Say Volkswagen Caddy in North America and folks think of a classic small pickup, fully based on the first generation of the Rabbit/Golf. In Europe though, the model name is much more associated with Volkswagen’s smallest commercial vehicle. More specifically, a compact panel van.
The first Caddy van was introduced in 1995. An all-new generation arrived in 2003, with an update in 2010 and 2015, offered with a wide range of gasoline and diesel engines.
As for Rudolf Diesel powered Volkswagens, the 1.9 TDI engine immediately comes to mind. But not in this one. There’s a naturally aspirated 2.0 liter (1,968 cc) diesel under its hood, with a maximum power output of 69 DIN-hp. Back then, all of them had a 5-speed manual transmission.
Nice touch, even the trailer hitch and its cap were not forgotten. This Caddy is ready.
Thanks Johannes.
The pickup was badged as a Rabbit in the States. Most Americans wouldn’t know it as a Caddy.
It wasn’t badged as a Rabbit in the US. It was called the VW Pickup.
I believe Paul is correct. Wiki and a couple other sources say it was called the Rabbit Pickup in the US, but every bit of official VW of America advertising & brochures I can find only refer to it as the VW Pickup.
I’m in the US, and I would have sworn up and down we called it the Caddy here, I didn’t know that was a Euro name I guess enthusiasts just adopted here.
Not the Caddy I was expecting!
Nice photos Johannes. This Caddy is in great condition after 15 years. The clean VW design has also aged nicely.
I like the unique and creative graphic design as well!
I would love to own a small commercial van such as this. If only a manufacturer I trusted sold one here. Sigh.
They drive well (I had a whopping 786kg in one a couple of days ago!) but the reliability is absolutely horrendous. The business I work for bought about a dozen, and every single one has had multiple serious failures within the first 2-3 years, failed radiators, failed flywheels, failed injectors etc. I would never touch a modern VW after seeing how bad these are.
They build them not far from where I live:
https://www.volkswagen-poznan.pl/en
I got one as a gift from an elderly german friend of the family (a mechanic and car trader) almost exactly a year ago. 2008, 140 000 km, 1,9 TDI 105 hp, Caddy Life 5 seater “car” version, very nicely kept. It was traded in by the former owner as the dual mass flywheel was making noises so I had to have it done right off. This and the EGR valve replacement cost me $850.
Otherwise I’ve done 15 000 km trouble free since then, including a 800 km trip with a 1000 kg trailer recently that made 29 mpg with AC on. It drives very well except for the leaf spring rear suspension that needs a couple hundred pound load on it to behave.