Volkswagen Caravelle Business expert review

 

VW Caravelle Business expert review 

2.0 BiTDI 180 PS Business DSG 4Motion 5dr 

£69,180

Verdict 4.8 out of 5

“It’s a people carrier dressed up to do business.  This means the trim is plush and you can park up, sit in the back and settle down to some work, making use of the built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It’s very good.”

Pros

Spacious and luxurious cabin

Top notch materials throughout

WiFi and Bluetooth

Cons

There are cheaper alternatives

Ride is a little bouncy

Exterior

Standard Caravelles don’t have rear privacy windows but the Business does. Other than that, the exterior detailing is similar to a standard Caravelle save for the silver metal  ‘Business’ badge on the tailgate. This Business version also comes with 17-inch alloy wheels, LED daytime running lights with a headlamp washer system and front washer jets which squirt heated water onto your windscreen! The door mirros are electrically folding ones too and the rear light clusters are darkened. Front and rear parking sensors help park this beast and there’s video camera to so you can see out of the back when reversing. By far the best feature though is the electric sliding side doors; they open and close at the press of a button. 

Our rating: 4

Interior

We drove the Caravelle Business on an epic cycling trip to Belgium. It carried four people and four bikes and luggage and hardly broke a sweat. Its luxury lounge area is carpeted throughout and proved itself to be a comfortable retreat for us at the end of a day of hard cycling. There are four individual seats and a table which can slide forward and back. The seats also swivel round to face forwards or backwards. In a standard Caravelle there’s usually a rear seat bench, but the biggest change in this Business version is that the bench is replaced by two ‘Captain’s’ seats which are adjustable, heated and upholstered in beautiful tan nappa leather. There’s even a fridge set between them. Both the seats and the table are easy to remove, once you know how. The rest of the interior is carpeted and padded which means there is very little road noise in the cabin even at motorway speeds or cruising across Belgian town cobbles. Up front, there’s a large gap between the driver’s seat and front passenger seat so you can access the lounge area from the front. The driving position is very comfortable too; the gearstick is set on the dash and there are armrests either side that stretch out just the right amount distance to allow you to feel really comfortable. The only slight niggle is the indicators are not easily visible from the driving position.  All the entertainment functions can be operated from the wheel and sat nav directions appear in front of the driver too.

Our rating: 4 out of 5

Ride and handling

For a van of this size, it handles pretty well though it can feel a little wallowy if you are only used to driving a car. The auto shift is fantastic to use in town and on the motorway, even when fully laden.  The auto gear change does exactly what you want in terms of coping with every gradient of road without troubling the driver. We didn't feel the need to experiment too much with the Sport mode or adjust the gears up and down manually and this is simply because it never felt underpowered. The Business shifts along at a nice pace even with four pax and four bikes on board. A surprisingly tight turning circle allowed us to negotiate the distinctly un-van friendly centre of Ghent with ease, and if it can handle one medieval town centre then I would imagine that it could handle them all. The parking sensors and camera mean that even those who are more used to parking a VW Polo could easily park this.

Our rating: 5

Performance

Effortless performance is delivered by Volkswagen’s most powerful 2.0-litre 180PS bi-turbo TDI engine. With 400 Nm of torque from 1,500 rpm, combined with DSG transmission as standard, this ensures the Caravelle Business is effortless to drive, yet also economical to run with 34.9 mpg on the combined cycle. To further manage business expenses, maintenance and service plans plus a variety of competitive finance options are also available.

Our rating: 5

Cargo Area

With sliding, removable and folding seats in the rear there are plenty of different ar-rangements for passengers. They can be positioned facing each other, or in a more traditional airline style set-up depending on preferences. Boot space varies depending on the amount of seats you have in place but the maximum load carrying capacity is on a par with commercial vans. 

Our rating: 5

Equipment

The biggest selling point of this Business version is the in-built WI-Fi and Bluetooth.

For the driver’s convenience there is cruise control, satellite navigation with 6.5 in colour screen and 30GBhard drive. A leather multi-function steering wheel. Lane change assist to warn of vehicles in the driver’s blind spot. There’s even a programmable heater to ensure the interior can always be ready at the desired temperature. A second battery with cut-off relay ensures the rear seating area can be powered independently.

Our rating:5

Reliability

Trademark Volkswagen reliability will ensure very little goes wrong. The Caravelle Business is backed up with a three year/ 100,000 mile warranty. 

Our rating: 5

Safety

The Caravelle scored four out of five in the Euro NCAP crash safety test and all mod-els come with six airbags as standard as well as a stability control system.

Our rating: 5

Running costs

It’s difficult to justify the near-£70K cost new for this, especially when there are other very capable people carriers around. It’s a very good buy from used though. However, once you drive one you fall in love with it and the way you can arrange the rear seats and table make this a super-practical and a homely van to work and live out of. The fuel economy is amazingly good if you don't drive with a heavy foot and if you can sacrifice 10mph on the motorway to drive at 60mph, then you'll get over 40mpg which is staggeringly good. At a steady 40 you get nearer 45mpg. The fuel efficiency was excellent and we drove from Oxford to Ghent and back with at least an extra 100 miles of dithering about on less than a tank and a half of diesel.  Dealer servicing and stock service items are expensive but there are some affordable independent dealers out there.  If you buy new, then stay with your VW dealer for the 2 year repair warranty. 

Our rating: 5

Why buy?

“As a high end people carrier, the Caravelle Business is a must-buy. Beware its high price from new but as far as plush vans to use as a mobile office go, this is unique.”

Our rating: 5