Buyers who want to transport more people and larger than usual items normally go for SUVs or estates. But what if that’s not enough? That’s where vans and minivans such as the Volkswagen Caddy Life come in to the picture, promising loads of interior space and the option of more than five seats.
A natural contender to the likes of the Peugeot Rifter, Citroen Berlingo and Ford Tourneo Connect, the VW Caddy is available in a single trim level in the United Kingdom, priced from £21,393 ($27,797/€24,809) OTR. It doesn’t offer many features for the money, but you still get all the usual amenities such as air conditioning, heated windscreen, 5-inch touchscreen infotainment system and front assist with city emergency braking as standard.
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There’s also the Maxi version, which comes with an even longer wheelbase, raising the number of seats from 5 to 7. The engine range includes a 1.0-liter petrol and 2.0-liter diesel, both of them delivering 101 horsepower, with the former coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox and the latter adding a six-speed automatic option. Additionally a 148 hp version of the oil burner is available, which makes hauling stuff easier and drops the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) acceleration time to less than 10 seconds.
Aside from offering tons of space inside, there aren’t many positive aspects to owning a Caddy Life Maxi. The build quality isn’t that good, it doesn’t get loads of equipment, soundproofing isn’t going to impress and creating a flat loading area is going to give you a headache.
This brings us to the question, would you prefer this over a modern crossover? CarBuyer believes it’s worth considering, at least, after driving it. So, let’s see what else they had to say about it by watching the video that follows.