Volkswagen Caddy vs LDV G10

What's the difference?

It’s not hard to see why the Caddy Cargo maintains its enduring favouritism in the small van class. It has outstanding workhorse capabilities, unmatched five-star safety and drivetrain choice, combined with a spirited car-like driving experience, be it unladen or with a heavy payload. It’s not perfect, but it's also hard to fault in a workhorse role.

The LDV G10 is a solid option for those buyers who just want a van that gets the job done. It was decent with weight on board, but is probably better suited to parcel carriers rather than pallet shifters.

Safety levels are the biggest concern, as it is falling behind in the class when it comes to active safety tech, and its weak crash test score could be enough to rule it out for some customers. 

Our test vehicle rides on a 2755mm wheelbase with 4500mm overall length, yet its 11.4-metre turning circle is slightly larger than a Toyota HiAce mid-sized van, which highlights the restrictions in steering lock shared by front-wheel-drive vehicles like the Caddy and its French rivals.

Underneath you’ll find robust MacPherson strut front suspension, a coil-spring beam rear axle with Panhard rod, four-wheel disc brakes and electric power-assisted steering.

It comes well armoured for work duties with unpainted dark grey plastic used in areas where bumps, scrapes and wear usually occur like the front/rear bumpers (including the rear pillars from top to bottom), door-handles and door mirror-shells. The bright silver alloy-look plastic wheel-covers can also be easily replaced if damaged by kerbs to keep this van looking sharp on the job.

Its purposeful external appearance is matched by a neat and practical cabin design with wipe-clean rubber flooring and fabric-trimmed bucket seats for driver and passenger. Hard surfaces abound in contrasting shades of grey with splashes of satin chrome.

The minimalist dash design is achieved by corralling most functions into the comparatively small (by today's standards) central touchscreen including often-used climate control, engine auto start-stop etc., which can be fiddly and distracting when driving. Thankfully, at least physical dials for audio volume and tuning remain.

The more you see LDV G10 vans, the more regular they look. Familiarity breeds ignorance, I guess, but I still think the G10 looks smart. 

It isn’t quite as boxy as some, with its sleeker front-end styling and almost sedan-like tail-lights helping it stand out from the ‘box-on-wheels’ stigma. It gets 16-inch alloy wheels as standard, and has halogen headlights and misses out on daytime running lights.

But it still is a box on wheels, measuring 5168mm long (on a 3198mm wheelbase), 1980mm wide and 1928mm tall. That makes it a darn sight smaller than the new HiAce, which stepped up significantly in size, and about on par with a Renault Trafic SWB or Ford Transit Custom 300S SWB. 

The perceived build quality is mostly okay, though our test car had a few loose plastics on the outside and a seemingly mis-fit windshield rubber.

The Caddy’s 1508kg tare weight and 2250kg GVM results in a 742kg payload rating, of which up to 100kg can be legally carried on the roof where external anchorage points are provided for roof racks or rails.

It’s also rated to tow up to 1500kg of braked trailer, although its relatively low 75kg tow-ball download (TBD) limit could present a challenge, given that TBD is typically about 10 per cent of trailer weight. So, a 150kg TBD rating would be better.

Volkswagen also does not publish a GCM (Gross Combination Mass) rating, so we don’t know how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time.

The cargo bay, which offers up to 3.1 cubic metres of load volume, is accessed through a kerbside sliding door or asymmetric rear barn-doors.

Its 1797mm length and 1614mm width with 1230mm between the rear wheel-housings provides good versatility, given it can carry an 1165mm-square Aussie pallet or 1000 x 1200mm Euro 3 pallet, two 800mm x 1200mm Euro pallets, or two 720 x 830mm bread-roll containers.

However, with the sliding side-door’s 695mm opening, all of these would need to be loaded through the rear barn-doors which offer 180-degree opening for easy forklift or loading dock access. The load floor is protected by a thick moulded-rubber liner and there are six load-anchorage points.

The cargo bay walls and doors are lined to mid-height and there are two bright LED roof lights and a handy 12-volt socket.

Driver and passenger have ample cabin storage with large-bottle holders and bins in each front door, a handy pull-out compartment to the right of the steering column, numerous bins embedded in the dash-pad, full-width overhead shelf, a large glovebox and a centre console with dual small-bottle/cup holders and numerous storage nooks.

Those dimensions translate to a cargo space of 5.2 cubic metres, with a load space spanning 2500mm long, 1590mm wide (1270mm between the arches) and 1270mm tall. That mightn’t be big enough for you, and that’s too bad - there is no high roof version, nor a long-wheelbase model; but you could get an LDV V80 if you really need to step up in size… but we wouldn’t suggest you do that.

