Emma Sleep advert
Share on

We tested this Golden Green 2022 Volkswagen Caddy, a seven-seat people mover, with our family over the Easter School holidays! Will it deliver as much joy as the Easter Bunny? Let's find out how it stacks up in our BabyDrive testing…

BabyDrive Verdict

De'Longhi Advert

The 2022 Volkswagen Caddy is a serious contender for all the seven-seat SUVs and people movers out there. This car rocks for families big and small! It is either a really practical and spacious seven-seater for large families or for small families you can remove the two rear seats and have a five-seater with a fantastic amount of storage space for your everyday prams and dogs as well as the weekend camping trips, bikes or paddle boards. I feel like I can't recommend this car enough!

We had lots of comments over our weeks with it, people called it Postman Pat's van, they called it ‘snotto' because of the colour but I'm telling you there is nothing that puts a smile on your face like walking out of the house every morning to a Golden Green car.

Also when you know that car is so super spacious that everyone is going to fit and be comfy and whatever bike, scooter, surfboard etc takes your kids' fancy that day it is going to easily fit in the back, you also get a big smile on your face!

We took the Caddy on our Easter holiday with us and we had everything but the kitchen sink in the back there, two high chairs, bed sides, suitcases, scooters etc and it was effortless.

The first things I noticed about the VW Caddy we tested, apart from the colour, was its old school turn-key ignition! GASP!

Also, there was is no adaptive cruise control in the model I tested. Both things I really missed and I looked into it and you can add them both and a heap more safety gear for $1825. Which I would definitely add to my family vehicle.

Let's start with the seating, there are three seats in the second-row split 60:40 and two individual seats in the third row.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover ISOFIX child seat anchorages in the second row

In the second row there are ISOFix points in the two outer seats behind zips. There are top tether anchorages for all five rear seats, which is fantastic news for large families.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover has top tether child seat anchorages in the third row

I could easily install five Infasecure child seats in the back of the VW Caddy, the seats are very generous in size and it is super spacious. I installed the Infasecure Aspire More booster seat and Versatile folding booster seat in the third-row seats. The third-row seats are also suitable for tall teenagers or adults to sit too.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover with two child seats installed in the third row

In the second row I had the Infasecure Attain More, Achieve More and Accomplish More child seats. The three seats fit easily across the second row and it was very comfortable with two seats and an adult across too.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover with three child seats installed in the second row

Legroom is fantastic in the VW Caddy, we could easily fit a 180cm+ driver in front of a rear-facing child seat.

I like the seating options in the VW Caddy, they are very adaptable depending on family needs and size. The third-row seats are completely removable so if like us you are a four-pack family you can remove the third-row seats altogether and use the front two rows and have an enormous boot suitable for camping gear, bikes, paddle boards, prams etc.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover has top tether child seat anchorages in the third row

If you are a larger family you can easily fit five children in the back no matter their age or size. You can even remove one of the second-row seats and create a permanent walk through to the third-row seats.

I am also going to throw out there that I love the way the Caddy drives, it is good fun. It feels very light to drive in comparison to SUVs and I find it doesn't have that heavy, sometimes frumpy feeling that some SUV and people movers can have.

A lot of SUVs can also be as large or bigger than the Caddy but not actually have as much internal space, flexibility or practicality for passengers.

The large windows also give the Caddy a light and bright interior and give passengers big and small great visibility, which can help reduce travel sickness. We did find we would have liked a little shade in the back and you can add tinted rear windows as an option for $405.

The VW Caddy has some fantastic storage solutions too. Like these bag hooks on the left side of the boot.

Tray tables in the second-row and an overhead storage shelf in the front to name a few. Cup and bottle holders are ample throughout all three rows of seats.

There are two USB-C sockets in the back of the central console box and an air vent.

This is the only rear air vent in the model we tested, however, you can have ceiling vents added in the second and third rows for just $35 which would be a must for my family, especially as none of the rear windows open (and opening windows cannot be selected as an option).

2022 VW Caddy rear air vents option

There are airbags in all three rows of seats and in the VW Caddy which is great for those wanting to use all seven seats.

When you are using all three rows of seats, a twin pram can easily fit in the generously sized boot with a few bags of shopping.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover boot space for twin side by side stroller pram and shopping with all three rows in use

Or a compact pram and a small Bunnings trip fit nicely in the boot with the parcel shelf!

Or ten bags of shopping fit nicely which is comparable to the Kia Carnival which also fits 10 bags, the Hyundai Staria which fits 16, the Hyundai Palisade fits 8 and Mazda CX-9 which fits 6 shopping bags.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover boot space for shopping with all three rows in use

When using only five seats you could transport any size family dog in the back! (you can easily remove the two rear seats to make a flat surface)

22 Shopping bags will fit in the boot when only using five seats. Which is comparable to the Kia Carnival which can fit 26, the Mazda CX-9 which fits 17, the Hyundai Staria which fits 24 and Palisade which fits 21.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover boot space for shopping with two rows in use

All sizes of pram or stroller fit easily in the boot of the VW Caddy with plenty of space for luggage or shopping around them.

2022 VW Caddy People Mover boot space for shopping with tandem stroller pram if two rows of seats are in use

The dash of the new VW Caddy is really clean and minimal, all the buttons you are used to finding littering the dashboard are now neatly within the media system, including the climate settings.

The media screen is easy to use and navigate with some nice features within it too, like being able to easily customise your sound settings with a drag and drop option…

…or your driver assist settings. I found I needed to turn the Auto Engine Cut Out off each journey in the Caddy.

The 2022 VW Caddy has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto too. You can add wireless CarPlay for just $35.

The reversing camera image is small and it's nice and clear and fills the screen giving you great visibility when parking and manoeuvring.

2022 VW Caddy reversing camera

I love driving the 2022 VW Caddy with my family of four; it carries everything we need and more for any occasion. There is enormous legroom for all on board and it fits our Infasecure child seats and pram nicely. With a comfortable and practical amount of space for everything else daily family life and holidays require. Importantly for us, the Caddy is also a fun people mover to drive too! I thought it also has the end life result that when the kids become teenagers they can inherit it and kit it out to become their travelling car with a mattress and surfboards in the back!

The Volkswagen Caddy was given a five-star ANCAP safety rating and has six airbags as standard. (You can read more details about the safety in the VW Caddy in the expandable Safety section below).

 

Bright Star Kids advert

 

 

Ecoflow advert

 

BabyDrive Indepth

Share on
Advert: CarHistory
Tace Clifford
About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.