Johannesburg - When I think of the word trusty, I usually envisage an heirloom pocket knife. Or a loyal labrador. Or a manky old cap that’s done duty on years’ worth of lawn-mowing sessions. But after only six months of long-term testing I’ll now have to add a big white bus to my mental definition of the word.
We’ve had this Caravelle in our fleet here at Motoring since July and in that time our team has racked up 15 000km of office commuting, house moving, airport shuttling and long-distance vacationing. Recently editor Droppa impressively transported a washing machine in its upright position, and I’ve even laid a tarp down inside its 5.8 cubic metre hold (with seats out) and fetched 25 square metres of grass from one of those side-of-the-road turf dealers. Rarely has a Friday come upon us when one of our team hasn’t requested the Caravelle’s keys for some sort of weekend project.
HOT COMMODITY
Needless to say the bus was a hot commodity over the December holiday period, and when a boys-only fishing weekend was proposed I knew our long-termer was the vehicle of choice for whisking five okes and a Venter trailer full of supplies up to the great Matlabas River near Thabazimbi. The space this van offers is incredible, and with two dudes up front and three stretched out in the second and third rows, the four hour journey from Jozi was quite pleasant. More pleasant than it might have been in, say, a single-cab bakkie or something more confined.
We’ve become very familiar with all of the Caravelle’s handy little extra features over the past few months, but on a trip like this some of them can be appreciated just that little bit more. Especially useful is the rear-seating area’s independent climate-control system which allows for those in the front and those in the back to set temperature and fan settings to individual liking. We also like that there are three 12 volt sockets which allowed us to power up two cellphone chargers and a refrigerated cooler box all at once.
SMALL NIGGLES
Things Volkswagen could improve upon? Yes, there are a few. First, the van’s massive rear door is far too big and too heavy to swing upward. You’ll need to make sure there’s space for it to complete its huge arc unencumbered by walls, other cars or small kids who could easily be wiped out by its powerful sweep. I can’t imagine some small-framed moms leaping up and pulling it down every time they need to close the boot. An optional side-hinged barn door, like that available in the Caddy van, would be useful, although the big tailgate does make for a nice afdak for baiting hooks when it starts to drizzle on said fishing trips.
I’ve also found that the Caravelle’s driver window sometimes opens when I pull the switch closed, and the ignition tumbler has become a little wonky over time. On a few occasions I’ve managed to get the key out while the switch is still in its accessory position, meaning that radio and lights stay on.
We love the versatile seating arrangement at the back and at one point we swivelled the middle row to face outward and drove around a Thabazimbi hunting farm with the sliding side doors open in luxurious almost al fresco game viewer spec, but I reckon VW could re-design these seats to be more convenient in future models. We’re fully aware that this leather-lined seven seater isn’t intended for easy cargo van conversion, but if the seats were lighter and incorporated some sort of carrying handles, their removal could be less of a task.
STRONG PERFORMER
Top Caravelle models, as opposed to lesser Kombi and Panel Van versions, are fitted with the same bi-turbo 2-litre diesel as the Amarok bakkie and we’re more than pleased with its performance. I can’t ignore that there is some turbolag on pulloff, but once moving the 132kW and 400Nm on offer lug this van around with little effort. I’d also fully recommend spending the extra R18 500 to get the seven-speed DSG auto gearbox option. A heavy 2.1-ton box like this is just so much more relaxing to drive without manual gearchanges.
Given its weight we’re impressed with an average diesel consumption of just over 9 litres per 100km, and out on the open road it’s even less. I reset the trip computer before our Thaba trek, and even with Venter in tow it averaged just over 8l/100km. Excellent.
We’ll most definitely miss the Caravelle when it’s gone. It’s become part of the family here, and we’ve been spoiled by its space and versatility. It’s truly a trusty companion in motoring. -Star Motoring
FACTS
VW Caravelle 2.0 BiTDI AT
Engine: 2-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel
Gearbox: Seven-speed DSG
Power: 132kW @ 4000rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 1500-2000rpm
0-100km/h (claimed): 11.3 seconds
Top speed (claimed): 191km/h
Consumption (claimed): 8.1 litres per 100km
Price: R673 900
Warranty: Three-year/120 000km
Maintenance plan: Five-year/60 000km