Volkswagen Caddy: from Golf pickup to city van

The Volkswagen Caddy is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle built by the Volkswagen Group since 1979. The first generation was a coupe utility derived from the Golf Mk1 and was sold in North America as the Rabbit Pickup; since then the name has covered a Polo-based van, a rebadged Škoda Felicia pickup and a Touran-based model. The first and second generations also came as pickups.

Volkswagen Caddy at a glance

History of the Volkswagen Caddy

The first Caddy, the Typ 14, was released in 1979 as a coupe utility and van based on the A1 platform of the Golf Mk1. It came about when Volkswagen of America experimented with Golf derivatives and developed a pickup with a 1.83 m bed; the result was sold in North America as the Rabbit Pickup, built at Westmoreland in Pennsylvania from 1978 to 1984 in LX and Sportruck trim. Early North American cars used a 1.6-litre petrol engine, joined by a 1.5-litre diesel for 1980, and these were soon replaced by a 1.6 diesel of 52 hp and a 1.7 petrol of 78 hp. The diesel came with a five-speed gearbox whose fifth gear, at 0.76:1, was labelled E for Economy. Payload was 500 kg and the maximum interior bed width 1,640 mm; the North American car had rectangular headlamps where the rest of the world kept round ones.

The Caddy nameplate was never used in North America. It first appeared in 1982, when the vehicle was released in Europe, where European Caddies were built at the TAS plant in Sarajevo between 1982 and 1992; a fibreglass-reinforced plastic box cap could turn the pickup into a small panel van with 2.65 m³ of cargo volume. The original Caddy was also produced in Uitenhage, South Africa, from 1981 until 2007 alongside the first-generation Golf. Worldwide production of the Typ 14 Rabbit Pickup and Caddy came to more than 207,000 vehicles, and for the pickup market Volkswagen also sold the Taro, a rebadged Toyota Hilux, from 1989 to 1997.

The second generation, the Typ 9K, was released in 1995 as the Polo Caddy: a light van designed by Volkswagen’s Spanish subsidiary SEAT and derived from the SEAT Ibiza 6K on the A03 platform. Its cargo floor measured 2.6 m², loading volume 2.9 m³ and payload about 550 kg depending on drivetrain and market, with two rear cargo doors of 60/40 split design and better safety equipment than before. A rebadged Škoda Felicia pickup was sold as the Typ 9U, the third generation Typ 2K was derived from the Touran platform with Golf Mk5 front suspension, and since 2021 the fourth generation Typ SB has been a rebadged Ford Tourneo Connect.

Design and features

• Golf-based origins: the first Caddy was a Golf Mk1 coupe utility with a 1.83 m bed.
• Rabbit Pickup: the North American name, built at Westmoreland from 1978 to 1984.
• Many platforms: Golf, Polo and Ibiza, Škoda Felicia, Touran and Ford Tourneo Connect.
• Panel van option: a plastic box cap turned the early pickup into a small van.
• Long life: more than 207,000 first-generation vehicles and production in South Africa until 2007.

Volkswagen Caddy versions

• Typ 14 (1979): the Golf-based pickup and van, sold as the Rabbit Pickup in North America.
• Typ 9K (1995): the Polo-based light van from SEAT.
• Typ 9U: a rebadged Škoda Felicia pickup.
• Typ 2K: the third generation on the Touran platform.
• Typ SB (2021): a rebadged Ford Tourneo Connect.

The first Caddy was a derivative of the Golf and the second came from the Polo; for pickup buyers Volkswagen also offered the rebadged Toyota Hilux known as the Taro. More cars are in the Volkswagen collection.

Sources

• Volkswagen Caddy, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, plants, production totals