68bhp! The Volkswagen Caddy SDi is a van, without a turbo
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- Опубликовано: 13 фев 2023
- The world has been desperate for a test drive of a non-turbo diesel Volkswagen Caddy. Finally, here it is. Borrowed from the lovely @WhitelandRestorations folks - do go an give them a sub.
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Ahh looks like I'll have to upgrade my packet of crisps! 😂 The seats are from a Lupo TDI so at least they are related to a turbo! Great video, loved it!
Are the crisps still ok? Admit it. You're tempted... That explains the odd seat lever.
You have a nice looking van there 👍
Crisps should be replaced during every service even if they have not coasted well beyond the best before date.
Welsh people paint their houses in a spectacular range of colours. Serious Portmeirion vibe going on.
I was expecting to see the balloon 😂
You could get a lot of tea in that caddy.
😅 And lots of golf clubs!
Reading the traffic and changing gear at the right point to keep momentum whilst sipping fuel. I loved non turbo diesels .
Quite right
My Caddy van has been a living nightmare. EGR value, Turbo and now the injectors and I'm selling it sharpish.
It appears most modern diesels have issues from emission systems for alledged man made climaye change, which is a lie, its the sun. Easier to own an old diesel van.
Bloke I worked with had a the Spanish brother to the caddy, the Seat Inca. He glued an ST badge off a Ford to the back and became known as the Stinca!
Hi, Ian and Mrs Hub Nut. What you call the second generation is really based on the SEAT Inca (Inca is a town in Mallorca) which in turn is based on the SEAT Ibiza MkII. The van was designed, developed and manufactured by SEAT in Barcelona.
Precisely that generation of the VW Polo (MkIII) was manufactured by SEAT S.A. at the Pamplona factory. That factory was partly owned by the BMC and Mini, Austin and Morris were manufactured.
The 2 generation caddy had built by Seat in the back
When I started my business in 2003 I had a Fiat Scudo 1.9D with a lofty 69bhp. Being a good bit bigger vehicle than the Caddy it was dangerously slow, a lot of the time having to drop down to 3rd to get up a reasonable incline or even down to 4th to keep up the speed on a motorway. It was quite reliable though considering it basically went flat out everywhere 🤣
Oh yes! Have driven one of those long distance. Miserable. But they also offered that engine in the even larger Relay!
I remember a school trip in a fully loaded Ldv pilot, driving on hilly terrain in Scotland. Going up any sort of hill resulted in several downshifts and having to listen to the racket of that awfully underpowered engine wheezing it’s way uphill. There comes a point where the lack of power just surpasses any of the advantages in economy and just becomes miserable.
@SPTSuperSprinter156 agree totally about underpowered diesel engines but when you know the road and the corners there is a sort of satisfying feeling when you get up the big hills at a decent speed can be more satisfying than driving a powerful car
I had a brand new 2007 Peugeot Expert 1.9D hired from the Northgate cowboys, severely underpowered - was a bit quicker them my previous 2004 Partner 1.9D though which was probably down to the gearing... The Expert had central locking and a CD player as standard back then....
Here in Canada the mk1 Golf pickups were called Caddy - just the Golf car called a Rabbit. A guy in town has an early Caddy with a high rise cap on the back - a bit ragged but still going strong. I had a non turbo 1.6 in a ‘91 Passat Estate some years ago. Not sure if the engines are related but it went quite well - one of my favourites. 👍🏻
Had a 2009 Rabbit 2.5 petrol. A fun little car with that engine in it, just not very comfortable for anyone over average height/weight.
Yes there were here in the U.K. as well. We use to have one my brother used it for a while and was out with his girlfriend got pulled by the police and he said was it my brothers passion wagon 😂 my dad has 2 of the polo front caddy pick ups, I want one off of him.
I can’t recall the Pickups having a Polo front on them. I only remember there was a van version of the Polo estate in the UK. That was the early one with the round headlights - maybe it was a later version that was a pick up after I’d left.
