Return of the VW van: Volkswagen’s 2015 Caddy reports for delivery duty

By Ronan Glon February 7, 2015

Volkswagen will travel to next month’s Geneva Motor Show to introduce the fourth-generation Caddy, a small van designed to fight in Europe’s crowded compact van segment.

The third-gen Caddy’s basic silhouette carries over to the new model essentially unchanged but it gains a sharper look thanks to angular headlights inspired by the ones found on the Europe-only Polo subcompact hatchback and a three-slat radiator grille. Out back, the Caddy boasts an upright hatch that maximizes cargo capacity and small rectangular tail lamps.

Like its predecessor, the Caddy is available as a panel van aimed largely at commercial buyers and as a leisure-oriented five-seater dubbed Kombi that caters to families with an active lifestyle. Volkswagen has not revealed how much gear either version of the Caddy can haul.

Designers have given the new Caddy a simple, uncluttered dashboard by keeping the switchgear to a minimum. A touch screen-based infotainment system is available at an extra cost on select trim levels, and passenger-carrying models are spruced up with black trim on the steering wheel and body-colored inserts in the dash.

The Caddy can be ordered with one of eight engines including four 2.0-liter TDI turbodiesel units that make anywhere between 73 and 147 horsepower, a trio of three- and four-cylinder gasoline-burning mills and a single turbocharged natural gas-powered engine. The efficiency champ of the lineup is TDI tuned specifically for urban driving that returns over 58 mpg in a mixed European cycle.

A manual transmission that spins the front wheels comes standard with most engines, and a DSG dual-clutch automatic is available at an extra cost. The 120-horsepower TDI can be ordered with Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system.

The 2015 Volkswagen Caddy will go on sale across Europe shortly after it greets the show-going public in Geneva. Volkswagen of America CEO Michael Horn hinted earlier this year that a commercial vehicle could find its way to our shores but only time will tell if the model in question is the new Caddy.

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Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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