Who’s Your Caddy? Volkswagen’s Latest Little Cargo Van Makes a Big Impression
There are plenty of inclined surfaces on which to stake one’s reputation, but here’s a hill we’d die on: There aren’t enough mini cargo vans for sale in the United States. There, we said it. Sure, we get the ho-hum Ford Transit Connect, the okay Ram ProMaster City, and the spindly Nissan NV200, but we need more of these compact cargo haulers and people movers on our shores—and better ones, too. Our #vanlife hunger knows few bounds, so might we suggest to Volkswagen that it ship the classy, slick-lookin’ redesigned Caddy and longer Caddy Max to our shores?
In either length, the Caddy looks quite handsome, especially in its upper-level trim. Available LED headlights and taillights pair nicely with optional items such as 18-inch wheels and tires and a large panoramic sunroof. It doesn’t hurt that the Caddy’s new sheet metal affords the van a drag coefficiency of 0.30, or 0.03 better than that of its predecessor and 0.01 better than that of a Porsche 959.
The Caddy isn’t lacking substance, either. Like nearly every modern Volkswagen, the new Caddy rests on the brand’s ubiquitous MQB modular architecture. As such, the model also adopts a number of comfort and convenience items found in regular Golf hatchbacks and such, including an optional Audi-style digital gauge cluster and a standard 6.5-inch infotainment screen. A huge 10.0-inch unit is available for those in search of additional screen real estate.
Buyers (overseas) can also look forward to full-speed adaptive cruise control system, lane-keep assist, and a trailer assist function, which allows the van to automatically input steering adjustments when reversing with a trailer. Once again, both cargo and passenger van options are available, as is the aforementioned lengthier Caddy Max model.
A number of engine options are available under the Volkswagen’s hood, including a variety of four-cylinder diesel engines that produce as little as 74 horsepower and as many as 121 ponies. A 113-hp gas-sipping turbocharged four-cylinder engine is also available, as is a natural-gas burning unit.
Arguably, Volkswagen will want to invest in a slightly more powerful engine option for the Caddy if it ever decides to ship the van to the U.S. We’d argue it’d a worthwhile investment—might we suggest the Golf GTI’s 220-hp-plus turbo four? And while we’re fantasizing here, we’d stan a van with a manual transmission . . .
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