One on the side for Citroen Berlingo

Citroen is upping the ante with its Berlingo mini van by adding the once-optional sliding kerbside door to the standard equipment list without adding to the price.

Factoring the sliding door into the $16,490 purchase price means a saving of $1000, according to Citroen.

Introduced to Australia in August 1999, the purpose-built Berlingo has been a steady seller at the rate of around 500 vehicles a year.

Although the body is Berlingo-specific, the running gear is essentially borrowed from the now-defunct Xsara small car, meaning there's a decent 800kg load capacity, three cubic metres of load space and French-style on-road flair.

The Berlingo's main competition in Australia has come from Holden's Barina-based Combo which has, until recently, sold in roughly twice the numbers of the Citroen, and Renault’s Kangoo which is more expensive and lags behind in overall sales, but offers twin sliding doors as standard.