When Citroen first launched its Berlingo Multispace, it was initially seen as just a van with seats, but that was then. The current models are light years from that original image, for the Multispace is now one of the most versatile and affordable family vehicles you can buy.
The latest-generation Berlingo Multispace has cool distinctive styling, offers lots of room, lots of comfort, has ingenious storage options, and cutting edge ergonomics. It seats five adults in great comfort, and still has lots of luggage space in the back, and enough seating and stowage combinations to feature on TV’s “The Krypton Factor”. After just a few hours in my Multispace test vehicle recently, I found myself fast running out of superlatives for this superb all-rounder.
I was testing the Multispace in one of its popular forms, the 1.6 diesel engine with VTR trim, and a price tag of £11,705. There’s 90 hp under the bonnet, and top speed is 100 mph. The 0-60 mph time is a rather sluggish 14.3 seconds, but in fairness, it never actually feels slow. But what does bring a smile to the face is the fact that its combined fuel figure is just a whisker short of 50 mpg – 49.6 mpg to be precise.
The Berlingo Multispace is exceptionally practical. It has 675 litres of load space below the parcel shelf, and if you fold all the seats down and stack up to the roof you get a whopping 3,000 litres of load space, quite exceptional in this sector. Standard equipment includes a five speed manual gearbox, anti-lock brakes, twin airbags, remote locking, electric front windows, radio/CD player, and a wealth of detail features that includes a glove box with cup and pen holders, overhead front parcel shelf, and various stowage spaces in the dashboard and central console, as well as others throughout the car.
It’s a very good specification for a car costing well under £12,000. And because this type of vehicle is popular for family and activity use, the range of option packs that you can add to personalise the Multispace to your own requirements. One of the latest added to the options list costs £800, and effectively turns it into a seven seater.
The Multispace has a rather sleek look, with nice visual lines, and looks distinctly different, with its sliding rear doors, bold twin-chevron front grille, and huge tailgate which has split opening so you can open the glass section only to drop in a small item rather than open the entire tailgate.
Under way, the 1.6-diesel engine pulls smoothly and surprisingly quietly, and there is a nice precise feel to the gearshift. Citroën’s ride quality in all its vehicles has always been exceptional and the Berlingo Multispace maintains the tradition, proving exceptionally comfortable even on very rough surfaces.
There are so many features inside, that you can spend an hour just playing with the car like a giant toy. Seats seem to fold every which way, tables and storage boxes are everywhere and its multi-features suggest it would make the ideal family vehicle.
With its smooth fluent driving, nimble handling, and astonishing practicality, it has few if any rivals at the price.
