THE Volkswagen Caravelle may not have been consciously designed with the disabled person in mind. That would have been uncanny prescience, better left to the realm of metaphysical speculation, but there is no doubt the Caravelle's makers have got it right. Robert Govender takes the Caravelle for a good, hard and exacting ride.

Volkswagen is German today, not American or British as may well have been the case, but because of the conceit and lack of imagination of the Americans and the British.

Shortly after the war, the contrite Germans offered some of their treasured family silver in expiation of their enormous war crimes. One of the treasures was Volkswagen, albeit still at that stage in the elementary "people's car" mould conceived by the Fuehrer. The VW factory near Hanover, close to the German Democratic Republic border, was in in near-ruins. The American Ford company was invited to take over and recall it to highly profitable life.

But Henry Ford curtly dismissed the offer to make his rich multi-national even richer, with words which still haunt America, particularly in the context of today' ferocious new Cars Wars: "What we're being offered here isn't worth a damn."

The general assumption is that big 'uns' like the Caravelle are difficult to manouevre. Nonsense, they are easier to drive than a motor car, and add a lot to active safety with the elevated driver-view of the road. Visibility is first rate, alert drivers can't miss very much, and this gives your famed powers of anticipation an extra sharp edge!

There's no dimunition of power, the Caravelle is an excellent road holder even at fairly high speeds and on wet and dry roads. It comes with a petrol or diesel engine, has an immboliser for both types of engine with a fuel cut-off device, power assisted steering, height adjustable seat for driver and front passenger, child proof lock on sliding door, heated rear window, safety cell construction and some thoughtful anti-corrosion safeguards.

The Caravelle also destroys the myth that big vehicles are fuel guzzlers. That was certainly not the case in my own test runs, especially bearing in mind, as readers of this column well know, that I never consciously strive for petrol economy. I am in fact heavy footed on the accelerator, because it's fun, providing of course you are responsible and know when and where to open up.

Those, like disabled people who are affectionately family-conscious, will appreciate the Caravelle for helping to create a warm and intimate atmosphere. It's a delight for long journeys and has space for more than one wheelchair.

As for the independent trader, this is the ultimate in pleasure and business travel: plenty of room for a big family with extremely generous space for your stock from the cash-and-carry. The Caravelles are no more expensive than many saloons, they start from Pounds 19,552. 00.