Tiger Woods may have sacked his caddy but there is no way known Volkswagen would think of axing its Caddy Maxi range, the clever and compact van and people mover. In fact it has just enhanced the vehicle with the addition of VW’s 4MOTION all wheel drive system connected to a six speed Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG).
VW launched the vehicle out of Albury in a road test to Falls Creek where we were intended to test the AWD system on the snow-covered winding climb to the ski resort. Unfortunately the night before we arrived the snow gods turned to rain gods and the powder that covered the road hours earlier was washed away.
It was interesting to see the types of vehicles on the mountain: most with AWD ability, even the ambulance. This is the type of market VW is chasing with the AWD Caddy Maxi: people who need a van or people mover because they either carry supplies of people from the blacktop onto roads which are gravel or snow covered, depending on the season. It’s a niche market which until now had gaps. In particular there were no compact ‘bread’ vans that offered AWD. “This vehicle offers even greater active safety and all-round capabilities,” said VW’s director commercial vehicles, Philip Clark.
The Caddy Maxi 4MOTION comes in two variants, a long wheel base van or as a seven-seat people mover, the Caddy Maxi Life. Both are powered by VW’s 2.0 litre TDI engine that has 103 kW of power and 320 Nm of torque and both feature the six speed DSG gearbox. Both also have dual sliding side doors. VW is the only company in this segment to offer the DSG transmission. Both variants also have hill start assist standard, technology that is perhaps more important in manual gearshift vehicles. Fuel consumption in the van is cited at 6.7 litres/100 km and 6.8 litres/100 in the Life.
Although there are front and side thorax airbags for front seat passengers the Maxi Life 7-seat people mover does not offer side curtain airbags for side impact protection of the second and third row passengers. However, it does have the latest generation stability control plus daytime running lights as standard.
While the Maxi Life is a people mover it is also capable of being converted to a van capable of carrying 3880 litres of cargo. The dual rear seat comes out as do the second row 60/40 split seats. We did not get the opportunity to do this but VW assure us it is a task that takes just a few minutes. We did get to try the back row of seats which VW has made easily accessible by engineering the second row to tumble forward giving a wide entry/exit, even for adults. The Life also has a good size cargo area behind the third row of seats.
Both Van and Life have similar dimensions although the Life sits 50mm higher at 1886 mm to allow for the extra clutch. There are also changes to the suspension, shock absorbers and the exhaust has re-routed to allow for the rear off-set differential, compared to the standard 2WD Caddy Maxi.
DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
The Caddy has always been impressively car-like in handling and the 4MOTION is no different. As we did not get the opportunity to try out gravel or snow-covered roads the safety benefits of AWD were never on show. Depending on the road conditions the 4MOTION system directs the majority of torque to the front or back. On the highway the front wheels take 96 per cent of torque. It is also clever in testing off-road conditions being able to lock a wheel that has lost traction and send that torque to a wheel that has grip. As such the Caddy 4MOTION should find a niche market with buyers who either need a van with some AWB ability or a people mover that can go off-road or on snow-covered mountain roads where the AWD will provide some extra grip and safety.
PRICING
Caddy Maxi Van TDI320 (2WD) $32,990
Caddy Maxi Van 4MOTION TDI 320 $36,490
Caddy Maxi Life TDI320 (2WD) $41,990
Caddy Maxi Life 4MOTION TDI 320 $45,490
VOLKSWAGEN CADDY MAXI 4MOTION SPECIFICATIONS
ENGINE
4 cylinder, DOHC, 16 valve, 1968 cc diesel common rail direct injection turbo-charged.
TRANSMISSION
6-speed DSG
WHEELS
Van: 16 inch steel
Life: 16 inch alloys
TURNING CIRCLE
12.2 m
BRAKES
Disc
TOWING
1500 kg braked
KERB WEIGHT
Van: 1649 kg
Life: 1790 kg
DIMENSIONS
Length: 4876 mm
Width: 1794 mm
Height: 1886 mm (van) 1893 mm (Life)
Wheelbase: 3006 mm
LOAD VOLUME
Van: 4.2 m2
Length: 2250 mm
Width: 1552 mm
Width at wheel arches: 1172 mm
Maximum height: 1262 mm
Life (load volume in litres)
No seats: 3880 litres
Behind first row: 1350 litres
Behind second row: 530 litres
Maximum height: 1233 mm
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