So, New motor time and we’ve narrowed it down to these two.

Duties will be a 30 mile commute each way each week day, taking in the M1, j29 to j26 and then bike fun for the both of us evenings and weekends.

Obviously, the mondeo will be nicer on the motorway but you can’t beat wheeling a whole bike straight into a vehicle after a ride and then just brushing out the load space once a week.

As above, budget around £4k. No kids, just the two of us and both two old to worry about mph, much more interested in mpg.

Look at both. Buy whichever you get the best deal on.

I’d look at an SMax or Tourneo Connect first but no doubt the Berlingo will be the most popular choice.

The s-max we looked at only has fold and roll seats, not clip out seats and the tourneo just doesn’t exist second hand for our budget but would be the preferred vehicle.

I have a 2.2 TDCi Mondeo for long commuting duties. Comfortable ride, powerful and economical. I can heartily recommend.

I couldn’t imagine commuting in a Berlingo <shudder>. I’d rather just take my front wheel off when putting my bike in.

Berlingo. Good enough for the commute and more useful than a Mondeo estate and you don’t need a fairly big 4 seater family car.

That’s my thinking, especially as the commute isn’t going to be at speed despite it being on the motorway.

Mondeo’s are great cars if your not a badge snob. I had the previous mk3 version and it was the most reliable car I’ve owned, plenty of power, fun to drive for such a big car and the estate boot is huge. Make no wonder it was the longest I’d owned a car. Currently have an Octavia, wish I’d bought another Mondeo.

Certainly not badge snobs, or car snobs. It’s very much a tool to do a job. We just want the best value, most appropriate tool for the job we can find.

Test drive the Mondeo and you’ll know if it’s for you. I was certain I would never own a Ford again after a bad experience with an Orion. After test driving a few cars back to back including Audi A6 and BMW 5 series the Mondeo held its own and was only bettered by the BMW but was much better value.

Berlingo if that’s the options. We’ve got a similar big ‘car’ and it’s great. Swallows bikes or other toys, good for weekends. Sit in the back when it’s raining, get changed in there, even camp in it. Handy for diy too, collecting materials and trips to the dump. Mondeo is a good choice if you want a car but the berlingo is so much more.

I had a Berlingo for a couple of months. It had the most uncomfortable seats I’ve sat in for many a year. Ten miles was just about tolerable.

Two very difficult vehicles.

Mondeo for me every time

Mondingo.

The s-max we looked at only has fold and roll seats, not clip out seats

No understand. My SMax seats fold flat. Will take a FS29er whole with room for a bucket of stuff and a pressure washer. Will take 3 bikes and 3 adults easily with wheels off.

Imo 2 very diferent cars – one is a massive car with a massive footprint , the other is a utility vehicle with useufl space on a small foot print. – boot on blingos tiny when your 5 up with bodies for example . Where as te mondeo remains useful.

Never owned the modern mondeo how ever i have had most of the. Modern ford range on hire.

I have got 2 berlingos (or rather 1 blingo and one pug partner) – get alot more berlingo/partner for your cash.

Contrary to the above the only thing ive driven thats comfier than my pug is my parents range rover.

Drove from aberdeen to bourg doisans in 2 hits punctuated by the ferry. So a 30mile round trip would be nae bother.

My old mk6 escort ghia with the all singing all dancing seats had me in agony before glasgow.

As big as the mondingus boot is , it just doesnt have te useful height for the bikes – and the footprint of the mondeo is about the same as a mwb transit , the berlingos still a small car.

Berlingo – far more capacity for kit…very good cars. Mondeo if the primary option is car.

S-Max is a poor choice compared to those 2 as it has the length of the Mondeo but not the height – the back end swoops down and you lose a lot of height. Berlingo is more squared so can carry more.

I want a multispace to replace my c5. However the mrs isnt so keen.

Mondeo to Berlingo was my path. Very useful.

Done lots of miles in a Berlingo van,seats are crap and the driving position is awful

Onzadog – Member
That’s my thinking, especially as the commute isn’t going to be at speed despite it being on the motorway.

How fast do you need to go anyway? My 2002 Berlingo sits comfortably at 80 for as long as you like. Brilliant car.

Berlingo, although you get a lot more FIAT Doblo for the cash – bigger inside too.

The high seating position is very useful on tight roads and I find ours very comfy over distance – all dayers no problem.
Fun to drive, in a 2CV-ish kind of way.

Mondeos are huge cars – Berlingo/Doblo are a bit shorter and more wieldy.
Our Doblo is about the same height and a bit shorter than a Range Rover, but much narrower and with loads more interior space.

Depends what you want it for, tbh.
I commute in the Doblo and it’s great, but if we had to carry five frequently I reckon the Mondeo would be the first choice – wider, longer passenger compartment.

Much easier to carry bikes and kit in the Doblo though – it’s stupidly convenient, makes a great tent and costs peanuts to run.

I’ll get another when this wears out.

Look at running costs. I’d imagine while the Mondeo will be the more comfortable car to spend time in on the motorway, the Berlingo will be far cheaper to insure/tax/fuel.

If it were me I’d go Mondeo because I tend to spend at least one weekend a month driving quite a long way, which would be far more comfortable in a car designed more for that purpose.

Two very difficult vehicles.

