered Caddy this month, which made an interesting comparison with our one. Powered by the lively 1.4 TFSI engine that’s known previously from car models, the refinement and 123bhp performance was so good that this Caddy almost felt like a big two-seater Golf! I also appreciated all the car-like extra standard kit that comes with the top Highline trim, which made our Trendline van feel a bit cheap and plastically by comparison. Although the petrol engine was very tractable, it couldn’t quite match the impressive low-down torque of our 2.0-litre TDI diesel, plus the diesel has a slightly better payload at 663kg versus the 643kg of the petrol. It certainly makes an interesting comparison and we hope to spend some more time with the petrol version of the Caddy in the future. I’m over halfway through our loan with the Caddy now, but am looking forward to making the most of those 3.2 cubic metres of load area and our remaining time with this high-quality van.

What we like about the Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 TDI Trendline:

High quality, easy to drive, comfortable ride, economical, car-like safety systems, App Connect connectivity

What we don’t like about the Volkswagen Caddy 2.0 TDI Trendline:

Expensive to buy, our Caddy’s lack of a six-speed gearbox compromises refinement