The Volkswagen Caravelle eHybrid comes with a lounge in the back. You’ve probably heard that line before, but this one really does qualify for the airport analogy. I stretched out in a small armchair and faced my fellow passengers across a table and, for once, the overworked description of a vehicle as “business class” felt accurate.
At heart, most large passenger vehicles remain people carriers, or what commuters would call a “bus”. They may offer smarter upholstery and more expensive fittings, but everyone typically faces the same direction in successive rows. The Caravelle allows the middle seats to be turned around so that four passengers share the same space.
The closest equivalent I have seen has been in futuristic concept cars that have no steering wheel and really do become lounges on wheels. But there is little futuristic about the Caravelle, aside from embracing the hybrid electric revolution.
To be clear, passenger comfort is not about the fabric or upholstery, but rather about the space. The individual seats have broad cushions, supportive backs and their own armrests. The pale upholstery in the vehicle in which I was a passenger added to the sense of space created by a high roof and large side windows.
There was enough distance between the facing rows for adults to stretch their legs without having to untangle feet in the centre floor. If you don’t swivel the seats around, either of the second row seats can be folded forward to turn their backs into a table, with two cupholders and shallow trays moulded into the surface. It works for drinks, snacks and phones, and gives passengers a shared focal point. The sturdy plastic construction makes sense in a family vehicle – more so than would an elaborate piece of furniture that would pale in the presence of takeaway coffee.
The table does occupy much of the space between the rows. It is also too uneven to serve as an ideal laptop desk. For eating or keeping smaller items within reach, however, it comes into its own.
The fundamental key to the lounge arrangement is that it changes the social experience of the journey. We could talk without addressing the backs of one another’s heads, or having necks twisted far enough to delight a chiropractor. But as an executive shuttle, four colleagues could use travelling time for a meeting.
Sound adds a further dimension: The 840W Harman Kardon system packs 13 speakers into the Caravelle, and it is superb. Sitting in the back, I could hear the music with exceptional clarity without the volume being maxed. Every part of the cabin gets the full benefit, turning the rear lounge into a listening room on wheels.
Easy access is one of the strengths of the vehicle: through a wide sliding door on either side, so entering the rear cabin feels closer to walking into a small room than clambering into the third row of an SUV. The height helps, especially for adults who have learned to approach seven-seaters with their heads bowed.
Volkswagen says the new Caravelle has gained another 34mm in passenger-compartment height. That sounds minor until it is added to a vehicle already designed around upright movement. The electric sliding doors also spare passengers from wrestling with a large door in a narrow parking bay.
Our little lounge took on another role during a market shop. Boxes of fruit and vegetables went onto the seats, with 10kg bags of potatoes, oranges and pumpkin finding space on the floor between them. The wide side opening made loading easy, while the separate chairs provided numerous places to put things.
It was an effective demonstration of capacity, if a poor demonstration of how to carry pineapples safely. Loose bottles, boxes and fruit would have to be secured before setting off. For a serious market trip, one or two chairs could be moved and the crates placed on the floor.
This adaptability is built into the seat rails. The chairs can be moved to change the amount of legroom, rotated for the lounge arrangement or removed when carrying cargo takes priority. Volkswagen says they are 25% lighter than those of the previous generation, although “lighter” does not necessarily translate into “something you want to carry down a flight of stairs”.
The plug-in hybrid system also has an impact on the passengers, because electric driving reduces the noise and vibration reaching the rear cabin. Volkswagen pairs an 85kW electric motor with a 130kW 1.5-litre petrol engine and claims more than 90km of electric range. That should cover many school runs, airport transfers and shopping trips on battery power, with the petrol engine available for longer journeys.
Up to seven people can be accommodated, but filling every seat turns the lounge back into a people carrier. The arrangement works best when space is treated as part of the luxury.
The interior materials reveal the Caravelle’s working-vehicle ancestry. Plenty of hard plastic has made its way into the table, doors and seat mountings, and some of the fittings favour toughness over elegance. However, business class has never depended entirely on decorative trim. Its appeal lies in personal space and the freedom to eat, work or talk during the journey.
The Caravelle delivers all of that in a format that can be dismantled and rearranged as needed. Its lounge can become a dining area, a mobile office or additional room for market shopping. Just make sure the pineapples are packed away before the driver hits the brakes.
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge.