It’s so chunky that in a fight between it and a sledgehammer, my money would be on the dash every time.

Meanwhile the seats are hard but very supportive over long journeys, although the full bulkhead means that you can’t have the seat back in a slouched position.

I ended up in a slightly awkward ‘sit-up-and-beg’ pose during my test week.

There are lots of little cubby holes dotted about, while the CD player is a nice quality one, not one of those cheapo affairs you sometimes find in vans.

In the back

In the cargo end, we find side sliding load doors on both sides. It’s a nice extra to have but I would have thought it a bit OTT personally.

Meanwhile the rear doors are split 60/30 and there are no fewer than eight load-lashing eyes.

The Caddy must be unique in having two coffee cup holders in the load bay! – no doubt this is because the van doubles up as an MPV.

There isn’t a lot of padding in the rear end and I’d definitely recommend a dose of ply-lining, which is cheap and will keep this vehicle spotless, even among the rigours of a busy fleet life.

At selling time it can be removed and will pay for itself time and again.

On the road

The engine is a bit rattly on start-up and isn’t one of the most refined in the business, but under way, this van fairly flies along, with a 0-60mph time of 13.3 seconds an a top speed of 103mph.

I really wouldn’t recommend the higher-powered unit unless you want to rush round the country delivering urgent blood supplies or suchlike.

The 104bhp on offer here is plenty for most fleet needs and although I didn’t scale any huge mountains during my test week, I can’t see this powerplant struggling anywhere.

It’s a real ride-on-rails experience too – the Caddy must be one of the best sorted vans for handling in its class.

The DSG gearbox is a pleasure to use, especially in city traffic where it will save a whole lot of pressure on the clutch foot and leg.

The lever can be nudged to the left and ‘paddled’ up and down to change gear manually if required but I can’t see why anyone would want to bother with that.

In auto mode the changes are totally seamless and Volkswagen reckons that fuel economy won’t be any more than with the manual.

On the combined cycle VW reckons 40.9mpg – not at all bad for a vehicle of this size.

Verdict

Volkswagen manages the build quality that some other manufacturers only dream of and this van is a well-deserved winner of its Fleet News title.

The bigger version can do nothing but enhance the Caddy’s reputation even further.