The Caddy from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) is now available in two further versions: as a compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered TGI and as an elegant ‘Dark Label’ special edition. VWCV is thus expanding its Caddy model range with attractive variants, which can also be combined with each other.
The extensive range of petrol and diesel engines for the Caddy has been further expanded in the 35-centimetre longer Maxi with the addition of an alternative drive system: it is now also available with a CNG engine. The turbocharged 1.5-litre power train delivers 96 kW /131 PS and provides for good driving performance and low energy consumption in the big Caddy. The Caddy Maxi TGI achieves, for example, the energy label A+, making it the only vehicle in the product line to do so.
The Caddy TGI can be run in an especially financially attractive and environmentally friendly way using Bio-CNG. The cost of CNG is much lower than that of petrol or diesel. A kilogram of CNG also delivers around 1.5 times more energy than a litre of petrol – and 1.3 times more than a litre of diesel. In order to run a car as cheaply as with Bio-CNG the diesel price would have to be approximately 75 cents per litre; petrol would even have to be just 65 cents.
Much lower emission levels than conventional internal combustion engines all the way to carbon-neutral motoring are possible using Bio-CNG in the Caddy TGI. CNG comes in Germany from domestic production. All that is used in its production is waste and residues. Biomethane can be produced, for instance, from straw or sludge.
139 litres or 21.1 kg of CNG fit into the five steel tanks in the vehicle underbody. As a result of the tanks being mounted under the vehicle, the Caddy Maxi’s large cargo space can continue to be used as before. The quasi-monovalent CNG drive system in the Caddy also has an extra tank for petrol with a capacity of 8.25 litres. Should it ever on the odd occasion not be possible to get to a CNG fuel pump, there are thus adequate reserves on board. Quasi-monovalent means that the Caddy starts with the aid of petrol and then always runs on CNG, only switching to petrol if the gas tank is empty. This switching over happens with the occupants not noticing or having to do anything. The range and fuel level indicators switch automatically to the fuel currently being used.
At a consumption rate of 4.3 kg of CNG per hundred kilometres or, in corresponding terms, 118 grams of CO2 per one kilometre (combined cycle), more than 400 kilometres running on CNG and around a further 120 kilometres given a full tank of petrol should be possible, dependent on the individual driving style. To achieve this, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ Caddy Maxi TGI uses the latest 1.5-litre, 96-kW engine from the Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, which was developed specifically for using CNG.
Like the TGI, also available immediately to order and drive away is the special edition ‘Dark Label’ model with numerous black design elements and premium interior fittings. Supplied in only four muted exterior paint finishes, the model thus elegantly sets itself apart from the other Caddy line models.
Source: VWCV