@@MapleMarmite In the mid to late ‘90s there were two VW Caddy variants on sale at the same time. Neither of which started out life as a VW.
The van variant was VW’s version of the SEAT Inca. This was basically a Mk2 SEAT Ibiza/Cordoba with the box van part Ian mentioned in the video on the back of it, and a simpler rear axle. The Cordoba 4 door and Cordoba Vario estate were also sold as VW Polo saloon and estate variants, with a front end that resembled the more common hatchback Polo. This VW front end was put on the Inca to create the Caddy van. This had body coloured bumpers, but didn’t have the revised dashboard of the Polo Saloon and Estates.
The SEAT Ibiza and Cordobas were facelifted twice during production of the MK2 Ibiza; first a refresh that brought in the Caddy’s body coloured bumpers, along with some other minor tweaks, then a more thorough refresh with revised front and rear styling, as well as the revised dashboard that the SEAT based Polos had. However the SEAT Inca van always retained the original dashboard and black plastic front bumper of the first phase of Mk2 Ibiza production.
VW Caddy version number two of the time was a pickup based on the Skoda Felicia pickup. Very little was changed for the VW version, other than badging and the grille. The facelifted front end of those, where the Felicia got the new Octavia style front end, never made it to either firm’s version of this pickup.
And then, just to add to the confusion, the Caddy pickup could be had with a box on the back. Which pretty much turned it into a van anyway.
Confused? Can’t say as I blame you.
Disappointingly there was never a VW version of the Felicia Fun; a pickup with occasional seats in the load bed.
@@BungleBare I remember the Skoda version but the others are only a vague recollection. Thanks for the history on all of that - it’s interesting. I once nearly bought an early Golf style Caddy pickup that had had a big moulded fibreglass back grafted onto it. It wasn’t just a cap - it turned it into a mini luton van as it went over the roof of the cab, too and was moulded into the bodywork. I guess it was a special build for the Gas Board or a similar corporation as it was being sold by a small dealership that bought up auctioned vehicles from the bigger companies ex fleets. Someone beat me to that one and I was annoyed as it would have been a good rig.
Instantly recognisable as an ex British Gas van in that colour. I briefly drove an at the time recently decommissioned Caddy van (pre facelift) that was painted in the fetching purple hue that BG had. The one thing I recall about it was how much the roof flexed as there was no headlining.
I thought it was too as they were all "E" (Essex) registered at that time, like this one.
I only now realise that the name Caddy is a pun to do with Golf. Thanks for that!
I remember seeing a lot of the British Gas versions back in the day and if I recall they were speed limited on later orders. Having two sliding doors could be a benefit or the opposite depending in the intended use. 2 sliders gave better access but for those who plywood lined them could add tool shelves and other goodies throughout one side of the van so horses for courses I guess. It's interesting that the gearbox could be a weak point on the old non blown diesels. Stick with the Bella Ian. When you need a van that might be a time to re-evaluate the fleet. As always thanks for sharing.
Vehicles like this are a good reminder of how much the addition of a turbocharger has done to transform the character of diesel engines.
I had one for a while with a TDI in and found it very cramped (I'm 5 '11" and a bit). In the end, it went and I kept my mk2 polo-based caddy SDI. It's a bit noisier, but I find it a far nicer place to be.
That Caddy is beautifully presented. Terry Wogan would have loved those crisps. Bet there's a British Gas employee saying, "that's my old van!"
I bet they still taste fine as long as there still crunchy... bacteria and mould couldn't survive on crisps.
@@chrishart8548 You're probably right, I would eat them, but Tel is no longer with us. ????
Excellent review as always Ian, and I like what Lewis has done to this Caddy. Never realised that these were non turbos .
Same power as the NA 1.0 litre 3 pot in my wife's Toyota IQ. Considerably more torque though, probably.
Very neat looking vehicle, the wheels are fab. Easy to see why this is an everyday driver, very practical and loads of space in the rear.
