I’m seriously thinking about buying a Berlingo Multispace in place of my current Astra company car via opt out. I’d love a van but the company rules dictate that I can’t do this. It’ll generally be used for biking and camping trips etc. as I tend to commute by bike. I do do some driving for work but not a great deal.

I’ll be looking at something that’s a maximum of three years old, again, company policy, which I think means I’ll be looking at the 1.6 hdi and I’m after some advice on things to look out for etc.

I work for citroen/Peugeot. If funds permit go for the higher spec with nice trim and A/c and the 90BHP 1.6HDI obviously service history is very import pref main dealer but if your buying older/higher miles cheaper stuff e mail me and I’ll talk you through loads of engine stuff to check. But everyone that has one says the same thing, ugly but tons of room and very practical and reliable.

Thanks Chris, much appreciated. Not sure what you’d class as older/higher mileage but I was looking at something like this.

Personally don’t think they’re ugly but the Mrs calls them old man mobiles!

You might want to remove your postcode from autotrader before posting links.

Cheers, now has a made up postcode as it won’t let you search without one for some reason.

Yep that’s the right spec, they really are a great thing, be careful of ex motablility, some are very well cared for but most don’t care/abuse and potter about and short cold stop start trips to the shops are not good for any modern Diesel engine nor the particle filter. That’s a late model (euro 5/6) emmisions so no oil/turbo issues that the earlier ones had.
But regular correct oil changes once a year will keep them going forever. Service book/dealer is 20000m oil changes, I just feel that’s a bit much.
Lots of them out there so don’t settle for anything less that perfect.
Any questions my e mail is in my history.

Chris, again massive thanks. I know sod all about cars so any help is appreciated!

I bought a 58 Multispace 1.6 HDI with 23,000 motability miles on the clock. It is now almost 100 000 miles older. It has had new rear disks fitted, new fuel lines, a new starter motor and a fuel pressure sensor.

It is the XTR version with the individually removable rear seats, air con etc. I have lined the floor with rubber sheeting.

Love it to bits and it easily cruises the trip down to Morzine at ‘Continental’ speeds.

I will own one of these one day.

Only when my Saab goes though

Chrisdiesel, I run an old 2.0HDI Partner Escapade and saving up for the new euro6 auto version, Berlingo.
I would appreciate any advice on keeping the old one running and opinions on the new. Email in profile if you would rather keep views private.

Nice to have someone on here who works in the business and can give the real lowdown, before I spend any hard earned money.

A couple of years ago I got the Peugeot Partner version to replace 10 year old Audi A2 with 230,000 miles on the clock which was purchased from new as an opt out from a company car.
The A2 was in hind sight was a remarkably versatile vehicle almost like a mini mpv, so was struggling to find anything as capable.

Looked long and hard for a replacement that would be bike friendly and concluded the Partner/Berlingo was more like a car and had a better level finish/gadgets compared to just a van or similiar options.

Went with a 3 year old 23,000 mile 2011 Partner Teepee, surprising quiet and comfortable to drive, 1.6 HDI is OK but not speedy naturally and it won’t corner like a small hatchback, I get about 50 mpg at 50-60 mph this drops a bit at constant 70 mph.
Its got cruise control, auto lights/wiper, split opening to the tailgate, removable seat, internal long load bars etc.
Put another 20,0000 trouble free miles on it in 12 months, but not used much for last 12 months due to new role that came with a car.

After two years of ownership my observations are the –

Seats are like armchairs and surprising comfy, very relaxing to drive as the tempration to push hard is not practical.

Love the sliding rear doors for easy access and the tailgate for shelter on rainy days.

With rear seats removed can fit two full bikes in with the bars turned, but a bit tight on hight with 650b and 160 forks.

Easy to park compared to a large estate like a Passat/A6

Lacks traction control, so the winter tyre wheelset I have is less effective in icy conditions, this option is available to spec from new or if I had thought about it 2nd hand with the option.

DAB radio, as now I can’t get my favorite stations on FM. 2nd hand ones are available for about £60-80.

The internals are too nice to be putting muddy bikes into, so got an thule external tailgate bike rack for winter and/or future car camping duties.

Also looked at the Fiat Diablo, this has more rear load height and has a more practical wipe clean finish, but wasnt as nice to drive.

When I need to look again again and have the money I think I would probably go for a bigger twin cab van to get get more rear space.

Hope this helps.

We had a Partner as a hire car in France this year, my heart sank because I thought we had hired a Qashqai. After the initial sniggers about the colour (poo brown) and the styling.
We all liked it there were 5 of us, 4 adults and 1 child, loads of room in the cabin space. We had 3 full size suitcases and 5 carry on bags and the boot swallowed these no problem.
I would genuinely think about one of these when the eventually Volvo dies.

Ulterior motive here… link

But I will add my thoughts too 🙂

Before I bought my first Multispace (now for sale), I’d done some short runs in a VW Caddy at work and found it easy to drive; the high seating position, big mirrors etc. gave a nice clear view of the road. So, when I came to buying a new car of my own a few years ago, I was looking for something van-ish – or something from the cross-over range like a Skoda Yeti, Ford Kuga or Hyundai ix35. The Yeti came the closest to what I wanted (seating position, big windows, flat back, lots of space…), but was far too expensive. I hadn’t considered the Berlingo, but they were on offer at the time, so I thought I’d give them a look in.

It was the best car decision I’ve made (although resulted in much abuse from ‘mates’ at work 🙂 ). I decided on the top trim (XTR) for the niceties. As someone mentioned previously, all of the rear seats fold up individually and come out of the vehicle – and because the spare tyre is underneath the car, it leaves you with a nice flat floor space and tons of room (like a van!). This was another issue I found with the Yeti; the spare tyre is inside the boot, so you end up with a step change down into the rear foot well, instead of a totally flat floor.

