Commercial Vehicles
Commercial Vehicle of the Month, by Maurice Hardy
CITROEN has just announced details of its next generation Berlingo van and when news first came I thought the occasion could not pass without saying a farewell to the old one.So there I was all prepared for a valedictory on the occasion of the Berlingo’s imminent death and Citroen announces that in fact New Berlingo will run alongside the old one, although for exactly how long this will be allowed to happen has not been confirmed.
It’s excellent news for Berlingo fans, and there’s a huge number of them. Citroen has sold 1.75 million Berlingos in around a decade, making this its most successful commercial vehicle ever. And the success looks likely to go on as the Berlingo is being offered for as little as £5,995 plus VAT until the end of March and other deals are sure to follow.
When it was first launched, everyone thought the Berlingo would be the replacement for the venerable but ancient C15 that was based on the old Visa car. But the C15 lived on for many more years so there’s hope for the Berlingo yet.
After New Berlingo’s arrival, Citroen will be offering six light commercial vehicles in Britain because by then the range will also have been expanded by the arrival of the Nemo, slightly smaller than Berlingo but much bigger than the C2, in April. With the extremely competitive offers Citroen is always running, it’s great news for van-dependent businesses.
Users are frequently the best judge of how a van performs, so I listened with interest to two friends of mine who have spent considerable time at the wheel of the Citroen Berlingo. One uses his purely as a runabout, occasionally carrying decorating materials for the gangs he supervises and sometimes putting a ladder on the roofrack.
The other is a very busy plumber who used the roof of his Berlingo a lot - when it came to carrying new bathroom suites the bath would never fit inside along with all the other clobber that goes with the job. Now his beloved Citroen has been taken away to be replaced by a larger Nissan which is nowhere near as pleasant to use despite having indoor bath room.
What neither friend had in his Berlingo was the benefit of the very latest 90 bhp 1.6 litre HDi common rail diesel engine which makes this van even better to use. While I had the Berlingo on test I used it in preference to some quite desirable cars, such is the pleasure of driving behind this engine.
The engine, with the same output as the previous two litre unit, is quiet in operation, starts immediately without any pause for warm-up, even on a cold day, and makes the van brisk to use. What’s more, you can reckon on around 45mpg and probably more from the Berlingo, thanks to its smooth body shape.
The driving environment is just like that of a car. As long as you are going forwards the Berlingo is no more complicated than any car to use. Only when you glance in the rear mirror, or need to reverse, are you aware of the van body behind and that’s just as it should be - the days should be long gone when vans are a penance to drive.
The usefulness of the Berlingo is increased by the option of single or twin sliding side doors for the load area. People who use the Berlingo as a mobile toolbox will appreciate being able to reach directly into the front of the load area instead of stretching in from the back or clambering over mountains of gear.
Berlingo buyers have the choice of two payloads, 600 and 800kgs, and as there’s very little difference in the price it probably makes more sense to go for the 800 model. There’s also the choice of a 1.6 diesel with a lesser power output if your budget is tight or even a 1.4 petrol for which a gas conversion is offered.
With that stupendous deal on offer, anyone fancying a new small van would be daft to ignore this Citroen. It’s now cheaper new than used examples, so what are you waiting for?
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