Volkswagen Caddy (96-03) - Review

In the rear, a half-height bulkhead with an upper mesh grille was a standard fitment, which means that drivers and passengers won’t risk being killed by moving cargo under heavy braking. The rather curious rear doors split asymmetrically, which means that one is wider than the other. Load volume is a creditable 2.9 cubic metres – still up with the best in the sector even nowadays – while payload is 625kg. Load length is 1,728mm, load height is 1,279mm and load width is 1,530mm.

For a van of the last century, the Caddy was well-specced in the safety area. A driver’s airbag came as standard and ABS brakes featured on the options list. On the security front, both an alarm and an engine immobiliser came as standard, meaning both vehicle and its cargo should be kept safe from thieves.

The Caddy wasn’t a cheap van to buy new but these old style ones seem to be making good money secondhand. The SDI engine offered good fuel consumption but was rather slow, while the TDI engine was fast but gobbled up fuel at a rate of around 30mpg. Servicing comes every 10,000 miles.

The words 'Volkswagen' and 'legendary reliability' go hand in hand, so buyers of secondhand Caddys should be assured of many years good service – as long as maintenance schedules have been adhered to.