Difficult? Or different? 🙂

I went with a Peugeot Partner Outdoor when I was looking, still got a rack as its too good inside to get muddy, 1.6 Hdi version get 50 mpg, rolls a bit and feels like your driving a big comply armchair but I like it.
I think your local to me so if you want a look or a test drive let me know.

Looked at a Doblo, it is bigger and bit more basic but probably more practical.

However after ownership would probably look at a bigger dual liner van to achieve true practicality.

Berlingo, although you get a lot more FIAT Doblo for the cash – bigger inside too.

^this^ provided the mechanics are sound.

Had an ex-demo mk2 Doblo that had done 10k. Ended up having to get rid of it less than 8,000 miles later because the engine kept having so many problems the stress of driving it made me physically ill. Fiat were no help, and I even ended up speaking to their head office trying to get it sorted but they were totally disinterested.

Shame because I really miss it. Was fabulous for travelling and bike stuff, just really crap mechanically. If I knew I could rely one the engine & aircon I’d have another tomorrow but it just frightened me too much to ever risk again.

Was a 2.0 diesel multijet if you’re interested.

I love the practicality, and reliability, of my MK3 Mondeo estate (turbo diesel) so much that I’ve kept it for my canoe camping duties, even though I bought a newer, modern sporty-ish car to replace it.
I just should’ve bought a newer Mondeo estate!

However, for your needs I’d definately go Berlingo.

1.9 Diesel Doblo’s go pop, sadly.

The 1.3 Multijet is fine, it’s specced in loads of non Fiat cars and is no problem as long as you’re not in a hurry.
It’s a good engine.

Just driven ours over the Dales all week, Buttertubs, Askrigg, Starbotton, Grinton etc.
Fine fully loaded, but we weren’t in a hurry.
Thank God.
🙂

It’ll get up anything if you use the gears and rev it a bit.
😀

Mines had a hard life – very reliable though.
At 70k it needs a wishbone, that’s about it.
Had discs a year ago, exhaust welded once.
DPF clogs if you don’t thrash it regularly, brakes are OK but need a firm foot.

Handles well on Michelin Cross Climates, but cart springs at the back means it gets a bit jiggly unloaded.

Ever car has its issues tbh. The 1.3 multi jets are notorious for corrupting their ecus.

The 1.6 hdi in psa motors can lunch the turbo if not looked after

I used to have a mondeo, have a berlingo these days.

Wish I’d got the berlingo years ago!

I’d go straight to another 2.2 tdci mondeo, with as few miles as I could find. Not an ST, silly wheels and lack of ground clearance and a bit of badge tax. Ghia or Tit X. Good economy (equivalent running costs to the lesser mondeo estates, marginally higher tax, but actually more economic in some use), but superb drivability- the bigger engine isn’t that powerful, mostly it’s just lazy, it’ll waft you along as if it’s not even working. Lovely.

TBH I’d also happily go underbudget, with mondeos it seems like above £3000 you hit diminishing returns.

Incidentally,

Onzadog – Member

Obviously, the mondeo will be nicer on the motorway but you can’t beat wheeling a whole bike straight into a vehicle

Every bike I’ve ever had rolls straight into the boot, with the seats down. It’ll actually take 2 normal sized bikes with the wheels on, it’s just not a good idea because they’re a bollocks to get out. The boot’s good with the seats up and humungous with them down.

The Berlingo is good too but more vannish,with all that comes with it. Also it felt when I was shopping like you just don’t get that much for your money.

For me the commute would be the killer issue. Day in day out 30 mile motorway commute…

Let me think, van based thing with short wheelbase and high sides OR big comfy estate with a relatively low centre of gravity and better ride comfort…sorry why was I considering the first one again?

Although with no kids why not just get a hatch for the sake of popping some wheels out? We have mark3 estate and hatch. The estate has been with us nearly 8 years and the hatch 4.5 so I am probably a little biased…

Mazda 6?

It’s basically a Mondeo and they are a good second hand purchase.

Thanks for all the input so far. The reason we’re not considering a hatch is that we have two already. The bikes will go in either but we’d like something that’s a bit less faff.

The only two things we do with cars is the commute, or lugging bikes. Anything else they might do is infrequent or irrelevant in terms of choosing a car. (who picks a car specifically for supermarket shopping? We’ve already accepted that the mondeo would need to be parked further away when we do).

Interestingly, this thread seems to suggest that the berlingo seats are love or hate so finding out which side of that we fall would be useful. I know I’m fine in Ford seats so long as they have a lumbar support and no one has questioned mondeo comfort.

Digging deeper though, it does look like the mondeo might better to crash although both will be better than a 20 year old corrolla.

“Better to crash”?! Definitely a Mondeo then.
I do big miles to Scotland a lot in my MK3 and have no comfort issues so can only imagine a newer Mondeo would be even more comfortable.

We’re not planning on crashing it mind, I think if we were, we’d be more careful about where bits of bike might be pointing. On that score, they’d be much easier to secure in the Berlingo.

I’ve rolled my berlingo down a hill…every panel bar the passenger space was mangled or bent. I’d happily crash in one again (which does sound very odd!).

My mate crashed his berlingo on a duel carriage way when someone pulled through a central reservation gap. He flipped bounced and rolled and ended up on the opposite carriageway. Car looked wrecked but him and the dog walked away. He bought another berlingo