Citroen improves Berlingo
Revised small French commercial van brings safety and infotainment upgrades for lessWith its somewhat limited market penetration in the passenger-car area, Citroen is lavishing plenty of attention on the light-van market, where the almost cute-looking Berlingo is one of the company’s best sellers.
Citroen says it’s done a lot of work recently on establishing a point of difference for the Berlingo range, and has decided to focus on the areas of safety and infotainment.
As well as a mild styling update, the newly revised range scores a reversing camera as a standard fitment, which is very much needed with the vehicle’s solid sides limiting visibility, and is a first for the segment.
Safety is further boosted by the inclusion of electronic stability control, traction control and hill start assist as standard.
The company has also worked with a local provider to come up with a touch-screen system that modernises the interior and allows the provision of either Apple’s CarPlay or Android Auto. USB and AUX ports are also now provided.
The styling of your Berlingo can be personalised with a new 'Look Pack' as an $800 option, while dual sliding doors, which are super handy, are now standard.
The engine range is unchanged by the facelift with the choice of a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine for short-body variants, while long-body vans get a turbo-diesel with manual or paddle-shift automatic transmissions.
The real tempter, though, will be the new drive-away pricing, which sees the range starting at $22,000 drive-away for the turbo-petrol (previously $20,990 plus on-road costs), with the long-body turbo-diesel manual priced at $26,500 (previously $25,990 plus ORCs), or $30,500 for the ETG semi-auto with idle-stop (previously $29,990 plus ORCs).
The Berlingo is a common sight across Europe, where delivery drivers seem to summon almost race-car-like performance from them, and with its improved offering you can expect to see a few more on Australian roads next year as well.
2016 Citroen Berlingo pricing (drive-away):
Short body — $22,000
Long body HDi — $26,500
Long body ETG — $30,500
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