My dad used to be the Rector of LLANERCHAERON Church. Beautiful little Church that was built as part of the estate.
The Architect was John Nash, amongst his buildings were The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, Marble Arch and Buckingham Palace.
Maybe a future Miss HubNut video?
And a proper horse-cart rear live axle with leaf springs, giving a lively bump-steer ride, like a 1975 Marina Van
Didn't the mk1 ford connect van also have leaf springs. The later 2015> had coil springs. Much better van the the VW.
My friend has a 51 plate Caddy none turbo. It’s on around 400k now and still going strong.
Lovely Jubbly video HubNuts, another winter's day in Wales I see, spring won't be far of now.
The S in SDI stands for Suction, as in the engine is sucking in the air without the aid of a turbocharger. It is the natrually aspirated version of the TDI turbo direct-injection diesel. The extra efficiency of direct injection allows it to make the same power (68 HP) as VW's older 1.6L indirect-injection turbo diesel, while at the same time reducing emissions.
I used to work at a tractor dealership around 2012-2014 period and they had some of this generation VW Caddy. Unfortunately they were pretty much abused and if heavy tool boxes were added you had to play the see how much engine revs speed you need to get up a hill game. What made it worse was in one of the vans someone had put those tin "sporty" floor mats in it and they didn't like being cooperative with the pedals.
Cool van like the colour.All the best to you all.
Nice van I liked it. Thanks Ian & Carly.
It's 1993, my first job, parts assistant at vauxhall garage, parts van is Astravan 1.7d non turbo, loved to rev and if hustled great fun 👍 non turbo diesel can be fun
another great video has always Ian and miss hubnut and hublets and hubmutts 👍
My mate had a early 80's Caddy pickup when we were at uni in the 1990's. In fact it may even still be rotting in his field on his small holding. it also had a ultra powerful non turbo diesel. I've alwasy liked the various versions of the Caddy. the engines being non turbo may be a tad low on power but usually they go forever as they are so basic. Great video as always :-)
My brother is on his 2nd Caddy. Current one is 2011. Both great vans.
I had a Polo 1.9D CL non-turbo, not even a pumpe Duse, just the vanilla old tractor motor. Actually wasn’t that awful. Had reasonable mid range pull and was ridiculously economical.
I still regard a temperature gauge as part of the basic minimum instrumentation but quite a few modern cars don't have one, including my 2008 Spark. On a motorway traffic jam last June I discovered that you get about 10 seconds between the temperature warning light coming on and the cloud of steam!
I liked how when liquid cooled motorcycles started to appear the fuel gauge was no longer a thing (replaced by a temp gauge) the later a fuel gauge and a temperature light instead. How luxurious to know both fuel level and temperature !
Absolutely brilliant video Ian Miss hubnut 👍 ❤️ lovely van but defo needs power about same horse power as my 208 I had before it seized brilliant
Cool to see you test a car almost like mine, I have the 2011 Caddy 1,2 TSi in MPV guise with removable seats, rear tinted windows and riding normal height on a set of Audi A8 16 inch winter alloys from the first gen A8. Its a super comfortable car that I really find very hard to replace as its cheap, roomy and super practical. Yeah, the interior is very much van derived, but its super durable and functions. I have had some annoying things break on mine, mostly plastic hoses in the engine and some interior buttons and vents, but relacements are cheap. I think if you had tried a 1,2 TSi or turbo diesel in passanger car guise, you would be very tempted away from your Berlingo.
gees Ian - it is warm in Melbourne today but looking at this made me shiver!!!
Congratulations on the van to it's owners and the subtle changes that make it 'just right' with the colour and stance. Had a chuckle doing a 'Countdown', a TV quiz program for non UK folks, on the numberplate and came up with a 4 letter word. Anybody else? (Clue 🤮) 🤔🤭😉🇬🇧
I had a SEAT Toledo 1.9TDI 110bhp SE 02 & a VW Passat 1.9TDI 130bhp SE 4motion 03. I loved the Passat. I kept it for nearly 6 years.
