Citroen Berlingo MPV Review

The Berlingo has always made its case in a very straightforward way. It takes van-like dimensions, a tall roof, sliding rear doors and a square, upright body, then turns them into one of the most useful family cars you can buy. It works because it focuses on what many families actually need rather than what looks best on the driveway.

That means huge passenger space, excellent headroom, easy access for children and older relatives, and a boot that embarrasses many much larger and more expensive SUVs. The Berlingo’s appeal has never been about glamour. It has always been about solving everyday family problems more effectively than almost anything else at the price.

For this review, the focus is firmly on the original petrol and diesel Berlingo sold from 2018 until those combustion-engined passenger-car versions were withdrawn from sale in 2020. These earlier Berlingos are the ones that best capture what made the model so appealing in the first place. They were offered in both five-seat M and seven-seat XL forms, they had the full flexibility of a proper passenger-car MPV, and they avoided the complications that came later.

That later story matters only as background. Citroen eventually brought petrol and diesel Berlingos back, but in a different form, with the newer versions effectively reclassified as window vans and fitted with a bulkhead behind the rear seats. That compromises the practicality that was once the Berlingo’s biggest strength, which is why the earlier discontinued model is the more useful one to focus on here.

As a used proposition, then, the original Berlingo still makes a huge amount of sense. It is not fashionable, and it does not drive like a conventional hatchback, but if your priority is maximum family usefulness for sensible money, it remains one of the most convincing cars of its type.

We reckon the Citroen Berlingo 1.5 BlueHDi 130 in Flair trim is the one to track down.

That is the version that best suits the Berlingo’s character. The 130PS diesel has enough shove to carry a full load of people and luggage without feeling strained, and its stronger motorway manners make it a better long-distance fit than the lower-powered alternatives. It is not quick, but it feels relaxed, torquey and economical in a car of this size.

Flair trim is also worth having because it adds the equipment you actually want in a Berlingo, including parking sensors, proper electric rear windows and better infotainment. Flair XTR is tempting if you want the panoramic roof and the more adventurous look, but Flair is usually the smarter used buy.

If you need seven seats, an XL version is the one to target, because that longer body gives the Berlingo an extra layer of usefulness without changing its essential easy-going nature. Just bear in mind that the best examples are likely to be snapped up quickly because the Berlingo has a loyal following.

Used Citroen Berlingo prices start from around £12,000 for earlier diesel examples with sensible mileage. That gets you into the heart of Berlingo ownership at a much lower cost than many newer family SUVs, while still giving you the sort of practicality most of them cannot match.

That price point is a huge part of the Berlingo’s appeal. You are not paying for image, badge appeal or fashionable design. You are paying for space, flexibility and hard-working family usefulness.

The nicer later cars and higher-spec diesels will cost more, particularly if you want an XL or a Flair XTR. Even so, the Berlingo remains a very persuasive used proposition because the practical return on your money is so strong.

The most obvious alternatives are the Peugeot Rifter and Vauxhall Combo Life, because they are closely related under the skin and target exactly the same buyers. The Volkswagen Caddy and Ford Tourneo Connect are also relevant if you want another van-based family car with plenty of cabin space.

It is also fair to compare the Berlingo with more conventional estates and SUVs, because many buyers will be deciding whether they really need a van-based MPV at all. Cars such as the Volkswagen Golf Estate may feel more polished, while seven-seat SUVs look more fashionable, but they simply cannot match the Berlingo’s space and flexibility for the money.

That remains the Citroen’s biggest advantage. If maximum practicality is the goal, the Berlingo still makes more sense than a lot of more glamorous machinery.

This is where the Berlingo really earns its keep. Even in standard M form, it offers a vast 775-litre boot, which is the sort of number that makes many large SUVs look absurdly inefficient. The rear opening is huge, the floor is flat and the sliding rear doors make it remarkably easy to load both people and luggage.

Passenger space is equally impressive. There is lots of headroom, generous legroom and enough width in the back to make the Berlingo feel genuinely useful for family life rather than merely acceptable. It is also one of the easiest cars of this size for fitting child seats, thanks to the wide door openings and available Isofix points across the rear seats.

The XL version adds another layer of practicality again by making room for a third row of seats. These extra seats are actually usable, rather than being token perches. If they are not needed, they can be removed to free up a huge amount of luggage space. That makes the XL one of the cleverest affordable seven-seaters of its era.

