Caddy Maxi Life ??

[Tonz]

Hi there have just found this forum after falling in love with the Maxi Life. Ive just seen it on the VW website and spoke to Solitaire Motors who are sending out info.

Excuse the preamble, bear with me.
We live near Pt Lincoln and in the process of setting up a unique new business over here that will involve regular trips between here and Adelaide.
We need something that would comfortably seat 3 adults (but not all in the front) cruise comfortably on or slightly above the speed limit, be able to carry up to 3/4 t in freight, also travel well on rough dirt roads.
Would the Caddy Maxi Life DIESEL do this?
Is there a bull/roo bar suitable available and from where?
Are the seats comfortable or can I fit Recaro ones?
I realise if I get one it would still be under warranty, but what extras could i get done? ie computer chipped engine, wider rubber dont want low profile,


Cheers This could still take over a year but with the Fed Gov tax stimulus and fleet discounts this could be a gem.

[gregozedobe]

You would need to look at the specs, but I think 3 adults plus 750Kg plus fuel might be too much weight for a Caddy Maxi to carry legally. I would think that much weight puts you into Transporter sized vehicles.

Seat comfort is a very personal thing - you need to sit in the seats for a few hours and see what you think of them (when I was buying some Stratos seats I took a book and sat in the showroom for several hours before I finally chose the ones that suited me best. Some seats have airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners and seat belt load limiters all built into them these days, so that is another factor to take into account when considering changing seats.

I know some people with 4Motion (AWD) Transporters are pretty happy with their dirt road performance.

[brad]

AFAIK, the Caddy Maxi Life only comes in a diesel - the pick would be the 6 speed DSG.
There are a number of Option to get a biy more power & torque - whether your dealer is willing accept this under warranty is usually their call. Oettinger upgrades also take over the warranty on the engine/ecu (hence premium price).

Std tyres on the Caddy Maxi Life are 205/55x16 on 6" rims. About the only "wider, not low profile" option would be to get some 16x7.5"/8" Audi rims & put 225/50x16 on them. You would have to ensure the load capacity of the tyre was within spec.
For other extras, have a browse through the forums - ideas are endless.

The CLM is a 7 seater - sure you aren't thinking of the Caddy Maxi commercial? It has an 810kg load capacity.

Make sure you look at the Skoda Roomster too. Maybe not big enough but it has coil spring rear instead of leaf springs (better comfort IMO).

[Tonz]

Thanks for that guys,
Does the 1.9 diesel have enough grunt for 3 adults plus luggage on a trip or are they more a city vehicle.
Where does the spare wheel fit/access from.

[Lams]

spare wheel's underneath the rear

it should be enough grunt, but that's all subjective!

[Tornado T5]

Thanks for that guys,
Does the 1.9 diesel have enough grunt for 3 adults plus luggage on a trip or are they more a city vehicle.
Where does the spare wheel fit/access from.

I had a dealer loaner Caddy Maxi van this week while my T5 was repaired so I'll post some thoughts later tonight if OK. It was a diesel 6 speed DSG.

Edit: I whipped this up while the "staff" completed my Friday arvo errands.

As mentioned I asked for a Caddy with DSG gearbox as I wanted to drive one for the first time especially after we have all found out that the T5 Transporter upgrade will be getting a new 7 speed version.

I was given a Caddy Maxi commercial van for the 2 days and had a great time behind the wheel.

The first thing I noticed was that the DSG gearbox engages first when you lift your foot off the brake pedal and so can actually roll back ever so slightly before 1st is engaged and it begins moving forward. In other words it doesn’t creep forward immediately they way a T5 auto does. The next thing I noticed was how smoothly the actual gear changes were. Never having driven one before I excepted some jerkiness, thinking this is a “automatic clutch” type setup and thus expected the same effect as though driving a manual car except not having to use a clutch pedal. Nothing could be further from my expectation. Most gear changes were very smooth with really the engine note and tacho drop indicating a gear change had occurred. The tacho needle actually drops like a conductors wand rather then the “float down“ of a T5’s gauge. It took 8km for the temp gauge (yah it has one compared to base spec T5’s) to reach the indicated 90deg C

I lacks the immediate getup and go of my 128kW T5 however I’d imagine in it’s own class it would more then enough and rolling acceleration is very good. There is a slight hesitation before launching if doing full acceleration runs. Flooring it at 70km/hr in 6th makes it drop into 3rd instantly and smoothly with good acceleration. 100km/hr shows about 2400rpm, which is about 800rpm higher then my T5 auto.

