Maxi Caddy Or Swb T6?

[Gary K]

I’m trying to decide between a Maxi Caddy and a SWB T6, both with 4Motion 2.0 TDI. I live in Spain. Intended uses are towing a sailboat 750-1000 kg total weight; general utility (many hobbies, including gardening, woodworking, cycling, and sailing); and general outdoors activities and travel for family of five (kids ages 6-10), including camping. Wife’s car is a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso.

Reasons to get Maxi Caddy: seems to be around €10,000 cheaper than T6 comparably equipped; has presumably better fuel economy; and is less massive of a vehicle for Europe, even if length is roughly same. Reasons to get T6: greater interior volume; greater vehicle weight for towing stability; greater ground clearance; and better looking.

I guess my basic concern is that the Maxi Caddy is big enough to tick all the same boxes as the SWB T6 for a lot less money.

Thoughts from T6 owners?

 

[Tommy]

Hi Gary K

A few thoughts having just gone from Caddy maxi to a T6 over the weekend: I had the Caddy maxi 140ps euro5, was a great van, just nipping around town and country roads got easily 49/51mpg and when on motorway doing 70mph could get up to 59/62mpg - was amazed and more than happy with. Very comy, quiet and plenty of space in the back, if I had of kept it I would have taken the bulkhead out to create the feeling of more room and maybe put seats in the rear as had twin doors already. Must admit that I didn't tow anything but could imagine that with 140ps there was enough horse's there to more than cope and would guess the newer euro6 engine 150ps is amazing and believe is even more economical on fuel than the 140ps

The T6, well what can I say, only had a couple of days and 350 mile on the clock but absolutely loving it. Yes its only something like 4" wider and about 10" longer but feels so much bigger, guessing the extra 6" in height clearance adds to the bigger feel and still so easy to manoeuvre and park. The T6 has tailgate and when open it offers amazing protection from the weather elements when stood under (with crouching as well), my Caddy had barn doors but guess it would do similar albeit maybe crouching a little. Mine is the 204ps engine so would be ample for towing (will fit a tow bar soon) and reckon it could plough fields even without having 4 wheel drive

Overall so glad I've been able to afford a T6 only wish I could have been in a position years ago to get a transporter - guess a Caddy maxi would fit your purpose but if you can stretch then go T6 all the way, you'll never look back

 

[Gary K]

Thanks for that very helpful response. That's what I was expecting and I was trying to justify the price difference to myself.

One question about dimensions: did you get the long wheel base Transporter? I think the Caddy Maxi and the SWB Transporter are only an inch different in length, but the T6 is wider and taller (with more ground clearance). The T6 LWB is supposed to be 17 inches longer than the Caddy Maxi LWB. I will note that there is an amazingly large number of versions of the T6 and maybe there are even differences among countries.

According to the VW Spain brochures, the Caddy Maxi Kombi 4Motion is 4976 long by 1793 wide (excluding mirrors) by 1863 high (excluding roof bars) with 152 of ground clearance. The Caravelle Trendline SWB and the Transporter Kombi SWB are both 5006 long by 1904 wide by 1990 high, with 201 of ground clearance. The LWB T6 is shown to be 5406 long. For some reason, ground clearance for the Caddy Maxi non-4Motion is slightly more than the 4Motion version (158 vs 152) but overall height is less for the non-4Motion version (1831 vs 1863). The T6 doesn't indicate any measurement differences for 4Motion vs non-4Motion, including for ground clearance. The T6 ground clearance from these figures is about 2 inches more than the Caddy Maxi 4Motion and the T6 height is about 5 inches more. There are also taller and shorter T6 versions.

A 5-meter long vehicle is going to be difficult to park here not only in the big cities but also in small villages where parallel parking is predominant, but I have decided just to deal with that. I had an old, full-sized pickup in the US but parking was rarely parallel and spots were usually wide and parking garages tall. Even then you had to pass by many close spots and go towards the back. I also drove a regular sedan that was easy to park but, oddly enough, I preferred driving the old truck.

 

[Tommy]

My T6 is short wheelbase so measurements as described length 10" longer, width 4" wider (UK spec). Caddy maxi is 4.878m long and 1.793m wide vs Kombi SWB 4.904m long and 1.904m wide, haven't measured the height difference but the step up into the Kombi cab is much much prominent than getting into the Caddy but once your up there the extra view is stunning VW has a huge range to choose from, mind boggling to say the least

Good luck in making your choice

 

[Colin Davison]

I upgraded from a Caddy Maxi 1.6tdi 103 to a T6 2.0tdi 102, tbh the vans are worlds apart. The T6 feels much better to drive, solid build quality also. The Caddy was the most unreliable vehicle I have ever owned, nothing but problems, fuel injectors, egr valve, brake issues, after spending over £2k in repairs in 1 year it had to go. My van gets used for my business and its fully laden with ladders on the roof, so I need something reliable. Go for the T6, you wont regret it.