The new Volkswagen Caddy people-mover variant has been awarded full marks by crash tester ANCAP against its latest 2020-22 criteria, by way of data from sister organisation Euro NCAP.
The Caddy managed 84 per cent for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child occupant protection, 69 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 79 per cent for safety assist.
The MPV is based on the familiar Caddy van but has three rows of seats access in the rear by sliding doors. It’s aimed at people who can’t stretch to a Multivan, and don’t want an SUV.
The cargo van version remains unrated.
Despite its humble commercial origins, the test images and video show the head-protecting second-row side airbags and a front-centre airbags deploying.
The crash report refers to third-row head-protecting airbags too, though the images don’t appear to show them. Volkswagen Australia has since confirmed they are indeed fitted here.
Autonomous emergency braking (car-to-car, vulnerable road user and junction assist), a lane support system with lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, emergency lane-keeping, and blind spot monitoring are standard on all variants too.
“The purpose of People Movers is to transport a large number of passengers in a family or business setting, so it’s very pleasing to see the safety and design of vehicles in this segment improving,” said ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg.
“Volkswagen has made notable safety improvements in the new generation Caddy people mover, compared to the previous model, and should be congratulated for achieving this 5 star ANCAP safety rating.”
