Volkswagen Caddy vs Toyota HiLux

What's the difference?

The venerable VW Caddy was launched in 1979 and after five generations and more than four decades of service, it remains one of the world’s most popular range of small vans.

In Australia’s light-commercial vehicle market, the Caddy’s work-focused Cargo model competes in the small van (under 2.5-tonne GVM) segment against the Renault Kangoo and Peugeot Partner.

The VW range offers Cargo (SWB), Cargo Maxi (LWB) and Crewvan (LWB) models with a unique choice of petrol/diesel engines and manual/auto transmissions.

We recently revisited this German workhorse to find out why it remains such a strong seller in Australia from a business perspective.

Toyota claims its first HiLux BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) has been designed primarily with mining, business and government fleet customers in mind, by combining the iconic ute’s 4x4 all-terrain capability with zero tailpipe emissions only a full-electric drivetrain can deliver.

To prove its suitability for harsh Aussie conditions, Toyota claims the HiLux BEV has undergone more than two years of testing on site with major mining companies, covering thousands of kilometres in ambient temperatures up to 50 degrees.

We recently sampled the HiLux BEV as a daily driver in metropolitan use, to see if its mining-focused credentials translate to being a practical alternative to traditional diesel power for tradies working in busy urban environments.