I owned two VW 1.9 TDI:s in a row. First was -07 Touran and the second was -10 Caddy Life. Touran had 6 speed manual gear box and Caddy had 5 speed manual gear box.
I love that colour on them! If I was to get a caddy that would be my preference, although I would need more power!
The lovely blue colour only makes a grey February Welsh day look even more grey.
What a magnificent beast and a nice Volkswagen caddy too! 😁
I’ve had a couple of Citroen Dispatch 1.9D 70 bhp.
They where actually decent. I had no problems.
I also had a Berlingo van with the same engine that was nice to drive.
Rumour is miss hubnut is still waiting for Mr hubnut to pick her up 🥺
Oh bother. Knew I forgot something...
Very nice van, another great video
Thanks Ian
Hope you are feeling better:)
I had a 1992 Renault 21 with a 1.7 litre non turbo engine as a company car back in the day, only 60 bhp! (They brought out the 1.9 l turbo a year later). I don't recall it being too slow, but it wasn't particularly economical, either at about 45 mpg, possibly due to thrashing it. It had loads of kit for the time, electric windows and sunroof, remote central locking, etc. A really nice car at the time in solid white. Can't beat my wife's Astra convertible 1.9 CDTI with the Fiat 140 bhp 240 torque turbo diesel, a great engine....
Great vid as always Ian. Just a nerdy amendment to your introduction: the 2nd generation Caddy wasn't really Polo based, but derived from the 2nd gen Seat Ibiza. As were the Polo sedan and Variant of that era.
Yes, but (this is hard to explain quickly in video), that Ibiza platform is shared with the Polo. It was the first VW Seat.
I’ve always loved the Caddy, especially with the tailgate, preferred that instead of the doors. 👍👍🇬🇧🏴
My Datsun 1200 ute, had 69bhp and topped out at 150km/h downhill. Used about 5l/100km. Was a fun car to drive, reliable and easy to maintain!
I've got a 306 XNd with a diesel, the 1.9 XUD straight diesel engine is so simple, solid, vertically unbreakable. Lovely engines.
I had a 2014 swb Caddy with a 105bhp TDI which took me all over the country for work over a few years. I was sad to let it go, it was surprisingly easy to cover ground quickly in it, not bad on fuel and if you threw stuff into it like I did, it would carry more than you'd imagine in the back.
That engine/ gearbox combination was very happy on the motorway and not tiresome at all from memory. I routinely did 300+ mile journeys in it. I was lucky I suspect, we had an SDI Caddy on the work fleet then which was used locally as a pool vehicle. I drove it briefly but never on a motorway.
I do recall they had a handbrake weakness: More than one of ours (including mine!) rolled away after being parked at the end of a journey on the handbrake only. I can only assume the rear disks cooled and it reduced the brake friction. Fortunately I saw mine heading off down my drive, still running but driverless as I retrieved the bin one night. I was able to hop in and stop it, a colleague wasn't so lucky...
These Caddy's do clean up very nicely
What a great looking van given the age!
Like that colour. Hope you are feeling a bit better
i have covered 90k miles in a golf 2litre SDI saloon, not a problem !! regular commutes from glasgow to Reading..... :) Only one gearbox rebuild ! Car now has 120k, still going strong
Well you say less is more !!!
Solid little van.
Great video. Great colour. Not so great everything else, but still want it some how!
My dad had a Peugeot 206 with the 1.9 non-turbo diesel with about 70bhp, was extremely noisy, went on holiday with it but he loved it. Had major engine problems on the way to school, and I have gave him an ultimatum to get rid of it. He bought it for £750 and sold it a few years later in 2013 for the same amount.
