Review
Citroën Berlingo mini MPV
Price: £12,795 - £16,795
/5
- Pros:
- Excellent space and access to cabin
- Huge boot with rear seats removed
- Hard-to-beat value for money
- Cons:
- Ungainly looks
- A bit noisy at high speeds
- Five-speed transmission needs an extra gear
pictured: Citroën Berlingo combi 2009 5 door
reviewed by Carbuyer
“You shouldn’t judge on appearances alone – this ugly duckling MPV will blossom into a swan once you discover its practical charms.”
At a glance
- The greenest
- e-HDi 90 Airdream EGS6 Multispace VTR 5dr
£15,295 - The cheapest
- VTi 95 Multispace VT 5dr
£12,795 - The fastest
- HDi 115 Multispace XTR 5dr
£16,795 - Top of the range
- HDi 115 Multispace XTR 5dr
£16,795
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The Berlingo is not the most attractive people carrier around. However, we love it all the more for this, as it's a proven case of substance over style. That tall roofline and those square, slabby sides give excellent head and legroom inside, and the large windows provide great all-round visibility. The well established 1.6-litre engine and gearbox range has a proven record, and adaptability between five and seven seats is a bonus. Truly the ace of space!
Drive
A sixth gear would be helpful
‘Capable’ is the best way to describe the performance of this workaday vehicle. It's not the fastest thing around, but it's steady, solid and can be surprisingly lively when the conditions – and driver – allow. A sixth gear would be helpful when high-speed cruising, though. As you’d expect, the tall body does roll about when hustled hard through the bends, but not to the extent where the tyres feel like they’re about to lose grip.
Comfort
The cabin is light and spacious
Again the Berlingo's van roots are apparent, but there are lots of useful benefits to the Multispace's commercial roots – not least plenty of head, leg and shoulder room for driver and up to six passengers. Standard kit is generous and you can even get electric heated mirrors, air-conditioning, remote central locking and handy storage drawers beneath the front seats.
Reliability
The Berlingo body hides commercial underpinnings
Traditionally, French manufacturers never particularly shine in the Driver Power customer reliability and satisfaction survey, but things are getting better. Those van underpinnings should prove durable, as commercial vehicles usually suffer a punishing routine.
Practicality
Large tailgate makes loading easy
Access is this model's strong suit, thanks to the tall seating position and sliding rear doors. Even with the optional third row of seats in place, legroom is generous all round – and the 675-litre boot seems vast. Even better, removing the middle, three-person, split-fold bench boosts load space to 3,000 litres. On the other hand, fitting that extra rear two-seater bench does reduce the luggage area somewhat. Loading up is made easy by a vast rear tailgate.
Value for money
The Berlingo is great value
This is another area where the Berlingo knocks many rivals into a cocked hat. When you consider that it offers maximum space – and fine economy in either petrol or diesel form – for minimum money, the boxy baby's lack of style almost pales into insignificance.
Running costs
Impressively low
Claimed economy of more than 50mpg for the diesel makes the Berlingo a very appealing package. A CO2 emissions figure of 149g/km for the same model results in annual road tax costing £125, insurance will be in one of the lowest bands, and the car is projected to retain 39.3 per cent of its value over three years.
