Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Kombi Window Van 1.6-litre TDI: High quality practical van

Business Van Review of the Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Kombi Window Van 1.6-litre TDI

CONSIDERING that Volkswagen is just about the only van manufacturer not to have released any facelifted or new products this year, the German maker is doing pretty well. A glance at the sales charts shows that VW is sitting comfortably behind Ford at number two, with sales up 9% at 30,821 vehicles. One of the reasons for this success, of course, is the legendary build quality and reliability that you get without saying when you buy a Volkswagen product. And while Volkswagen hasn’t actually launched any new models, it has been busy filling in the gaps – albeit small ones – in its van range with some niche and special edition variants. One such niche filler is the van on test here, the Caddy Maxi Kombi window van, which is a kind of cross between a car and a van, offering five-seats (or the option of seven) yet still has a good loadspace in the back. As the seats can be folded down and removed, this van will suffice as a pukka commercial vehicle in the week and transport form the wife and kids at weekends. Our test model weighs in at £15,470 ex-VAT. For that you get a 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine that is slated to return almost 50mpg on the combined cycle, plus an array of standard equipment including Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) – incorporating Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Differential Lock (EDL), Traction Control System (TCS), engine drag torque control (MSR) and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) – plus manual air-con, an MP3 compatible CD player and a seat and steering wheel that adjusts in all directions. Our test model also had alloy wheels at £480, a touchscreen sat-nav system at £505 and rear parking sensors at £240.