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Kangoo/Berlingo/Doblo
Who has got one? rate em or hate em? What engines are shit?
Thinking rather than van, family sized "MPV" type thing with seats down all the time unless reqd for transporting friends/relatives etc
Ha ha ha, etc...
I like. Have driven a Berlingo and Kangoo. Remember they are vans not cars but if you were getting a van anyway...?
Not sure how easy it is to remove the seats totally on either of them so check that out and since the seats don't do fancy folding you will need some place to store them. Think it was 1.6 diesel in Citroen and perhaps a 1.5 in the Renault. Both went 'ok' - you are not buying them to throw round corners!?
If it was me I'd choose the Citroen/Peugeot one. A bit bigger and depending on the version a few extra comforts.
vw touran. i know some peeps have had bad experiences on here but i love ours. it's brill for chucking bikes in and does 55mpg on a run and 45 ish around town (sheffield so hilly).
one of the comfiest cars i've ever driven. get second hand ones reasonably cheap now.
So what's wrong with the VW Transporter you've just bought???
Had a berlingo multispace for 5 years. pretty reliable (obviously the citroen dealers are awful), loads of space, suspension is good on poor road surfaces, used to be easy to find in supermarket car parks (not now though), could fit a tandem in it, a bit hairy at speed in cross winds 😯
The new one appears to be bigger and is based on the C4 rather than the ZX which the previous one was.
transporter went back - dodgy as a dodgy thing
dodgy in what way?
He bought it and then found it there was no MOT.
oh yes, I remember, sorry its the age/drugs/pain/background noise 😛
We had a berlingo as a hire car in Mallorca a couple of weeks ago. 1.5 diesel IIRC. It was great. 5 of us in it with all the luggage, sliding rear doors, loads and loads of room in the boot. Mrs J wants to swap the Passat Estate for one!
Obviously they are not as sound proofed or as nicely finished as some cars, but they do what they do very well. If we got rid of our Ducato camper, I'd have one as a second vehicle like a shot.
service light was flashing, brake warning light on, side door refused to lock - all in all did not add up
Multipla?
[i]service light was flashing, brake warning light on, side door refused to lock - all in all did not add up [/i]
What?
Did you honestly not notice any of this when you were looking at it?
no as they came on this morning!! Side door was shut and opened fine, just did not lock correctly.
Ah well it went back so not too bad of an ending.
druidh - group 10 insurance!! and ugly as ****
drac - spot on! Only problem is the lack of vehicle now!!
Stick with the focus and buyy a decent liner?
The Kangoo ain't gonna be big enough to use as a workshop - even a van would be a struggle.
I thought there was a bit of outsdie space you could convert into storage?
Bigger house?
Someone I know had a Multipla, and his wife sold it while he was away on holiday.
Spacious though, fits three bikes upright and three people without even trying to squash things in.
www.buy a bloody transporter and stop being a homo.com
take out the spaces 😉
they're cool, look cool, drive cool and they're big white (or other colour) van's, and you can sleep in the back too.
I know dodgy man was, well, err... dodgy, but i think you should see a 'nice' T4/T5 - even if its just for a butchers (no intention of buying)
IMO, shitroens and fiat's are just a poor compromise on your intended purpose (putting the bikes in and putting the toolbox in/dirtworker (sounds like George Michael ought to have one? "Georgy M found with dirtworker in public bog")
anyway
jt
I owned a Berlingo for a while but sadly wrote it off after cartwheeling it down a slope - saying that, all passengers and contents were fine, but the outer shell was rather rough afterwards!
I really liked it, as much as it was a van-based vehicle, it was fine to drive - would happily take me around the country over pretty much every road and hardened surface without too much hassle - only problem I've had with it was trying to drive in foot thick snow...didn't make it.
Space-wise - it carried 3 bikes and 3 bodies plus gear without any problems - only 1 bike had a wheel off but everything else rolled in and rolled out the rear. The rear seat is easy enough to remove, you need a torx head to remove the seat but best thing is to leave the single seat in and you can still carry 3 bodies. If you do remove the double seat you also get another 6" of space in the back as the seat doesn't take up any room.
I had the 1.9 diesel - it took an age to go anywhere but would happily sit at 70mph once there...I was getting about 600 out the tank. We drove a turbo'd version in Spain and it was superb compared to the standard diesel - same economy, just with a bit more power.