The 90HP Multi was good enough for me. I had 5 adults in it recently and it still pulled well. I also occasionally have a full heavy gardening set in the back and it deals with this just fine too. Economy wise – I’ve gotten 54mpg out of it since the beginning.

The tailgate is huge. This can be an advantage if you want to get changed underneath it for example on a day out, but is a bit of a pain in busy car parks or confined spaces. I purchased a separate opening rear window on mine, which allows you to still pop things in the boot without having to open the full tailgate.

The XTR has 12V sockets in both the front and rear, which might not seem very interesting, but this has allowed me to plug in 2 dashcams with ease. Otherwise, I would have had to route in extra wires or adaptors.

Consumables such as light bulbs are dirt cheap to buy. I’ve had to replace the headlights a couple of times in 3 years – and (to my surprise) they only cost like £1.10 each from Andrew Page.

There’s other nice bits and bobs too, but I’d recommend downloading a copy of the Citroen Berlingo catalogue as this clearly lists out each spec side by side.

Finally, if safety is your thing, be aware that because the Multispace is based on a van, they don’t come with curtain airbags as standard; I had to purchase these as an extra.

I liked the car so much, that I have just bought a brand new version. This one is top trim again, but with a few upgrades and a more powerful engine (the offer for a 120HP was the same as the 100HP version, so why not?). I’ve only had it a few days and I think it’s ace (nerd alert). I would highly recommend getting one 🙂

ive had one for 7 years and 2 for 3 years ….

both 10 years old now.

When the time comes i will replace with a new model without hesitation – they have only got better over time.

both mines are the 68 bhp 1.9D models and have been all the way down to the alps from aberdeen twice – at the speedlimit.

The sliding doors are awesome in carparks. More cars should have them. No more wind blowing your door into other cars when kids open them etc.

tailgate can be a pain when the tit behind parks too close but you can always draw forward. ts good to hide under in the rain.

driving position i cannot fault. First up the pedals, seat and wheel are inline unlike Vauxhalls. The upright driving position is good for my back – being of taller people i find most cars i have to lie back to be able to see under the sun visor – no issue in the blingo.

yeah folk polk fun – but while they are fannyying about taking wheels off in the pishing rain to get their car into their passat/skoda estate – your bikes inside and your getting changed under the tailgate. – their tune fairly changes.

I’ve a 54 plate 1.4 petrol one I love it
Its lugs me and the kids all the camping gear and four bikes all over the place. Slowly on hills but it does it 🙂 I’ve just had to replace the heater matrix which was a pain for a ten quid part but apart from that all good. I’d Deffo get another

We had one until recently. Had it from new on a 51 plate. It wasn’t faultless but it really cost us very little money to run. We kept it regularly serviced and the only time it let us down was for a broken fan belt and a dead battery. Sold it on here a while ago. It had to go as my wife has knee trouble and needs an automatic. Sad to see it go.

I have the 1.6hdi 90bhp with ac etc for work, totally reliable so far. I don’t do high mileage or motorways (otherwise I’d def be looking elsewhere). It’s so practical, roll the bike straight in. Was fine when I took the family on holiday a couple of years back when the Galaxy was in the garage.

Sorry for the slight hijack, but we’re looking at a petrol doblo. They are a bit thin on the ground, but there is a 7 seater variant available. Does anyone know how easy it is to remove the rear 2 seats?
Ta

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I missed the second half of the posts for some reason! I’m going to put my opt out request in in the next day or two.

Anyone know what the main differences between the VTR & XTR models are other than the rear seats and air con?. There seems to be more VTR’s about and I may only have a couple of weeks to get a car sorted.

rhubarbcrumble – yours is exactly what I’m looking for, I’m just not sure I like the white.

Anybody that is into cycling, outdoorsy stuff, it’s the perfect vehicle.
Gone from the owner of eight years with a Audi Quattro estate and now onto my first year of owning a Berlingo XTR, i should of got one eight years ago !!
Wanted four things, Stress free bike storage (With all wheels on, something to sleep in, must be VERY economical, and never, ever wanted to change gear with a stick again (Semi Auto) 🙂
The only stress i had was the coffee cup holders being to small, French don’t like BIG cups of coffee 🙄

doodlebug – where did you get that rubber matting from? Could do with that to stop mine looking like a farmyard after the bikes have been in it.

Had mine for 2.5yrs now and done average of 12000 miles a year. It’s a 2010 1.6HDi 90hp XTR.

Will quite happily sit at 130kph on the autoroute heading to the south of France. MPG drops a bit once you get above that but that’s probably an aerodynamics thing. I think newer engines should be more efficient. Seats out will fit two bikes in with wheels on no problem. With two seats out and wheels off you can fit three bikes, people and kit in easily as well.

Been contemplating getting rid purely because I’m a big kid and want something faster so I can “make progress” but haven’t found anything as practical yet.

Northernmatt

It’s a Turbo Training floor mat, got it tucked under the back trim and trapped under the back seat for a smooth and tight finish, fitted originaly for the cross season.

eBay / Halfords : [/url]

1.6hdi, high stress engine giving the same Bhp as the 2.0hdi running a 3.5 litre oil sump
A mate runs a motor factor with his delivery fleet using 1.4 and 1.6 hdi’s, oil changes every 3000 miles with oil and filter every other 3000 miles, turbo oil feed strainer replaced every year.
With constant lo mile stop start journeys,theres been not one engine or turbo failure in the last four years with this strict regime, just clutches and starters.
Helps that he could supply top quality oil and filters at cost, mind

Awesome engines imho, but the 1.4 and 2.0 are the strongest of the psa diesels

What’s the max length of the floor space with a rear seat removed?

What’s the petrol like? Do to many short journeys for a diesel.