My mom had a early Citroen Xara estate with that engine, she was not impressed as it was a replacement for her recently at the time failed MOT Citroen ZX Volcane with a 1.9 TDi. Safe to say the Xara had a few years in our family and was then replaced with a 2004 Renault Megane estate in privilege spec (fancy spec) with the turbo diesel engine.
All that power l am glad it didn't go to your head but the light blue paint spectacular love it l do like blue on any vehicle
Cool van, I had a coworker thad had the mk IV Golf with the 1.9 SDI and a friend with a 1.7 SDI in a Polo. Those things should run forever with the old mechanical injection pump and no turbo to mess things up. I always believed that with the 2.0 SDI the horsepower went up to 75, but they actually had a 69 hp detuned version.
I love that color! As for the van, I would be tempted to swap a turbo diesel in it were it here in the US as something that slow would be quite dangerous here
I can believe this, given trucks routinely do 70+ over there.
Nice blue, Lewis has done some goodods to it.
I went from a turbo diesel montego countryman to a brand new 1998 citroen berlingo diesel non turbo as a company vehicle
I collected it from citroen Derby, drove about 3 miles and turned around and took it back because I thought it was broken ,it was so slow.
The salesman took it out for a spin with me in the passanger seat and declared " no it not broken its just slow"
Good vid i have one of the 2010 models ex centrica, i find mine extremely nippy looses speed on a steep hil but im over the moon with it. Regards
The only van I ever had was a 2001 Scudo 1.9 NA diesel, by Fiat, but designed by the heroes at Peugeot/Citroen. The handling was great, it was very reliable, very economical, but hard work on the motorway when used fully laden, when I moved house.
They were hard work even empty!
@@HubNut It's funny when I look back on it. In fact, it really wasn't much quicker than the Optare Metroriders I spent all day operating when I drove for Cardiff Bus, when I owned the van. The ultimate in automotive misery.
68Bhp, crickey thats 4 more than my 1995 T900 Renault Trafic, i'm not sure if i could handle the extra power, great video as always both of you !
Those Old traffics where sloths! If there is a headwind you could be lucky to hit 40mph on the flat
@@bid84 Your right Alan, aerodynamic there not !! To be fair had mine over twenty years and its still going strong, nice thing is spare parts are still fairly easy to get here.
I remaped yesterday.Now it has 83 HP,feels and rides more easily but still noisy.Now I know what I am gonna do,swap the gearbox,or changing for a taller 5 gearbox.And it will be so fine.
Note:Difference between 73 HP and 83 HP is noticeable,but until 100 kmh,you can feel it,but still SDI has the shortest 5 speed manual I have seen.
My Skoda Fabia 1.2 TDI has 5 speed also,but I drove it to Vmax at 180 kmh at 3500 rpm.
Max I did in VW Caddy exactly yesterday with the stage 1,it did 140 kmh screaming at 4000 rpm.Basically engine was helpless at these speed.
My former Renault Kangoo 2005 1.5 dCi 70 did 180 kmh Vmax,and had smaller wheels and was way more faster.Gearbox is the only solution!
It’s a very tidy van. Wightland Restoration have done a superb job. I’m not a massive fan of turbo diesels anyway. I had a T25 VW van and all the turbo did was leak oil into the engine intake causing comical amounts of smoke out of the exhaust.
Cracking van, love a caddy
The leds in back were fitted for British gas (should be a laptop charger in there too plus red panic button in the cab) and the original colour is darker.
I grew up driving 49hp diesel VW’s. They get around fine. And that was in the USA. I even put one in a scirocco for a 50mpg sport car.
Anyone else find how invisible "in headlamp" indicators can be sometimes?. If you're at a junction with the sun behind you shining directly at a vehicle opposite, they disappear.
Yeah, not a favourite of mine to be honest. Mk4 Golf introduced that wrongness.
The same thing happens at night when the indicators are completely overwhelmed by the headlights.
