Been havinga few car problems lately and I think its time to sell/trade in.

I gather there are a few Berlingo owners on here, are they the best option for those big estate/small van type things? Need something my gf can happily park on my narrow street but would really like to have at least two bikes in the back, preferably with wheels on. Are the older ones still big enough to do this? I gather the new ones are a little bigger.

Would still like to have two rows of seats available for non-biking use.
Anyone got a Fiat Doblo, any good? I used to own a silly little cinquecento and while it worked it didn’t inspire me with confidence as to the quality of FIAT vehicles.

Any other good options about?

Ta

the doblo is worse than dire – we had a demonstrator for the weekend and any distance over 25 miles instantly felt like 125 miles – the suspension/tyres make it seem like it bounces between nose & tail.

also it is noisier than than than a 1971 mini van.

the only thing the doblo is good for is it’s cavernous boot and the 1.9 litre deisel.

I got a Scudo instead – its so big I can fit my road bike in it width ways!

Pugeot and Citreon do version too (and the one with van doors is very cheap!

I was looking around at these van/car type things too and eventually settled on a Fiat Multipla. Works well for use as we’re a family of 3 which means the back seats can be taken out leaving a huge space in the back. They’re actually quite short, so parking is simple (helped by the huge windows). I can get a couple of bikes in the back with wheels on, but removing just one wheel means I can carry 3 bikes plus loads of camping gear etc. very easily.

The Doblo we test drove felt like a bag of bolts.

The older Partner/Berlingos were pretty nice. Some of the models had lots of cubby spaces, handling was pretty neutral. Some of the interior finishes were a bit suspect and showed wear easily (this may not matter to you). Nice engines in the TDs too.

Check out speed limits for van-derived vehicles too. There was a thread on here recently where folk were surprised that the limits were lower than for cars.

Used to have a 51 Berlingo multispace 1.6 petrol. It was pretty good for bikes, worked best with front wheel out and one side of the split seats down. Left loads of room for other kit, and people too!
Drove it down to the Pyrenees and back 5 times, was pretty easy to drive and could cover distances although side winds were tiring. It would even go round corners although a smooth driving style is required.
Go to a independent garage for servicing as Citroen main dealers are worse than useless (certainly my experience from going to 2 different ons – one was wholely owned by Citroen UK and I would never, ever buy another Citroen from them even though I’m quite tempted by the new shape Berlingo).

Peugot have just brought out a new thingy.

Peugeot launched Bipper Tepee Outdoor : A city adventurer ready for the countryside.

It look very functional on the TV ad’s…..

we had a citroen picasso (old shape) a few years back:

Huge capacity with seats folded, quite reliable and cheap as chips, even new,

Now got a VW T5 Kombi which rocks!!

OK thanks everyone – sounds like a diesel Berlingo could be a winner. Will check some out.

Anyone got a link to the thread about speed limits? Ta

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ticket-for-doing-61mph

We have a ’53 diesel Berlingo. It’s brill. I can fit 3 bikes with both wheels off in the boot, with 5 of the 6 wheels. The only thing is one of the bikes has to be a small frame/ narrower handlebars if you want 3 in. Two fit beautifully..

Hmm looks like the laden weight of a Berlingo is just over 2 tonnes so it would be the lower speed limit. Oh well not that big a deal.

I always fancied a Toyota Yaris Verso, but they don’t make em any more 🙁