Considering a Caddy

[Tonz]

IF and I repeat IF I was to swop to a VW Caddy my shopping list would be (and I am proving my ignorance here...

something later than '12
Maxi
prefer 5 seater but full sided windows
DSG
Diesel.
something more than 1.6 motor carry 5 adults for 7 hour trip I want the comfort and grunt.

all the rest would be cosmetic and mild tuning, but would that list be available S/H or am I dreaming.

[feenix74]

Ok, good choice. What vehicle are you swapping from? (so I might be able to give you some comparative pros and cons)

- Later than 2012 is good if you are going for the DSG as the early face-lifted Caddys had the problematic 7 speed dry clutch DSG box.
- Fully glass and five seats means that generally you are looking for a Caddy Maxi Life, which usually comes with 7 seats (both the 2nd row and 3rd row can be completely removed if desired) and the nice passenger car style plastic and carpet interior fitout. Alternatively you can try to get your hands on a Caddy Maxi Crewvan but most of those I have seen only have glass on the sliding doors and not the rear panels.
- Some of the 2012+ Maxi Life came with the 2.0l TDI with a DSG box, I do not believe that the 2.0l TDI was available in the commercial Caddy Maxi range (but I will happily be corrected if I am wrong). The diesel is great, enough get up and go to keep up with the traffic and I get 850-900 kms per tank. The Maxi Life will be a slight bit thirstier and a bit slower as it is slightly heavier than my Caddy Life. However, you can chip the TDI if you really feel you need the extra grunt.
- I have had the whole family (wife, 3 teenaged kids, a 2 year old baby and a bun in the oven) on a two-day trip from Canberra to Adelaide and then back in a Caddy Life. The Maxi Life has a bit more leg room in the 2nd and 3rd rows and even with the 3rd row in place you would have bootspace for luggage (I had to put our luggage on the roof). Have also done plenty of trips Canberra to Sydney (3 hours). The only real issue is the seats in the Caddy show their commercial vehicle heritage on long trips. If you are doing long trips regularly you may want to budget on getting better seats with more padding and support (I understand that if you get a set of front seat base frames from the VW Touran from overseas then the much better Golf Mk5-6 front seats can be installed).

[Tonz]

cheers thanks for that....I have 4 adults in family, (me, SWMBO, mildly disabled son & his bride) we have a bag of laughs the whole time, they are such a joy to share life with)
anyway we also do long drives,, 800k in a days run so seating would be important.
therefore upgrade front seats from Golf, Passat? or similar...if they fitted...remove the 2nd seat row and build frame to hold 2 or 3 of same seats. thereby having a Caddy maxi life with 4/5 very comfortable seats.

Mind you if we go this route I can imagine Regency park motor dept having heart problems over that scenario.

Currently I drive '12 FG2 Falcon ute and she a '08 Subaru Outback..how the 'ehh anyone can stay comfy in one of those for 8 hours is beyond me.

[feenix74]

I have not had any real trouble with the Caddy seats myself but when we go for long drives I tend to religiously take breaks every 2-3 hours. However, my wife complains that driving the Caddy even on a 30 min across town will put her neck out (better if she completely changes the adjustments on the seat to suit her but then the Caddy is my daily so I would then have to change it all back to how I like it) and she much prefers the seats in her Golf Mk5.

The front seats are an easy swap over if you get the VW Touran seat base frame so that should not be too difficult the 2nd row would be much more work. You may want to consider having someone give you a quote to do a custom upholstery job on the 2nd row with custom cushioning foam (the seats themselves are nice and firm but are flat so they lack a bit of padding in the right spots).

You will find that there will be much more room than in a Subaru Outback especially if you are only seating 4 adults. Certainly much more room in the 2nd row than in a Falcon ute Although the load space in the Falcon will just beat the Caddy Maxi, when I was looking at it the Caddy Maxi is the same length as a Commodore sedan. It was only cost and the fact that at the time the Caddy Maxi Life was only available with a DSG which resulted in us getting the Caddy Life instead - we got the base model manual 1.6l TDI Caddy Life, then added colour tone bumpers and roof rails.