Citroën Berlingo (02-11) - Review

The Berlingo is available with payloads of either 600kg or 800kg and has a usefully large load area. Customers can choose side-hinged rear doors, side hinged rear doors with a ladder flap, a tailgate with heated rear window and wash/wipe and the choice of a nearside to both nearside and offside sliding doors. Both payload versions will accommodate a full-size pallet (1000mm x 1200mm). The Berlingo is also available in a platform cab which is suitable for a variety of specialist bodywork including mobile catering vehicles, small motor caravans and temperature controlled bodies.

All Berlingos come with anti-lock brakes, driver's airbag, seatbelt pre-tensioners and all but the base 600X model come with remote central locking. Vehicles fitted with central locking also have an automatic locking function when the Berlingo reaches 6mph. The 2002 model has a stronger bodyshell when compared to the original Berlingo, while the engine has also been mounted at a different angle and the battery position changed to improve safety.

Citroën always seems to have some kind of incentive on new vans bringing the transaction price down to much lower than the list price. All engines are very economical and servicing costs are modest. Diesels will be most in demand on the used market, so these should bring the best return on investment when bought from new. XTR+ has extra under-body protection to prevent sump and fuel and brake lines being damaged off road.

Berlingos come with a two-year/unlimited mileage warranty, or three-years/100,000 miles. Effectively it means mileage in unlimited on the first two years, should something mechanical fail, but if the van is in its third year, there is a 100,000-mile cap on warranty claims. All Berlingos come with a service indicator and oil level warning indicator, so there should be no excuse for failing to maintain the van.