There are thoughtful touches everywhere, from the available opening rear tailgate glass to the many storage cubbies dotted around the cabin. This is a car that feels designed around real family life, which is exactly why it still has such a loyal following.

The standard Berlingo M measures 4,403mm long, 2,107mm wide including mirrors and 1,844mm high. The longer XL version stretches to 4,753mm long and 1,849mm high.

Those are substantial dimensions, but they are used intelligently. The Berlingo never feels as intimidating as some large SUVs, yet it offers far more useful cabin space than most of them.

Early Berlingos used an 8.0-inch touchscreen, which brought Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into the mix and covered the essentials well enough. It is not flashy, but it is easy to understand and does the job.

Later facelifted cars gained a 10.0-inch screen and a digital driver display, but if you are buying an earlier discontinued petrol or diesel Berlingo, the older system should not be a deal-breaker. The important thing is that smartphone mirroring is available and the controls remain straightforward.

This is not the car you buy for ultra-modern cabin tech. It is the car you buy because the infotainment does what you need while the rest of the vehicle gets on with its main job of being supremely useful.

The Berlingo’s cabin materials reflect its van roots. Most surfaces are hard and durable rather than plush, but that suits the car’s role well enough. The important thing is that everything feels solid, practical and built to cope with family life.

You are not going to mistake it for a premium MPV, but that is beside the point. The Berlingo feels robust rather than cheap, and that is more valuable in a car like this than a few decorative soft-touch plastics.

The original Berlingo was offered with a broad range of petrol and diesel engines, but the key ones to focus on now are the 110PS 1.2-litre petrol and the 100PS and 130PS 1.5-litre diesels. The most powerful diesel was available with either a manual or an eight-speed automatic, and it is the one that suits the Berlingo best.

The 130PS diesel is the strongest all-rounder because it gives the Berlingo the sort of easy, low-rev shove that feels right in a big, boxy family car. It is better at carrying a full load without strain, and its extra gear helps it settle down more convincingly on the motorway. The 100PS diesel is serviceable enough, but the 130 is the one that makes the Berlingo feel most complete.

The 110PS petrol is fine if you do lower annual mileage and mainly shorter trips, but it is not quite as convincing in a car like this. You need to work it harder, and once you do, it is noticeably noisier than the diesels.

Ride comfort is decent rather than outstanding. The Berlingo can feel a little jumpy at lower urban speeds, but it settles down as the pace rises and never becomes uncomfortable. For a van-based MPV, that is a perfectly respectable result.

Handling is tidy enough too. There is some body lean, as you would expect, but the Berlingo feels stable and secure rather than clumsy. The light steering and tight turning circle make it easy to thread through town, which matters more here than any sense of driver entertainment.

Refinement is only average. Wind noise is noticeable at speed, and the petrol is obviously noisier than the diesels under acceleration. But none of this should come as a surprise in a car bought primarily for space and practicality.

The Berlingo achieved a four-star Euro NCAP rating, which is respectable rather than class-leading. Standard safety kit includes automatic emergency braking, lane assistance, speed-sign recognition and a tyre-pressure warning system, while some higher-spec and optioned cars add more advanced driver-assistance features.

That is a solid enough showing, even if more conventional family cars of the same era managed stronger five-star headlines.

Diesel models are the cheapest of the lot to run. They’ll have no problem returning 50mpg whether you go for the 110 or 130PS model, giving them a range of around 550 miles from a fill-up.

The optional automatic gearbox (standard on post-facelift diesels) has a negligible effect on fuel economy, as do the larger 17-inch alloy wheels fitted to higher-spec versions.

Citroen’s standard warranty was three years, with unlimited mileage in the first two years and a 60,000-mile cap in the third. That is decent enough without being especially generous.

At this age, condition and history matter more than the original warranty terms. A well-maintained Berlingo with a full service record is much more important than chasing a specific trim or toy.

Insurance is one of the Berlingo’s more reassuring ownership points. Most combustion-engined examples sit between groups 8 and 15, which keeps them affordable enough to insure compared with many more conventional family cars.

That only strengthens the Berlingo’s case as a sensible, practical used buy.

If you are buying one of these earlier discontinued passenger-car Berlingos, you will pay the standard annual car VED rate (currently £200) rather than the later light-commercial-vehicle rate that applies to the reintroduced window-van versions. That is another reason why the older car remains the more straightforward and appealing combustion Berlingo to own.