I did look at the Kangoo at the time but decided against it as it was slightly narrower and shorter in the storage space, the Berlingo was bigger. The Peugeot Partner is the same as the Berlingo but with a more 'premium' name to it and has a few standard things that the Citreon doesn't (like a passenger air bag) - saying that, since the introduction of the new model, that has changed...my next car is probably going to be a new style Berlingo as it was ugly as sin so no-one would be interested in it, but it was supremely practical.
The only thing I didn't try in the car was a full-on DH bike, but it did take some 6" bouncers without any probs...I ride a large sized frame and my Trance fitted in nicely.
Got pictures on my Flickr account of the car in Spain with 2 bikes in the boot - can't link to them from here as my work account doesn't give me access to Flickr, but if you go to http://www.richardbarton.co.uk, I think one of the Collections on that main page is Bikes in a Berlingo...only a couple of snaps but it shows the storage is simple.
I'd recommend a Berlingo...immensely practical, very good economy and perhaps the last car you will ever need.
[i]transporter went back - dodgy as a dodgy thing[/i]
🙄
It doesnt mean be put off by the transporter idea though. Just keep shopping around, beware of near-as average mileage for the year etc. Just needs patience. Berlingo etc are tiny compared to a Transporter. You couldnt sleep in one overnight for a start.
'
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cough Toyota HiAce cough.
[url= http://www.c3picasso.com/uk/ ]Citroen C3 Picasso[/url]
Why not look at the new citroen C3 Picasso.
Dont think its out yet but it looks pretty good.
hora
can you enlighten me a bit more on your HiAce
R_R, where are you? do you want to come see my van?
It will be for sale when I get back from snowboarding (going on friday for the week). I could be persuaded to do a special stw deal :o) I'll probably even throw in the twinny quattro bike rack, if you want it.
As a measure of how dodgy mine isn't (eh?), I am about to drive to the alps and back in it - which I do regularly with no worries. High mileage, but that doesn't matter - cost me £200 to get through the MOT 2 weeks ago, and that was because one of the rear springs needed replacing (common fault).
[url= http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/dforey/VanPictures# ]Picasa album of my T4 LWB[/url]
Dave
Eh? How tall are you Hora? I'm 6'1" and have slept in the Berlingo a few times...admittedely it isn't comfy, but I slept the whole night no probs...guess it depends on how you sleep - if you sleep totally straight then it isn't ideal, but diagonally would fit you...or curly up and plenty of room.
i hear the Diesel berlingos are a bit wet if you dont have a turbo, and they are certainly a bit rattly compared to a car, but its a van with seats, so cant complain there.
considered a VW caddy?
Golf derived, availible as a tall back.....
I used to drive a Kangoo 1.4 75bhp, not the fastest engine, but if You drive it normally you can get good MPG, looks ugly, doesn't drive that well, but loads of space inside and close to a normal cars driving. Only problem is that the electrics on it constantly were going wrong, and it cost a lot to repair it. It was a passenger version. Could get a bike upright with a wheel off. My mate had a Berlingo but a van 1.4 as well. Basically really similar space wise to Kangoo, same engine but as it had no seats out the back a bike could easily fit and being 5'10 could sleep in the back.
My girlfriends dad has a 07 reg Kangoo 1.5dci 82bhp and this is a really good engine, shame about the car, it's a loaded example, aircon, electrics, most of the options on it, but still has something with the sliding doors seals as it lets water in when it's raining and as it's french it will break at some point.
Don't go for the 1.9D in Berlingo as it's a slow and not economic engine. dci/hdi engines only if diesel. 1.5dci according to the computer, he can get about 50-55mpg around town, driving sensibly of course.
Still running costs should be lower than with a bigger sized van.
I prefered to drive the Kangoo than my uncles Nissan Serena but my mums Passat 1.8 turbo was still my weapon of choice (she forgot to bring the keys to the roof racks and we managed to fit 2 bikes in the trunk of a sedan, estates are really spacious as well) 🙂
I would check a Nissan Vanette. Same as a Serena, can get a nice example with aircon and even 5 seats (my aunt has one) 2.3D is a bit thirsty and not the fastest but it will just keep running, 1.6 16v petrol is not that bad as well (You can get a 2.0 petrol, that should be quick :-)). In 10 years of having a Serena 1.6 16v my uncle only changed brake pads, front shocks and oil couple times and it has almost 100.000 miles on the clock.