The payload for this model is 1010kg, which is decent but not benchmark-setting. It has a gross vehicle mass of 3000kg, meaning a kerb weight of 1990kg. The gross combination mass depends on the model: the GCM for diesel models is 5000kg for a braked trailer, while petrol models have a GCM of 4750kg for a braked trailer (auto) and 4500kg (manual). All models have a GCM of 3750kg for unbraked trailers.

The petrol versions have 1093kg of payload, if you prefer that fuel type. Interestingly, the manual versions have leaf spring rear suspension, while the auto models have coil springs as part of a five-link suspension architecture.

The load area has a six floor-mounted and four wall-mounted tie-down hooks, and the floor is lined with a vinyl covering while up to half-height the inner walls are lined, too. There are four lights mounted on the walls, which is handy for after-hours work.

And every LDV G10 comes with dual sliding side doors (some brands charge thousands more for this convenience), while the back door is a tailgate as standard, with the option of barn doors for diesel models.

For those who need to fork loads in, the barn doors are a no brainer, because the side door apertures (at 820mm wide) aren’t broad enough to load in using a lift. The tailgate also makes it very difficult to load weight in, as we found on test, as our mates at Crown Lifts had to use long tines to fork in our 750kg ballast.

When it comes to creature comforts up front, there is a pair of low-mounted pop-out cupholders, and an open storage area between the seats. There isn’t much covered storage, so if you often carry valuables, you may need to keep that in mind. 

The seats are comfortable and offer good adjustment, and they’ve been changed since the diesel auto model launched. They’re no longer a cheap-feeling fabric, but rather a faux-leather accented, mesh-lined set of seats, and both have armrests. Nice.

The presentation is okay, but the ergonomics could be better. The touchscreen is mounted down lower than most, and means you may need to take your eyes away from the road because the controls are down even lower. And the USB? Near the floor.

That screen is still a 7.0-inch display, but now has the same software system as the newer models in the LDV range. That means a nice crisp colourful display with the added advantage of Apple CarPlay… if you can get it to work. We had a few issues when reconnecting a phone without re-starting the car. 

If you’re buying an LDV G10, it’s because of the price. The cost of the diesel automatic model we’ve got is usually $32,490 drive-away for ABN holders, but there are promotions running listing it at $29,990 drive-away for ABN holders at the time of writing. If you’re not an ABN holder, just get one, because you’ll save heaps (the G10 diesel auto is $34,147 drive-away for non-ABN holders).

You can get other vans for around this money - the Renault Trafic Trader Life manual, with its gutless 66kW turbo-diesel engine, is $30,990 d/a. But you won’t find a diesel Hyundai iLoad, Peugeot Partner or Toyota HiAce within $10,000 of the LDV.

As for standard spec, you get 16-inch alloy wheels, tyre pressure monitoring, climate control air-conditioning, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with USB connectivity, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, CD player and AM/FM radio, a digital speedometer, two part fake-leather seats with arm-rests (driver’s side with height adjust), carpet flooring up front, and vinyl floor protective liner in the rear, and a reversing camera. 

Standard body fit out is dual sliding side doors and a lift tailgate, though you can get barn doors fitted on diesel models. Unlike some competitors, there is no option for glazing in the rear doors or side panels. 

There are also no auto headlights, no auto wipers, push-button start, keyless entry, leather-lined steering wheel, reach adjustment for the steering, and there’s quite a bit missing in the safety section of this review - see below.

Our test vehicle’s premium 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine, dubbed TDI320, meets Euro6 emission standards using AdBlue, and produces 90kW at 4250rpm and 320Nm between 1500-2500rpm.

The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic offers three drive modes comprising (default) Drive, Sport or sequential manual-shifting using steering wheel-mounted paddles. There’s also an electronically-controlled automatic locking diff.

Under the bonnet of the diesel G10 is a 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 106kW of power and 350Nm of torque. There’s the choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, and the G10 is rear-wheel drive. It has a diesel particulate filter, but not stop-start or AdBlue.

Prefer petrol? There’s a 2.4-litre five-speed manual model (105kW/200Nm) or a 2.0-litre turbocharged six-speed auto (165kW/330Nm). Those models are cheaper - $25,990 for the manual for ABN holders, while the turbo-petrol auto is $30,990 d/a. 

The official combined average fuel consumption is a hybrid-like 4.9L/100km and the dash display was showing 5.6L after our 355km test, of which about one third of that distance was hauling a near-maximum payload.

That wasn’t far south of our own fuel-sipping figure of 6.5L/100km, based on actual tripmeter and fuel bowser readings. Therefore, you could expect an excellent real-world driving range of up to 770km from its 50-litre tank.

