I need a new car,

Two adults no kids but 3 dogs compete at dog agility go camping, sailing, biking skiing etc

Sen a maxi life and think it fits our lifestyle, they are pricey so it would be the most expensive car/van i have ever owned!

Any real life experiences of them?

Thanks!

Oh and alternative vehicle suggestions gratefully accepted as well! 😀

Driven a normal Caddy rental for a week, comfy, golf ish more car like, not that big. I have a dodgy back at times so reaching in to pack/move/unpack is a pain. Not being able to get into change is a pain compared to something taller. Not sure how much room you would have if your taking the 3 dogs camping though.

Had one for 3yrs and still have access to it now if I want.
Does everything and more, with ease.
Swallows bikes whole, dogs, kids, crap, tip runs, diy, ply, you name it.
Boot is massive as is.
Rear bench comes out in seconds and will take 4 bikes front wheel off. So 3 dogs is easy.
You can get changed inside them quite easily – people forget that you can’t stand up inside most vans unless it is a high roof version and that gores for Trafics, Transits, etc.
Get the load liner and a few spares trim clips – then fit it UNDER the rails not on top as it suggests – that way its wipe clean and no need to pull the liner out ever because crap has fallen between the holes you have to cut in it.
Rails take any rack you want to fit, towbars are pennies, stereo is great as standard.
Cruise is a must – only £120’ish to retrofit is not factory.
You won’t regret it – far better than anything else out there in the real world.

Cheers guys
I think i have bought one in my head but just need to justify the cost!

Ford Grand Tourneo Connect is a cheaper, smart looking option.

Caddy will have a much, much higher residual come sale time too.
Make sure it is the full fat Maxi Life though and not the Maxi that many dealers advertise as the Life – only the Maxi Life has the 7 seats even though the Maxi is LWB with the windows.

Yeah i have seen the maxi 5 seater ruled it out as not enough space

A tourneo is on the list already not many in my price range about in my area at the moment.

I haven’t driven either yet but will do soon!

Caddy will have a much, much higher residual come sale time too.

Aint that the truth, some what i call very high mileage examples going for thousands

Caddy will have a much, much higher residual come sale time too.

Is residuals another word for deposit? Depends how long you want to keep it for.

We have a 2010 maxi life. Best car for everything I ve had.

Depending on your budget if your not looking at new consider the 2010 ones as if you get the one like ours with pd engine it had no dpf which can cause issues and isn’t common rail either. Slightly more on tax and fuel but bullet proof

I bought one just under a year ago, 2012 model with the 2.0 tdi engine, black with tail gate..

I bought it because my trust Octavia was getting a bit long in the tooth (197k miles)and still on original clutch etc, so decided now was the time to change.

I love it! Even though I’ve only had it for about 8 months now, Its been great for adventures.

Its very versatile, I removed the 2 rear seats as I wanted the load space for bikes etc, and just fold the split 3 rear seats down as per my requirements.

Great for slinging a few bikes in, can fit 4 mtbs with wheels on and minimal effort and 2 people or 3 mtbs (whole, again)and 3 people or 5 people and 5 bikes (front wheels off).

I’ve taken the 3 seats out for a festival and a double mattress fits in perfectly, I had loads of space to lie alongside my missy, and I’m 6’2″. Cupholders great for a bedside table!

I also have a 3.8m inflatable boat with 15hp outboard and all the gear that goes in the back with ease.

Great for weekends away with the lads, much better being able to carry 5 of us and all our kit rather than split between 2 vans.

The life over the standard maxi is more car like and ‘nicer’ with the full length head liner and no exposed metalwork in the back. The cupholders for the rearward 2 passengers are handy for water bottles, chain lube, straps for bikes, wet wipes etc and stops them from just kicking about in the main load area. They also make a nice shelf to keep fishing rods out of the way and safe.

I came from a 130bhp so the 140 2.0tdi is great for me on the steep hills of devon, not driven a 1.6 in maxi form but im sure it would be fine if not exactly fast. The 1.6 is pretty torquey in the swb caddy i drive too, but the extra bhp makes it more liveable as a daily driver.

Parking is fine (given a long enough spot) and the height means you can fit in all but the lowest of car parks (not come across one yet). Cheaper entry into wales and no van speed limits.

So yeah, great!

I still have a full set of custom insulated blinds that were made for mine.
Total blackout inside and privacy to boot.

Depending on your budget if your not looking at new consider the 2010 ones as if you get the one like ours with pd engine it had no dpf which can cause issues and isn’t common rail either. Slightly more on tax and fuel but bullet proof

Thanks i didn’t know that

And thanks to all for the advice!

