Citroen Berlingo 1.6HDi Multispace
Performance
The 1.6HDi engine has been used in Citroens and Peugeots for over 10 years now, testament to it's popularity and reliability. It is smooth and responsive, if a little noisey and capable of providing adequate acceleration and overtaking ability. The o-62 mph time is a sluggish 15 seconds and the top speed is 93 mph. The 5 speed manual is precise and solid which build on a silky smooth ride comfort to give an overall relaxing driving experience.
Practicality
This is where the cars excels. Its cavernous boot space will swallow all your luggage, shopping or pets with ease. The optional Dog Gaurd which is fitted in my car is custom made for the Berlingo and is solid and secure. It is made of a fine metal mesh which only marginally reduces rear visibility. The Desire ...
Advantages: Price, economical, interior height Disadvantages: Drivers seat too high for short legs
Bought this as a 2nd car for household. Never been tempted to buy new before and the other car is now 13yrs old. I wanted a car that was small but had 5 doors, AC, very economical to drive and preferably a diesel. Other than that I was open to any make or model. I had never considered a Citroen as my mum had a BX many years ago which she hated, however I saw the MPG and decided to take it for a test. There were no demos in the exclusive, so we took out the 1.4 diesel desire, we had it for 24hrs (I'd recommend this to anyone serious about buying). It was nippy and easy to drive, although it didn't have any of the specifications which the exclusive had (auto wipe, heated & folding mirrors, cruise control, electronic climate control, the thing in the boot and loads more) but I liked it. The engine is the same as Ford's TDCI for those ...
Advantages: A spacious comfortable very well equiped MPV Disadvantages: A soft ride and seats not the best in the world
This is the second Picasso I have had, so I must be keen on them! My first was a second hand (15 months old) 1.8 SX but this one is new and is the 1.6i Excellence model. Both models being petrol driven. I find the 1.6i feels smaller , nippier and seems to have more precise steering than the 1.8SX. There have been many reviews detailing the various great features of the Picasso so I will restrict my comments to the "toys" that the Excellence version has.
Possibly the most useful thing is the climate control air conditioning. This enables you to select the internal temperature to within 0.5 of a degree. The fan has many progressive settings from gentle waft to cyclonic gale! Next toy is the cruise control. From the steering control one can select a given speed (in 4th and 5th gear). Once selected the car will carry on at this speed ...