Fridae

Troubled times are ahead for drivers, as fuel prices are soaring beyond US$150 per barrel mark as analysts now expect crude prices to shoot up towards US$200 a barrel. Experts are also predicting that car owners with lower income will junk their keys as the cost for running a car becomes beyond their means.

Solutions from car manufacturers have been few and slow. Japanese carmakers like Honda and Toyota are among the pioneers in making hybrid cars available to the masses. Honda has been the most impressive with its FCX which is limited to leasing only in California and Tokyo at the moment, where its output would only be hydrogen. Mazda has also been highly praised for its weight reduction program on its new car range. While modern vehicles are piling up weight with the need to meet modern safety regulations and high levels of luxury equipment expectations from consumers, Mazda has bucked the trend to keep its cars weight down without sacrificing any equipment or refinements.

European car manufacturers are about to offer hybrid cars as soon as 2009 with notable releases of BlueTec cars from Mercedes Benz. Current Western solutions to greener automobiles have been frugal and low carbon emitting but still powerful diesel engines and Stop-Start systems that cut engines off while the car is being held captive at traffic lights. Interestingly, the European car industry is backing petrol to become the solution, at least in the near future. Smaller capacity petrol engines mated with a turbocharger or being supercharged is said to be both performance enhancing and efficient.

Diesel passenger cars however are making up in increasing number of new car sales in Europe. Lower consumption and emission figures may make for good headlines, but to really evaluate a vehicle’s environmental impact one would need a far more holistic approach. One that starts when lumps of iron ore are mined and finishes at the end of recycling. A car’s dust to dust lifes cycle must be taken more into consideration as consumers must be aware that their purchase cannot last forever. In Europe, car manufacturers are made to be responsible for the cars they put on the roads. A 90 percent recyclable rate is the minimum these days.

That said, this week’s Auto Club’s feature focuses on a van, the Volkswagen Caddy 1.9 Tdi which runs on a diesel engine (Of course you saw it coming!).

This Polish-built van is no push over on the roads as it dishes out 103 horsepower and 250 NM of whopping torque. Mated with Volkswagen famed DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox), gear changes are lightning quick. Traffic light battles are usually in the favour of the Caddy, as you can see astonished faces of drivers in much pricier passenger petrol engined cars.

A 0-60km/h dash can take place under four seconds. Mind you this is a 2240 kg vehicle, that is fully equipped with two airbags, proper air-con system, a decent sound system and powered windows and mirrors. Such performance has no effect on the fuel consumption, as the Caddy sips 7.0 litres of diesel per 100 km.

Volkswagen’s policy of sharing components among its products is a very well known fact. Here, the Volkswagen Golf does some contributes to the basic dash architecture and the front suspension (Machperson Struts). Appropriately, the highly coveted Multi-link rear suspension from the Golf does not make it to the Caddy, as it is not capable of dealing with loads that the Caddy is suppose to deal with. Hence, the dual leaf springs are applied here.

It does cause a commotion once in contact with bumpy road surfaces, but the Caddy still gives the driver and one passenger an assured feel. Being a goods vehicle, there is a fair amount of road noise to deal with as insulation materials are not in existence at the rear. Also, handling is not as crispy due to its height, heavier engine block and skinny tires. But its actually all good here, considering this is a commercial vehicle.

Now here’s the catch, the Caddy will only be a reasonable buy if it is registered as a goods vehicle. You would need to register the Caddy under a company, hence you will be only entitled to pay road tax rated at 10% of the OMV every annum. Should you chose to alter the Caddy into a passenger cum goods vehicle by adding rear passenger seats with seat belts, you will penalised to pay road tax rated at 100% of the OMV every annum.

The difference in road tax payable is certainly huge. There are people who have resorted to throwing in sofas at the goods bay as an alternative. Please do not do this, as you are putting the lives of your passengers at extreme risk! Rear passengers who are not belted up are subjected to a frontal throw into the front windscreen in an event of an accident, leaving not much to the imagination as death or severe injury at best can only be the outcome.

This Caddy comes with a rather hefty price at S$58,000, however it justifies the cost with solid build quality and sound engineering expected from the German manufacturer. Which other van comes with such performance? This is the only van in the world to be equipped with such an advance gearbox!

The attraction of the Caddy is certainly its performance, low fuel consumption, decent equipment list and a huge boot space for activities that plenty of us would have been inspired by the Japanese porn industry.

	Volkswagen Caddy 1.9 TDi
Engine	Front, 4 Cyls in line, 1896cc, Diesel
Transmission	6-speed DSG automatic
Max. output	105hp@ 4000rpm
Max. torque	250nm@1900rpm
Acceleration 0-100 km/h	10.2 secs
Fuel consumption	7.0 L/100km (combined cycle)
CO2 emissions	Euro IV compliant
Gross Weight	2240 kg
Price with COE*	$58,000*

*Based on the vehicle being registed as a commercial vehicle in Singapore where the road tax is rated at 10% of the OMV every annum. Please contact your local distributor for prices in your country.

Notes: This 1.9 Tdi engine is also available in the Volkswagen Golf in Europe, and it is hugely popular. Given the possible changes to Singapore’s road tax system with regards to Diesel passenger cars, Euro Diesel passenger cars would certainly be a wise choice and a relief to many drivers in Singapore! Before the realisation of properly engineered “green” cars that does not rely on fossil fuels, I would suggest diesel powered cars to be a good alternative as they are frugal and low carbon emitting.

Fridae Auto Club will be soon test driving the monsterous Volkswagen Touareg R50 in the near future, and it looks to be a spectacular drive!