Bellroy Desk Caddy (tech Organizer) - Black

Product Information

The new fourth generation Caddy may appear to be just a facelifted model at first glance, but Volkswagen has made some significant changes beyond the aesthetics. An all-new interior further bolsters the Caddy’s position of being one of the best in its class when it comes to quality and driver comfort.

The premium M-TECH blends unrivalled performance with luxury finishes and striking design to produce the ultimate in golf club transportation. It’s all in the details More concerning, there’s a touch-sensitive panel on the roof that includes the ‘button’ for the Caddy Cargo’s built-in maintenance call system, and we have managed to accidentally activate this while reaching to adjust the sun visor. This would not have happened with an actual button. What about the touchscreen infotainment system?Since its release a few years ago, the Peak Design Tech Pouch has been hailed for its modularity and expandability and is certainly one of the best tech pouches around. The accordion-style opening isn’t just functional, but also beautiful in the way that only an immaculately designed piece of kit can be. Make no mistake, this is definitely a pouch that rides on the larger side, but if you “roll deep“ with your tech, this will have a place for everything, and everything in its place. We’ve been testing the Thule Subterra Powershuttle Plus for a little over a month now, and it’s seen everyday use as our go-to tech organizer around coffee houses in England and on a to Porto, Portugal. Why We Like It: The origami-like organization is there when you need it and folds away when you don’t. The flip side to this is that when driving on country lanes, the lane-keeping system is almost constantly nibbling at the steering, as if it’s ever so slightly wired on caffeine. You’ll even find it practically guiding you round the corners on occasion.

It’s a clever engine, too, with cylinder deactivation tech on board. This means it can shut down two of its four cylinders under light load, such as when you’re cruising along at a constant speed, and this saves fuel. Also adding to the premium look and feel of this organizer is the single, metal OOK zipper. While we typically prefer a reverse coil zipper, this adds to the pouch’s high-class look. And it’s been working pretty smoothly in our testing so far—so no complaints there. Bellroy Tech Kit Zipper The petrol-power Caddy TSI claims 43.5-44.1mpg with the standard six-speed manual gearbox, 41.5-42.2mpg with the DSG auto. VW Caddy service warranty It also uses a petrol particulate filter (PPF) to take some of the nastier emissions out of the exhaust gases. For those who’ve had issues with diesel particulate filters in the past, this might sound worrying, but there seem to have been fewer problems with PPFs – perhaps because petrol exhaust has less particulate matter in the first place. What’s it like to drive? That means the Caddy TSI is ideally suited if your business requires lots of shorter trips, where the petrol engine will operate in its efficient temperature range more often than a diesel would.

Sharper steering, better cornering

That price difference also makes the petrol Caddy a great deal if you’re specifically searching for an automatic: the top-spec Commerce Pro TSI automatic costs just about the same as a lower-spec Commerce Plus diesel auto. Should I buy a Volkswagen Caddy Cargo TSI? These identically Stellantis-engineered vehicles offer an impressive blend of practicality, refinement, fuel economy, technology and value. So VW is right to be taking them very seriously – the latest Caddy stands no chance if it can’t tussle with these successfully. The Powershuttle has a full clamshell opening which provides easy access to everything inside and makes it very easy to see what’s going on throughout the pouch. We like the opening, but the single zip is somewhat restricting. We would have liked to see two zippers on the opening as it would enable you to zip up the pouch from any point. We generally find two zips to be more user-friendly across the board…it’s not a huge issue on this pouch, but we’ve gotten frustrated with it a few times. Petrol Caddy Cargo models don’t suffer penalties in terms of payload – the short-wheelbase model will carry up to 659kg, the long-wheelbase up to 700kg (which is more than the diesel equivalents). However, the rival Citroen Berlingo petrol van can still carry more.

On the variable service scheme, the same 18,600-mile / 24-month interval for the oil and inspection service remains, but a regular oil service will flex between 9,300 and 18,600 miles, depending on how the van is used and driven. VW Caddy Cargo standard equipment Volkswagen vans are typically thought of as expensive, but the Caddy Cargo comes in with very attractive – perhaps aggressive – pricing, even at retail. As diverse as Bellroy’s lineup of pouches is, there’s room for at least one more. While the stylish looks are more or less what you’d expect out of the brand, the unique features are what sets it apart from its siblings. Okay, we won’t pretend it’s hard to deduce what this unique feature is based on the name alone, but that won’t stop us from enlightening you further with this review. Bellroy Desk Caddy | It definitely has something the other Bellroy pouches don’t. The standard model is a touch longer than it was before, the Maxi a touch shorter – which has exactly the kind of impact you’d expect on the load space. However, both feature lower loading-floors and can fit taller items inside, despite the vans having lower rooflines on the outside. And it’s not as though the petrol engine is particularly thirsty on longer journeys, either – during our time testing this TSI model we found the claimed economy easy to match, and even beat it on some occasions. Anything else I need to know?

Volkswagen Caddy Cargo individual model reviews

VW claims a fuel economy figure of between 41.4mpg and 44.1mpg ( WLTP), with CO2 emissions of between 145g/km and 155g/km. That’s significantly more CO2 than the diesels, but to put a happier spin on things, the petrol Caddy Cargo will achieve these numbers very soon after starting up without the long wait for a diesel to warm up. Several generations of Polo, Golf and Passat BlueMotion were sold in the UK. VW no longer produces such cars, but many of the lessons learned have informed the design and engineering of its latest models. The standard van can take a load volume of up to 3.2m3 while the Caddy Maxi can swallow up to 4.2cubic metres. There are two asymmetrical doors at the rear that open to 90 degrees and can be unlatched to a further 180 degrees.

A 1.5-litre TSI turbo petrol is also available in the UK with 114hp / 220Nm. This brings even better engine refinement, has easily enough muscle for moderate payloads and will be the most fun to drive if you're enthusiatic behind the wheel. The fixed service intervals we've been given seem a little short, which could put some buyers off - though if you opt for the variable schedule, this may improve. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who open up their bag, briefcase, or sling to find an abominable maelstrom of pens, chargers, flashlights and sundry loose items, and those who use pouches to carefully organize their lives and bags. We assume, dear readers of Carryology, that you have chosen the moral high ground and are the second kind of person. If you do plan to regularly max the payload, stretching to the extra torque of the 122hp will probably be worth it. But all of the diesels offer surprisingly crisp response to your right foot, suggesting real care and attention has been applied to the development and tuning. At the top left, there is a large sleeve that stretches down the entire length of the pouch. We’ve been using this to store a laptop charger, but it’s a pretty versatile compartment that you can cram just about anything down. (Not literally anything, but you get the idea. It’s a great place to stash something that won’t fit anywhere else.) Thule Subterra Powershuttle Plus Right Side OrganizationThe load area of this new fourth-generation Caddy has remained the same as its predecessor, which will be good news to those who might want to transfer an existing storage setup. What’s more, it’s a particularly nice gearbox to use, underlining once again that a lot of what underpins the Caddy Cargo is closely related to the Volkswagen Golf. Volkswagen fits the Caddy Cargo with its latest 1.5-litre TSI Evo turbocharged petrol engine. It produces 114hp and 220Nm of torque. In the Caddy’s case, it not only enables a bunch of the latest technology – including VW's latest touchscreen infotainment system – but also makes the new van feel far more modern to drive than the old one. The exceptions are for the seven-speed DSG automatic transmission, which claims 54.3mpg, and the highest specification models, which are down just over 1mpg due to the changes in standard equipment (including the wheels).