Citroen Berlingo Multispace
Flexibility, practicality, efficiency – the popular French MPV is now more advanced than ever before.
There aren’t many cars quite like this anymore. Citroen’s Berlingo Multispace is an MPV – a Multi-Purpose Vehicle – a genre of car that values space and practicality over almost everything else. It’s based on the new Berlingo van, and that’s good news because its dimensions are absolutely perfect for achieving the Multispace mission.
With a new generation comes a new look, and the new Berlingo Multispace wears the contemporary Citroen design language well, looking much funkier and quirkier than the previous generation which certainly never looked as aesthetically pleasing as this new model. This is highly likely to be received as the best this model has ever looked, not that that’s the real objective of this car, but it helps – the bright and airy interior with its distinctive seating adds vibrancy to a car that usually wouldn’t be perceived that way.
Synergy customers can choose from two sizes of Berlingo Multispace, simply called ‘M’ and ‘XL’. To separate them very basically, M is the 5-seat version, XL is the 7-seater. Citroen proudly boasts that the ‘M’ boot space is now class-leading, having increased the volume by 100-litres to give an overall of 775-litres. In both models, seating folds flat very easily and gives a load length of up to 2.7m for the M version and a touch over 3m in the XL model. Sliding side doors on both sides provide ease of access for passengers and items alike.
New BlueHDi 1.5-litre turbo diesel and PureTech 1.2-litre turbo petrol engines bring improved power and efficiency to the Berlingo Multispace and are complemented very nicely by a new 8-speed automatic gearbox. Citroen’s ongoing mission to be seen as a brand associated heavily with comfort should mean the suspension has been tuned accordingly.
For equipment and gadgets, 19 different items are available including the usual suspects, but also featuring more advanced, luxury items like a colour heads-up display and a wireless charging pad. An 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system accesses most of the major controls.
Since 1996, Citroen has sold over 1.7-million Berlingo Multispace models. Success like that doesn’t come around by accident. Now more advanced than ever before, the ever-practical MPV looks set to find many new homes here at Synergy too.