He’s done a brilliant job with the facelift front and modifying it… I’m just not a fan of VWs after the 1990s. Great video Ian
You could get the Berlingo/Partner with the 65 BHP non-turbo Diesel in France for many more years in rock bottom basic work vans - "Fourgonette's" They may be slow, but they last and are gentle on brakes, tires and suspension - because they are slow.
Looks like a old British gas short wheel base 2.0 diesel. I’m a BG engineer by the way and i use to call it a 2 litre Turboless, after this we got the 1.6 tdi long wheelbase, i luckily have a T6 VW transporter now
I had the Skoda Octavia 1.9 SDi non turbo. Total poverty spec with keep fit windows, no central locking and an 68 hp engine. Gearboxes where a weak point on this engine, many taxis i knew had gearbox rebuilds. The main problem was diff failure, with them being spot welded and not bolted like the modification. Great on fuel, if you did not mind plodding along, but with the 0 - 60 time of 17.6 seconds, it was no ball of fire.
Naturally aspirated diesel engines for the (not so quick) win. The van is very 'Max Power' for the novice 17-20 year old driver requiring a cheap to insure vehicle. Nice job.
In addition to the FSO Polonez I also fancy a drive in a Skoda Octavia with the same SDi engine. I'm a bit of a sadist.
I have fond memories of my 1994 1.8 n/a diesel Ford Escort saloon that I ran for 6 months during the spring and summer of 2010. 8 bhp short of this Caddy. It was so economical. Engine was as coarse as a badger's behind.
a nieghbour has the Escort 1.8 D and it seems to be producing around 20BHP at the moment.. but it keeps on going
@@Grimwriggler Nice! The engine will likely outlast the bodywork.
Years ago I had a 1.6D Renault Extra. A work college wanted to pick up a fridge so we swapped vehicles for the weekend. His was a 1.8D Escort. It's acceleration was abysmal compared to the Renault. You needed to see a long gap before pulling out into traffic.
@@Grimwriggler I've had that 1.8 diesel in a K reg escort white (ex police) dark metallic green M reg (also ex police) anyone know why ? Cid, undercover? L reg escort also white not ex police all 3 were 3 door ones. H reg fiesta in Mercury grey metallic. I then had a 2002 1.8 tddi still 1753cc and then later 2008 focus 1.8tdci still 1753cc believe they are all related.
@@chrishart8548 The Escort saloon I had was ex Essex Constabulary (M62 VVX). It had the optional ABS and power steering.
Loved the SDi mk5 golf and the polo. Not driven a caddy with it yet
Really not enough engine for a van that can weigh over 2 tons laden.
I've got a Mk5 Golf SDi and yes, it can be hard work on the motorway. Probably why it was the cheapest Golf I could find on Auto Trader when I bought it.
Those asymmetric rear doors are a real pain. My Kangoo also has rear doors set up for right-hand rule of the road, which means that in bad weather there's a huge blind-spot on the offside quarter that can be quite tricky on the motorway.
I kept trying to open the left door with my right hand, felt like someone else was trying to attempt rear entry.
My Kangoo has a lifting tail gate, brilliant to shelter under, rubbish if someone parks to close and you cant get the shopping in.
@@eng9040 I had that on an old RAC van it came out miles if anybody parked anywhere near the back you couldn't get the tailgate open. Despite it being really high up having huge 215/75/16 tyres and wheels
I have them on my Renault Kangoo and I love them. Much easier to open and with my height I would collide with a lifting tail gate.
With the stock radio on this generation of Caddy, I would end up changing channel every time I shifted in to 1st/3rd/5th, good reason to replace with a touchscreen!
ah the VW SDIs, I have the 1.7 SDI version of this in a Lupo, and it's *even slower* with a delightful 59bhp...not far off 20 seconds to reach 0-60. (I love it)
68bhp sounds like my VW T4 ABL 1.9 TD engine, what was this like up hills as my T4 was so slow 😫. But now I’m on the finishing stages of doing a tdi Conversion on my van (as you may have seen on my channel) I’ve fitted a 1996 VW Golf MK3 1.9 tdi engine in it apparently that ( i ) makes all the difference and it should now be around 90bhp. Block is the same shape but so many other things to change over, but not much to do now and it is running 😃 it was nice seeing a VW review I’m a VW fan mainly 80s onwards I wasn’t to keen on the early VWs. Good review 🙂👍
I had the option when I bought my Caddy used in 2020 for the same price of a 2008 SDI in pristine exterior condition, or a ratty on the outside 2008 TDI…I went for the TDI as when the SDI is loaded up it’s just far too slow for modern roads.
