Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Life (2008 – 2015) Review
Volkswagen Caddy Maxi Life (2008 – 2015) At A Glance
We’ve become used to small vans being turned into affordable people carriers. The likes of Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat have all successfully adapted commercial vehicles into passenger cars that offer great space. They’ve never been particularly sophisticated or refined, with a back to basics image, but that hasn’t prevented them from becoming increasingly popular.
Volkswagen is no stranger to this market either. In the past it has launched Life versions of its Caddy van but the model found few fans. Now there's the larger Caddy Maxi. The big news is that it’s available with seven seats and offers bags of passenger room and stowage.
It's certainly not much of a looker. Despite alloy wheels and colour-coded bumpers there’s no disguising the boxy van shape. On the plus side the Caddy Maxi Life has space. Lots of space. Passengers in the middle row will find plenty of knee room plus there’s bags of headroom thank to a high roof.
The sliding doors make getting and out simple – and they’re useful if you have to fit child seats in tight spaces. The third row is useful but it is a fixed bench and as a result lacks flexibility - the back can be folded down to increase the boot capacity but if you need more space the whole seat has to be removed, and it’s an awkward and cumbersome procedure.
If you can see past the boxy styling you’ll find that the Caddy Maxi has fantastic passenger space and plenty of storage too. Having a third row of seats means it has a clear advantage over competitors but it’s quite expensive for what it is.