Because I’m used to stepping up to my Transporter I expected the feeling of dropping down into the Caddy when getting in or out and this wasn’t the case at all. Your hip point when seated is higher then an average car so entry/exit is far more comfortable then I expected and you still have that feeling of steeping very slightly up into the seating position. The seat base is shorter then a T5, it stops well short of the back of my knees and so I felt like I was sliding forward sometimes. After a few hours of driving I became used to this however when I stepped back into the T5 I felt much better support under the thigh/knee area. The external mirrors are taken directly from a T5 I’d say so you get great rear vision and the asymmetric rear wing door means the doors don’t meet directly in the centre of your vision when looking into the interior rear vision mirror which aids rear visibility.

The cargo area is enormous and if not for the lower towing rating and narrower rear door opening (won’t take a Chep pallet through the tailgate) it would be hard to justify a T5 over a Caddy for smaller workloads. I realise now how beneficial a second side sliding door is and will consider it when I upgrade my own T5.

Steering is nicely weighted and direct while the ride is softer then my T5 but firm enough without being harsh over speed humps when empty and body roll is fine.

If buying one I’d ask for colour coded bumpers, a trip computer and some alloy wheels. This Caddy Maxi loaner came with aircon, cruise control, twin front airbags, a stereo that had the same features as a T5 unit however the radio memory presets appeared full time in the display, adjacent to the selection buttons.

All in all a great experience and worth looking at if you think the T5 might be too big for your needs. Although I must say when I got back into my T5 it was like sitting in your favourite rocker at home and it was great to be back in the “saddle”. I think I just love my T5 more then I realised after missing it for 2 days.

[Tonz]

Sorry another Q (see Iam 8hours drive away from Adelaide, so not easy to go prowling over one)

The windows for the second seat from the inside look strange. is there a feeling of caustraphobia?

[brad]

Thanks for that guys,
Does the 1.9 diesel have enough grunt for 3 adults plus luggage on a trip or are they more a city vehicle.
Where does the spare wheel fit/access from.

Can't speak for the Caddy but I had a 2.0L diesel Volvo in Germany 9 years back & it had no problems getting to or cruising at 170kmh. I ran out of nerve beyond that. Diesel tech has come a long way since then.

[Tornado T5]

Sorry another Q (see Iam 8hours drive away from Adelaide, so not easy to go prowling over one)

The windows for the second seat from the inside look strange. is there a feeling of caustraphobia?

I had the Maxi commercial version so there were no seats although the lhs sliding door and centre rhs panel had windows. I don't think they would be claustrophobic. One thing I would definately check out is the seat comfort in the rear because the floor area is flat unlike a car which has foot wells allowing for a more comfortable seating position. I guess it would depend on how high the rear seat is to give you a more relaxed position rather then a high "knees up" one typical of say small 4wd's. Bear in mind this would be more of an issue for adults/older teenagers then young children.

As to grunt, on the move the acceleration is much stronger. I think max torque is around the 2000rmp range and so for overtaking etc the engine is in it's sweet spot and the DSG gearbox takes full advantage of this. Diesels are also less affected by loads compared to petrol and lpg powered cars. Eg my old T4 was a pet/lpg and would go from 17L/100km to 21 when towing/loaded. My T5 auto might jump from 10.4-12.5L/100km carrying a greater workload however it accelerates faster, stops better and weighs 300kg more then the old T4 which was a manual. Considering your distance to a dealer I would explain to them your situation and see if they could give you an extended roadtest in Adelaide say for a few hours although it sounds like you would have to stay overnight as well.

[Two Dogs]

We have the Caddy Maxi Life in manual. Awesome car with many hidden talents.

As I have probably stated elsewhere on the forum, the 1.0 can easily carry six adults in comfort and tow a trailer up and down decent size hills with surprising enthusiasm (Newcastle to Goulburn). Jut set the cruise and relax. One of my favourite things to do when travelling between Newcastle and Sydney on the freeway is belt up the hills at 120-130 and watch the looks of shock from other road users in "performance cars" as an old dude goes belting past. All this without mistreating the car. Not only that but the economy is still ridiculously good.

As for your enquiry of claustraphobia in the rear seats, don't be concerned. The second and third row are balcony/opera seats. In so far as they are slightly higher and allows for excellent forward vision. In fact we carry the grandson around all the time in the scond row and he loves the veiw from back there as it is not something that he gets in other cars.

The only thing I would change would be a set of GTI front seats. The thing handles very well and the improved side bolster support would be appreciated.

Otherwise the car is a screamer

Two Dogs

P.S. The fact that you can put the third row seats in backwards for watching sport or for picnics is cool.