The combined cycle fuel use claim for the LDV G10 diesel auto is 8.6 litres per 100 kilometres. The manual version uses 8.3L/100km according to the brand.

On test we saw a fuel use return of 9.7L/100km at the pump, across a mix of urban, highway and freeway driving, with and without a load. 

Petrol models use a claimed 11.5L (manual) and 11.7L (auto) per hundred.

Its compact external dimensions are deceptive, as the cabin has ample headroom and it’s not hard for even tallish drivers (I’m 186cm) to find a comfortable position, even though the close-fitting bulkhead restricts backrest recline adjustment and the base cushion rake is fixed.

Small vans are the closest you’ll get to a car-like driving experience in light commercials and, given the Cargo’s unique turbo-diesel powertrain, it has unmatched torque output that provides energetic performance.

The shift calibrations of its seven-speed dual-clutch automatic ensure vigorous response in city and suburban driving, given that for most of the time they keep the engine operating between 1500-2500rpm, where its 320Nm of torque is served at full strength.

Combined with nicely weighted steering and four-coil suspension that provides an ideal balance of responsive handling and supple bump absorption, it’s an enjoyable and engaging vehicle to drive. The Sport drive mode and sequential manual-shifting options raise the fun level.

The gearing also ensures low-stressed highway driving with only 1600rpm required to maintain 110km/h, at which speeds the solid bulkhead minimises cargo bay noise that mostly emanates from the rear tyres. However, tyre noise can still be intrusive on certain grades of coarse bitumen.

To test its payload rating, we forklifted 650kg into the cargo bay through the rear barn-doors, which with driver equalled a total payload just shy of its 742kg payload limit. The rear suspension compressed almost 60mm under this weight, with long jounce rubbers positioned inside the rear coil springs providing additional load support and, in effect, a second stage of springing.

The Caddy took this heavy load haul in its stride on city and suburban roads, gliding over bumps without a hint of bottoming-out. The payload’s effect on engine, steering and braking performance was minimal and its handling composure was maintained regardless of speed or road conditions.

It also made light work of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km-long set climb at 60km/h, and although engine braking on the way down required some assistance from the quartet of disc brakes to keep speeds in check, they handled this task with ease.

Our only criticism of the driving experience is that, given the substantial blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder caused by the cargo bay’s solid walls, a Cargo buyer must pay extra to get blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert as part of an options pack. We reckon these active features are crucial to safe van operation (any solid-walled van that is) and should be standard.

You probably wouldn’t choose an LDV G10 as a daily driver if you didn’t intend to use the cargo zone at least 80 per cent of the time.

But if - for whatever reason - you really want to use a van like this on a day-to-day basis, you won’t hate it. 

The G10 drives pretty nicely for this type of vehicle. It isn’t as bouncy when unladen as some of the other vans out there, with the suspension proving very quick to settle and mostly very compliant across mixed surfaces. 

The steering wheel can jostle a bit over sharp edges, but it steers well, with decent (not too heavy) weighting and predictable response at all speeds. 

Without weight on board the engine feels reasonably urgent in its response, which is a bit of a surprise because it’s not a powerhouse based on its outputs. It revs smoothly and pulls with good strength, with little turbo lag to contend with. While it is a bit of a grumbly engine at times, the response is better than adequate.

Plus the transmission is well sorted, with smooth shifts that are predictable.

The braking response is definitely better without weight on board, with a decent progression to the pedal and decent bite when you press hard on the anchors.

If safety matters to you, this could be your reason not to buy an LDV G10.

The van scored a mediocre three-star ANCAP crash test safety score - which would be more acceptable if that was under the current, strictest criteria, but it was actually tested in 2015. Which means it would be even lower if tested today.

One of the reasons is the safety equipment - there’s not a lot of it. You get dual front airbags, but no side airbags or curtains. There is no advanced tech like auto emergency braking (AEB), no lane keeping assistance or lane departure warning, no blind spot monitoring or rear cross-traffic alert… But you do get a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

The Caddy comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and 12 months roadside assist.

Scheduled servicing is every 15,000km or 12 months, whichever occurs first.

An optional five-year pre-paid service package is available for the price of a three-year package ($2000), so that’s two free services and savings of up to $1439 compared to pay-as-you-go capped-price servicing. In other words, an average annual servicing cost of $400.

LDV isn’t close to the leaders in the segment for ownership, with a behind-the-times three-year/100,000km warranty (admittedly with the same cover for roadside assist), and no capped price servicing plan. 

Service intervals are every 12 months/10,000km, which is short, and you need to get an initial service done at 5000km, too. 

If you’re worried about long-term longevity, you can check out our LDV G10 problems page.