Volkswagen Caddy 5 VS Toyota HiAce

With its 1742kg tare weight (unladen) and 2450kg GVM, the Caddy Life has a 708kg payload rating. In real world use, seven large adults would use up most if not all of that before you could add any luggage, so keep this load limit in mind if you need to carry half a rugby team to training.

However, for most urban requirements involving kids, this weight limit would be more than adequate if you need to haul them and their friends and their gear for a multitude of tasks, from weekday school runs to weekend sports to holiday getaways. And up to 100kg of that 708kg can be carried on the roof, which is ideal for storage solutions like roof-pods.

The Caddy Life is also rated to tow up to 1500kg of braked trailer. And with its generous 4213kg GCM rating (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time), that means it can haul its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight, which is a handy capability for many work or play duties.

However, given the tow ball download (TBD) limit is only 75kg, that could present a challenge for those wanting to tow 1500kg given that TBD is usually around 10 per cent of trailer weight (or in this case about double the stated TBD limit).

Even so, one of the Caddy Life’s best features is the versatility of its second and third-row seats, which can be configured to significantly expand load volume.

For example, the backrests on both rows can be folded flat to provide a raised load floor sufficient for carting many bulky items from a load of cardboard for recycling to flatpack furniture.

However, if you need maximum load volume, the second and third rows can be easily removed from the vehicle to create a spacious van.

For starters, there’s more than half a metre of floor length and almost half a cubic metre of load volume behind the third-row seats, which is ideal for grocery shops, school bags and the like.

This expands to more than 1.4 metres of floor and more than 1.7 cubic metres of load volume when the third-row seat is removed.

This space expands again to more than 2.2 metres of floor length and more than 3.0 cubic metres of load volume with both the second and third rows removed.

That’s in the same ballpark as the small commercial van class (under 2.5-tonne GVM) and the sliding doors on either side provide similar load access, so in terms of moving either people or cargo, the versatility of this design makes it very efficient at both.

Given its primary role as a people-mover, there’s generous internal storage for personal items, starting with a large-bottle holder and deep bin in the base of each front door. There’s also a handy driver’s drawer in the right-side dash, open storage in the centre dash-pad and a large glove box.

The centre console has a pair of small-bottle/cupholders and there’s a lidded box at the rear. There’s also a full-width overhead shelf which can hold heaps of stuff and doesn’t feel too close to your forehead due to the generous roof height.

Second-row passengers get a small-bottle/cupholder and bin in each sliding door, plus there are pockets on the front seat backrests and some handy fold-down trays complete with cupholders which are ideal for snacks, games etc on long trips.

Third-row passengers are also well catered for with small-bottle/cupholders and storage on each side.

Our barn-door-equipped test vehicle has a hefty 2245kg kerb weight and 3300kg GVM, which results in a genuine one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1055kg. Up to 120kg of that weight can be carried on Toyota’s triple roof-rack set.

It’s also rated to tow up to 1500kg of braked trailer, which is less than some rivals but in reality should adequately cover most towing requirements of van operators.

And with its 4800kg GCM rating (or how much weight it can legally carry and tow at the same time), that means it can carry its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight. So, that’s a combined total of more than 2.5 tonnes of cargo-carrying ability, which would comfortably meet or exceed most job requirements.

The generously-sized cargo bay, which offers an impressive 6.2 cubic metres of load volume, is accessed from either side through sliding doors with large 1010mm openings, or from the rear through the optional barn doors which can be opened to 180 degrees (with special lower hinges to hold them there) allowing easy access for forklifts.

The cargo bay is 2530mm long, 1760mm wide and 1340mm high and with 1268mm between the rear wheel housings it can swallow up to two standard Aussie pallets or up to three Euro pallets, held in place by a choice of six load-anchorage points.

There’s plenty of internal lighting, the walls and doors are lined to mid-height and the roof features a full-length internal lining, which is unusual for vans and we suspect contributes to suppression of tyre noise emanating from the rear wheel housings.

Cabin storage includes a large bottle holder and bin in the base of each front door, small-bottle/cupholders on either side of the dash and in the centre, plus a single glove box. The well-designed centre console offers another two bottle holders plus large internal storage, which is capped by a hinged lid that multi-tasks as a shallow storage tray and handy work desk.