The Volkswagen Caddy van
There’s not much the Caddy can’t shift. Take the powerful 104PS TDI PD engine for instance. With 250Nm of torque it’s designed to take the strain and get things moving. So you can benefit from the Caddy van’s generous 724kg payload, or its trailer weight of up to 1,425kg.
Even when fully loaded, the Caddy is well balanced and never feels out of control. With front and rear anti-roll bars, supple suspension and car-like handling, the Caddy takes every road surface in its stride, ensuring that both load and driver always arrive in first class condition.
The Caddy is designed to more than measure up to your expectations. Packed with practicality, the load compartment combines versatile access with masses of load space.
Access at the rear is through asymmetric wing doors with a width of 1,181mm and height of 1,116mm. A useful tailgate can be specified as an option. Both tailgate and wing doors are glazed and feature a heated rear window with wash/wipe. Side access is made easy through a nearside sliding door which opens to a width of 700mm and height of 1,108mm. If required, an offside sliding door can be specified as an option. When looking into the load compartment, you’ll be amazed at how much space we’ve managed to create. The Caddy carries the most awkward loads with ease, with a load volume of 3.2m3, it allows a load length of 1,781mm, load width of 1,558mm and a load height of 1,257mm.
To ensure maximum protection for both contents and driver, the Caddy load compartment is fitted with six load lashing rings, half-height side-lining and a robust bulkhead to prevent loads from entering the cab area.
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Volkswagen Caddy Eco fuel
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will have the only compact panel van in the UK to be powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) when the Caddy EcoFuel goes on sale this summer. The larger Caddy Maxi EcoFuel, offering an extra 1.0 m3 of loadspace, will be introduced simultaneously as another practical, alternatively-fuelled choice for green-conscious van operators.
There are two key benefits of operating a CNG-powered vehicle:
Lower, cleaner emissions
Reduced fuel costs (CNG is approximately 50 per cent less than diesel)
The greatest environmental benefit of using CNG as a fuel is the dramatic reduction of exhaust gases; for example, compared to the equivalent TDI engine carbon monoxide (CO) emissions are over 50 per cent lower, nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are 97 per cent lower, and there are zero particulates.
The engine can operate on biomethane, a sustainable fuel that is now becoming commercially available from renewable sources, or CNG, which is the same gas we use for our heating and cooking at home. It also has a 13-litre petrol tank as a reserve, which is automatically and smoothly engaged should the gas supply run out. Natural gas is a practical alternative fuel that is easy to use, with claims that there are enough natural gas reserves to last 70 to 100 years, compared to a predicted 40 years for oil.
The steel gas tanks do not intrude on the Caddy's load volume of 3.2m3 as they are mounted beneath the vehicle. Depending on how the Caddy EcoFuel is driven and the payload carried, the 26kg capacity of gas offers a range of around 270 miles or, if combined with the petrol reserve, a range of over 350 miles. This is more than adequate for most operators, and ideal for back-to-base fleets that are able to install an on-site CNG refuelling facility. The Caddy Maxi EcoFuel's larger gas tanks offer a range of 350 miles, plus 80 miles from the petrol tank - making a total of 430 miles.
As you would expect, the Caddy EcoFuel is designed and tested to be safe to use. Comprehensive safety systems include extremely strong steel gas tanks which have proved to be heat-resistant and virtually indestructible in extreme testing. In the event of an accident, electro-magnetic valves with triple protection prevent any gas escaping, which provide the same benefit if the vehicle were to be driven off while it is being refuelled.
Volkswagen builds the Caddy EcoFuel models in the same factory as the rest of the Caddy van range and they are sold with the identical three-year/100,000 mile warranty. This achieves a superior quality product than after-market conversions and includes benefits such as the gas filling point being fitted behind the fuel filler flap, plus an electronic fuel gauge display integrated into the dashboard instrument panel.
The innovative engine in the Caddy EcoFuel is a four cylinder, 2.0 litre petrol unit which has been optimised to efficiently use CNG or petrol. It has CO2 emissions of 157g/km, over 20 per cent lower than a conventional petrol engine.
It produces 109PS and 118lbs ft of torque at 3,500rpm, with a five-speed manual transmission, and is able to go from a standstill to 62mph in 13.8 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 105 mph. There is no reduction of performance compared to the nearest equivalent conventionally-fuelled engine in the Caddy range, the 1.9 litre TDI PD, which delivers 104PS, 184lbs ft of torque at 1,900rpm, a 0-62mph time of 13.3 seconds and top speed of 103mph.
Engine |
urban |
extra-urban |
combined |
CO2 emission, combined |
| 2.0 l natural gas engine 80 kW |
8.2 kg
12.1 m3 / 100 km |
4.7 kg / 100 km
6.8 m3 / 100 km |
6.0 kg / 100 km
8.8 m3 / 100 km |
157 g/km |
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