They do a Kombi version of the commercial Caddy Maxi too. May be better suited if you want occasional rear seats for a couple of people rather than a full-on people carrier (and you don’t need to store the rear seat row of the Maxi Life somewhere). Less trim in the back so more load space and harder wearing too.

Yes I saw the Kombi but i believe that it is classed as a van rather than car so is restricted on speeds (60mph on dual carriageway, 50mph on a national speed limit) when VAT was added to the cost it worked out as a similar price too from a VW dealer.

I take your point though and wouldn’t rule it out at all, although i would need one with the rear opening windows

Kombi IS a commercial with all the hassle that entails.

We’ve had our Maxi Life for a couple of years or so – the third row of seats have been used twice in that time, but usually live out in the boiler room leaving loads of room for bikes, tents, inflatable kayak and various other toys. They weren’t easy to find when we got ours, but well worth a bit of a wait/search.

I bought a Maxi Life (2012 model) a few years ago and been pretty pleased with it, nowadays I ride a recumbent which is 6ft long and anything other than vans doesn’t have the height/length. The interior plastics tidy the whole lot up nicely compared to a van – you see a few as taxis – but still leave assorted cubby holes to put things in (there’s a couple of shallow spaces under the middle seat footwells too). Would have liked a T5 but the difference in price was crazy and there seem to be assorted T5 niggles, plus you don’t lose that much space with the Maxi. Re the Kombis, aside from any commercials issue the prices *seem* to be effectively higher once you’ve added all the extras included in the Maxi, but they were too new at the time to tell if that worked through to s/h prices. Prior to 2012 (2011?) the middle seats only folded, the later revision means you can lift them out – and it’s a 2:1 split so it’s not all or nothing. There *is* a thick plastic load liner for it, but it’s 90-100 quid IIRC, and is a weird fit – almost a little too short and a little too wide to fit neatly, and tyres slip on it – an alternative is to buy the kinda circle-embossed rubber matting and cut (oversize) to fit, tucking the excess under side plastics etc (one guy on the caddy2k forum’s done this).

The 1.6 is actually quite nippy – I’ve gone up to Wales with 4 other blokes with rucsacs, there’s been ample room for w/e luggage behind the rear bench and it’s pulled reasonably well through the hilly stuff.

At the time the 2.0tdi seemed hard to find – OTOH I managed to get one with factor tint, so it’s not that easy to see what’s in the back, and I think that might be a pretty common option.

Re mikewsmith’s post about reaching in – the Maxi ride height seem to be a few inches higher than the equivalent panel van – eg Sky or British Gas installers vans – so for anyone with a bad back (eg a neighbour I was dropping off at the chiropactor a few months back) its probably easier to slide in/out than something a little lower/more car-like – the upright driving position’s a lot more comfortable than my OH’s old A4/current Octavia, at least for me (one buttock gets cranky !)

Downside: not sure how common this is, whether it’s across all modern VWs, or just Caddys, or just recent 1.6TDIs, but there does seem to be an issue with injectors failing – typically at 40kish (?), and one of mine’s just gone 🙁 Initial quote from local VW independant is a 500+ repair – which is the figure I’ve seen bandied around on a caddy forum – tho’ they also mentioned it might be 200 higher if they have to buy via VW 😮 But I’m hoping they’re wrong..by comparison, some T5 issues seem to be related to driveshafts and dualmass flywheels (not sure if that’s all of ’em either).

There’s some excellent info on the caddy 2k forum http://caddy2k.com/forum/ but only the main chat area (in which there’s a fair bit of info) is accessible until you’ve made 5+ posts and then request access:
http://caddy2k.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21024

HTH

Ah – seems the injector issue’s on the 1.6tdi : http://caddy2k.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=28782&sid=fffa36f66e66dbae9663ef2d7b7d8bb8

I do, had it for years, love it to bits

..and *possibly* newer injectors have a different insulation compound (partway down pg 2)
http://caddy2k.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24750&start=15

The OE liner is supposed to be a “weird size” guys – its designed to cover everything as unlike a van it has carpet, extra seats, etc. It isn’t however too short or too wide – it fits bob on when you read how it is supposed to be installed.
Its easy to fit permanently though with a little forethought and an hour more over just cutting out the holes and throwing it on top.
Also once used it is bloody grippy – not at all slippy.

Regarding injector problems I’d say the main culprit there is probably supermarket fuel use. The biggest oil refinery in Europe is just down the road. The supermarket tankers fill up from tanks that store left over, close to out of date, fuel from BP etc… once it’s sat there a while they add up to 15% biofuel. Then the supermarkets pick it up once it’s sat a while longer.

Fill up at proper (BP, Shell, etc…) busy stations and your injectors should be fine.

Injector issues are down to electrical insulation failure, how would poor quality fuel cause that?.