CMC Reimo Caddy Camp Maxi

Berths: 2+2 Travel seats: 5 Base vehicle: VW Caddy Maxi Life Gross weight: 2,345kg Payload: 400kg

If the higher, more upright driving position of a VW Transporter T6 puts you off, then the smaller Caddy is a more car-like alternative in which you’ll sit lower, behind a longer bonnet.

Think of the Caddy as a sort of stretched VW Golf van and you won’t be too wide of the mark.

Under that hood you can have a 2-litre TDI diesel motor with 102 or 150PS, but a more unusual variation is the 1.4-litre TSI petrol with 125PS. With some cities now taking an anti-diesel stance and the Caddy’s dimensions being so city-friendly, it’s the refined petrol model that we’d go for.

Adding to the appeal, both power units are offered with either a manual gearbox or Volkswagen’s highly acclaimed DSG twin-clutch automatic.

There’s a wide range of VW options to choose from, too, including air-conditioning, sat-nav, adaptive cruise control, Park Assist, heated front seats, privacy glass, 16 or 17in alloy wheels and Bi-Xenon headlights. Key additions to the conversion include a roof bed (£595), diesel-powered blown-air heating (£1,400) and a tailgate awning (£90).

However you spec your Caddy Camp Maxi, this is a clever little camper. Based on the Life version of the VW, it starts as a people-carrier rather than a panel van, and the Reimo conversion retains the three-person rear seat for passenger carrying (with two Isofix positions), as well as the sliding doors on both sides. That ensures the Caddy is a useful and practical everyday vehicle.

In camping mode, the back seat folds forward and converts into a rear-facing bench. Mated to a forward-facing seat which can store away clipped to the side wall and a table attached to the galley unit, there’s room for a small family to dine here. The smart, gloss white cabinetwork on the offside includes a good range of features for such a small campervan. There’s a slide-out single-burner hob, as well as a stainless-steel sink and an 18-litre compressor fridge. Stored in a drawer, the portable Waeco fridge can even be removed for picnics on the beach, while two 12-litre water containers make supplies of water easy to replenish.

There’s a selection of useful storage, too, including room for a Porta Potti, while the rear seats also fold down to make a commendably flat bed measuring 1.95m by 1.30m. If you go for the upper bed option, it stows against the front-hinged lid when that’s raised, and offers a 1.90m by 1.20m mattress with plenty of headroom, even for an adult.

More fully equipped than some ‘camper car’ or ‘weekender’ conversions, the Caddy Camp Maxi comes with CMC Reimo’s usual high-quality finish and three-year conversion warranty. With the all-too-rare option of petrol power and a car park-friendly overall height of just 1.96m, it is a very versatile conversion that also looks well priced (from under £35k) compared with a used VW T5 campervan.

If you enjoyed this review, you can read loads more like it in the Summer 2017 issue of What Motorhome magazine.

There are over 47 campervans and motorhomes featured in the latest issue and you can get a digital version of the latest issue of What Motorhome magazine here.