Volkswagen Caddy Life Review 2022 - Top Gear

AdvertisementClose advertisement

• Home
• Car Reviews
• Volkswagen
• Caddy

• Overview
• Driving
• Interior
• Buying
• Specs & Prices

Car ReviewVolkswagen Caddy Life reviewPrices from£25,956 - £34,392 Leasing offers from

£402 p/m

External link towith Leasing.com7Top Gear TeamPublished: 31 Jan 2022

Read why you can trust our independent reviews

• Overview
• Driving
• Interior
• Buying
• Specs & Prices

Skip 14 photos in the image carousel and continue reading1 / 14Advertisement“A massively practical VW that isn’t an SUV. Benefits greatly from its new MQB platform”

Good stuff

Drives like a Golf, masses of interior space

Bad stuff

Fixed rear windows might not be ideal for family life

Overview

What is it?

This is the latest generation Volkswagen Caddy, although if you’re looking at the images above and seeing far too much glass for your liking, you’ll need to click these blue words to be taken to our commercial Caddy Cargo van review.

The current fifth-gen Caddy also comes as a small campervan in this rather natty California spec, but here we’ll focus on the people-carrying Caddy Life.

Advertisement - Page continues below

What’s that then?

Forget the oversized Touareg and the overpriced ID.4, the Caddy Life is almost certainly the most practical family Volkswagen on sale today. You can even have it in long-wheelbase ‘Maxi’ form in some parts of the world. You will still have to buy it through Volkswagen’s commercial vehicles branch, but prices start at a remarkably reasonable £25,379.

Tell me more about this Caddy…

The new Caddy sits atop the VW Group’s MQB platform, meaning it borrows powertrains, safety equipment and many interior bits from the very-much-a-car Mk8 Golf. Does that mean it no longer drives like a van? Click through to the driving tab of this review to find out.

The aforementioned powertrains include a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel with either 101bhp or 120bhp. The former can only be paired with a six-speed manual gearbox, whereas the latter gets a choice of manual or seven-speed DSG auto. Just one petrol engine is available – a sprightly 112bhp 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder that comes with a manual only in base-spec Caddy trim or with a DSG only in top-spec Life trim.

There are no hybrid, PHEV or fully-electric options, and we wouldn’t expect to see any in the very near future – the Caddy is perhaps the epitome of modern-day motoring simplicity.

Advertisement - Page continues below

It looks good though?

Doesn’t it just. Most of the world might have forgotten about proper MPVs, but Volkswagen clearly felt that enough people would buy a new Caddy to warrant some actual styling. That face is mighty handsome and you can have some fancy metallic paint options including ‘Copper Bronze’, ‘Fortana Red’ and ‘Golden Green’.

Our choice from the range

Volkswagen1.5 TSI Life 5dr DSG£30,714See prices and specs

What's the verdict?

“A massively practical VW that isn’t an SUV. Benefits greatly from its new MQB platform”

The Caddy Life has benefitted massively from the move to Volkswagen’s MQB platform, with proper car-like driving dynamics and better equipment than you’d expect from a van-based lump. It even looks good these days. Okay it might not be the most fashionable thing on four wheels, but it’s an immensely spacious family car for the money. Time to forget all about that crossover you were thinking of test driving…

7

Citroen e-Berlingo

£31,080 - £33,595

Find another car review

Manufacturer296 Special Edition (2025)AbarthAlfa RomeoAlpinaAlpineArielAston MartinAtlasAudiBACBentleyBMWBrabhamBugattiBYDCadillacCaterhamChanganCheryChevroletChryslerCitroenCorollaCorvetteCupraDaciaDodgeDSEagleElementalFerrariFiatFiskerFordFrontlineGeelyGenesisGMCGordon Murray AutomotiveGWMGWM ORAHondaHyundaiIneosInfinitiIsuzuJaecooJaguarJeepJensenKGMKiaKimera AutomobiliKoenigseggKTMLamborghiniLanciaLand RoverLeapmotorLexusLincolnLockheed MartinLotusLucidMaseratiMazdaMcLarenMercedes-BenzMG Motor UKMiniMitsubishiMorganNioNissanNobleOmodaPaganiPeugeotPininfarinaPipistrelPolestarPorscheProdriveRadicalRAMRenaultRimacRivianRolls-RoyceSeatShelbySkodaSkywellSmartSoyuzSsangyongSubaruSuzukiTeslaThe Little Car CompanyTop Gear Technology CentreToyotaVauxhallVolkswagenVolvoXpengYukonZenvoModelCONTINUECONTINUEContinue reading: DrivingAdvertisement

96 per cent of Ford Fiesta owners ‘oblivious’ to existence of third gear

F1 to replace Italian Grand Prix at Monza with street race in Venice

Exclusive: VW to build ID. Buzz that breaks down constantly

UK ambassador summoned after Brit firm adds Rover V8 into Italian supercar

Advertisement

96 per cent of Ford Fiesta owners ‘oblivious’ to existence of third gear

F1 to replace Italian Grand Prix at Monza with street race in Venice

Exclusive: VW to build ID. Buzz that breaks down constantly

UK ambassador summoned after Brit firm adds Rover V8 into Italian supercar

96 per cent of Ford Fiesta owners ‘oblivious’ to existence of third gear

F1 to replace Italian Grand Prix at Monza with street race in Venice

Exclusive: VW to build ID. Buzz that breaks down constantly

UK ambassador summoned after Brit firm adds Rover V8 into Italian supercar

1. Long Term Review

   Full Parisian: our Renault 5 is the first one in the country on entry-level steel wheels

2. Retro

   Seven times car companies rewrote their own history

3. Formula One

   Here’s every 2026 F1 livery revealed so far

4. Supercars

   Surprise! The stunning F.K.P. Hommage is Bugatti's *own* recreation of the Veyron

5. Electric

   Welcome to the new EX60: is this Volvo’s most important car?

6. Long Term Review

   Does cold-starting a hybrid car’s engine on the motorway damage it?

Subscribe to the Top Gear Newsletter

Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.

SuccessYour Email*Country*Please select your countryUnited KingdomAfghanistanAland IslandsAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCaribbean NetherlandsCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos (Keeling) IslandsColombiaComorosCongo (Brazzaville)Congo (Kinshasa)Cook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHondurasHong Kong S.A.R., ChinaHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacao S.A.R., ChinaMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorthern Mariana IslandsNorth KoreaNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinian TerritoryPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSaint BarthélemySaint HelenaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint Martin (French part)Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluU.S. Virgin IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited StatesUnited States Minor Outlying IslandsUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVaticanVenezuelaVietnamWallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

By clicking subscribe, you agree to receive news, promotions and offers by email from Top Gear and BBC Studios. Your information will be used in accordance with our privacy policy.

Sorry, something went wrong

Please try againSubscribemagazine

Subscribe to BBC Top Gear Magazine

find out more