Other than that this is a lovely looking van!
Saw a caddy maxi 4motion the other day on my bus route sat in traffic, rare and expensive thing, I wouldn't mind one as a little overlander camper but seeing prices on eBay ekkkkk lol
And then there's Ringtons, purveyors of many things tea, coffee, cake & biscuit related, who add a decal to their vans to call them the "Tea Caddy"... :P
That shagging wagon only seems to be missing the classic illuminated mirror ball in the back
Had a Renault Kangoo many years ago with the non turbo1.9 diesel and all of 55bhp, we ran it pretty much at max weight so it was so slow, gave me a bad foot from it being permanently stamped to the floor!
Proper engine great video thumbs up from me
The perfect video. I've been looking at these, but did have questions about the SDI. A shame 🤷
Bear in mind also that I was wrong about speed limits. Same as a larger van for these as they gross over 2 tonnes.
I've had diesel since 1990 with a bx1.9d . So also none turbo. But that engine was a good one as it had performance similar to a 1.6 petrol. Even surpassing it in in gear torque acceleration. The 68bhp caddy was also similar to the 70bhp of the Citroën so I'm surprised at the lack of performance of the vw as the bx1.9d would storm up hills no problem. But it was also faster than my next car the same powered zx 1.9d . Its been turbos after those from another Citroën ZX Seats Fiat Vw Renault Fords and Peugeot. And all have been faster than that first Citroën. But I still think that had the most usable and accessible power.
Nice low-spec "workhorse" for a city drive. But hey, those VWs were so expensive for non-EU byers.
A neighbour has one of these, also ex gas. The gearbox has gone and I believe it's pretty expensive to replace.
The Caddy SDi is a hot hatch with the body of a van and the performance of a van.
I hired and drived one of these two years ago, but Turbo and with rear seats, and I can say that I found the van a good vehicle.
Thank you, Ian.
I had a Golf Mk4 in 2015.
It had a 1.9 SDI engine. Very strong, but no power at all.
I had both a Golf SDI and a Skoda Fabia Estate SDI. They must have had different gearing as they were both very happy at speed. They were somewhat lacking with acceleration. Uphill on sliproads were a particular challenge!
Did you spot the asymmetric door mirrors? I swore someone had been swapping mirrors around first time I noticed but they're all like it! Neat little design touch. A local uni used to rent a small fleet of the pre-facelift 1.9 TDis from us, all had ridiculously low mileage but were excellent, they loved them and so did we (even the one that stunk of fish oddly 🤷🏼♂️)
Never got that in the US, but a Caddy here is a bit different beast...and made by GM. We got the Rabbit pick ups. They were great!
The diesel's fuel pump could and did collapse the plastic fuel tanks over here! Did not help their popularity...and probably why we never go the late versions...
Neighbour also has one of these caddy's, I think they look nice and as a Volkswagen they drive well but boringly stable but for a van that's what you want. Good reliable vehicle to have but as you shown the interior will be hard cheap plastics and I don't see the people carrier version being any more plush unlike a belingo for example.
The exhaust leak no doubt contributes mightily to the NVH in the cabin but otherwise an ace example, notwithstanding the unfortunate placement of the seat adjuster! Miss having these utilitarian vehicles from VW here in the US (I had a 1984 Westmoreland Rabbit Diesel with 100K on the clock that I put another 100K on until the tin worm claimed her.)