The VW Caddy Beach – The Perfect Travel Companion

The new VW Caddy Beach is based on VW’s practical and stylish Caddy Life, which in turn is the people-carrier edition of the ever-popular Caddy van. The external design of the Caddy was recently face-lifted along with vast improvements to the interior layout.

My test vehicle was based on the Caddy Trendline specification and was finished in stunning Blackberry Metallic paint. This iconic colour harks back to the 1990’s VW Golf VR6 and VW Corrado. Power was supplied courtesy of VW’s wonderfully refined 2.0-litre turbo diesel engine (TDI) producing 150bhp and mated to a super-slick 6-speed manual gearbox. BlueMotion technology comes as standard and is compliant with Euro 6 emissions regulations.

The Caddy Beach has a more than adequately spacious cabin with plenty of headroom. The seats are comfortable with plenty of adjustment and visibility is good to the front and side thanks to the large windscreen and deep side windows. The sliding doors make getting in and out in tight spaces a doddle and will appeal to parents with young children.

Standard equipment in the Caddy Beach includes a fold-up bed, folding tables on the back of the front seats, 16” ‘Bendigo’ alloy wheels, rear parking sensors, rear tinted windows, headlamp washer system, Climatronic air conditioning, leather multi-function steering wheel, handbrake and gear shift, Composition radio system with USB, Aux-in and Bluetooth, auto lights and wipers, hill hold control, cruise control, tyre pressure monitoring system, interior chrome pack, multi-function display with driver alert, multi-adjustable centre arm-rest and lumbar support on front seats. Options fitted to my test vehicle included 17” alloys, spare alloy wheel and tool-kit, Bi-Xenon LED head lights, satellite navigation, park-assist with front sensors, electric folding mirrors, silver roof-rails, dual Climatronic air conditioning and heated front seats. The Caddy Beach comes with safety features such as ABS, auto hazard lights, electronic brake distribution, electronic differential lock, ESP, seatbelt warning and traction control.

There’s plenty of storage space in the rear of the Caddy Beach and longer items can be placed underneath the bed – which is a permanent fixture in the back. There are also lots of storage pockets mounted up high, which can be accessed from inside the vehicle.

The Caddy Beach provides a luxurious alternative to sleeping in a tent and is the ideal companion for music festival fans and lovers of the outdoors.

The VW Caddy Beach returns excellent fuel economy, with 6.4l/100km being consumed on a combined driving cycle. Annual road tax is just €280 thanks to low Co2 emissions of 133g/km.

The Caddy Beach is available from €36,930, while my test vehicle came in at €48,000 with the optional extras fitted.

The Caddy Beach offers buyers 3 vehicles in 1 – a practical van, a 5-seat people-carrier and somewhere to sleep for the weekend when needed. For serious camping fans, an optional ‘Camping’ package is available which will expand the vehicle into a little holiday home with a 2.3m x 2.0m tent for the tailgate, two folding chairs, a table and a ventilation grille for the sliding door.