Alfabus - how much are you after? Mileage, service history, and more importantly - where in the country are you?
racing_ralph - email winging its way to you now
Dave :o)
DickBarton thats more slumming it compared to a longer-van option! Crickey you could sleep in an estate as well.... actually straight 🙂
I don't have a HiAce, matey owns one for work purposes which regularly drives across the UK daily... and on its many trips it was used to move me up north from London (in one load) a few years back..
We drove around 1200 miles in a VW Caddy Maxi Life (that's a LWB VW Caddy with windows/seats in the back) in 5 days last summer. I was pretty impressed. It was comfy, drove well and was pretty painless even for long distances on the motorway (we drove from Milton Keynes up to Scotland and back). We had 2 bikes and a load of kit in the boot, but there was still space to have the second row of seats in it (we removed the third row).
However, it was virtually brand new and had a 2.0 diesel engine. Not sure that there are many on the 2nd hand market, or what sort of price they go for - they're pricey new.
Although the refinement of a car-van is less than that of a car, it's generally better than a van - there are few things worse than driving an empty, echoing van on the motorway for long distances...
I've got the 1.9 Doblo which I think has the largest interior space of all of them. It's been reliable and does 50 mpg despite being used mainly for short journeys. They are very basic but I like that and as they are all ugly you might as well go for the ugliest of the lot. When I was looking around the Doblos seemed to report fewer problems than the Berlingos and Kangoos. Have a look at[url= http://www.honestjohn.co.uk ]honestjohn[/url]he's a pretty good source of information. The only thing I've found is that the rear leaf suspension can be noisy when the bushes dry out. It's only apparent over speed bumps and isn't a handling or safety issue.
anyone know the cam/timing belt change interval on a 1.4 PETROL pug partner?
Roomster 1.9tdi 3 bikes and 3 blokes inside for a weekend in wales no probs. Ok to drive, 50+mpg easy, doesnt sound like a van inside either.
Sigh. If we are going the Roomster etc route just get a Skoda Octavia 1.8T estate.. sigh
roomsters are the shittest of the spaz mobiles i am considering
"considered a VW caddy?
Golf derived, availible as a tall back..."
Unfortunately, much like the Transporter, Caddys incurr a hefty scene tax.
For better VFM seek out a Doblo, Berlingo, Kubistar, Kangoo or (Vauxhall) Combo.
I'm on my second Berlingo Multispace.
1st one was a 2001 1.6 16v petrol, which I had for 3 years until it was written off in the snow last December.
Now got a 2004 2.0 HDi diesel, which has better trim, roof storage lockers and roof bars.
As a mountain biker and father of two small kids for me they're the perfect car.
Not much in it between the 2 engines performance wise, the petrol is probably slightly quicker. As for ecconomy the petrol did about 35mpg and I get just over 40mpg from the diesel which I'm bit dissappointed with really.
I dont want to receive a ban for what I just thought about the above pic. Nice, if your older or have relatives to transport round. Just wrong.
not sure why folk are so attracted to van-based cars... when you could get a car/estate/small mpv with way more refinement, and much better to drive. Stuff like Toyota Corolla Verso, or even just the likes of a focus estate would be very nearly as practical (if not more) and way more refined.
Am i missing something?
Yes, i think you are.
I had a 1.4 Berlingo, and even tho i have a Saab 9-5 estate now... i miss the berlingo.
I thought it was fun to drive, short gearing ment it was no slouch, at least up to 60mph. swallowed everything i ever wanted to carry.
And no i'm not joking about it being fun to drive - yes it leaned in heavy cornering - but once used to that it did hang on with out understeering off the road, the steering wasnt numb, gearbox didnt feel like you were stirring porrage. went up Harewood Hill in about the same time as a Morgan 🙂
cp - samehere. Its ticking that 'must do the [i]practical[/i] vehicle once' slot. Our IT guy runs a van for his business, I was asking him what its like etc etc and he said the only reason he runs the van is because he [b]has to[/b]. Its not an enjoyment factor. It carries boxes but isnt enjoyable or liveable. If you need a van-based car for bikes- how often do you go biking compared to other duties?! If you use it once a week to carry a bike and two weeks in summer surely its an over-compromise of epic proportions?