Perfect for families on the move

CITROEN’S Berlingo Multispace has come a long way since its original MK1 model’s basic commercial roots.

With smart styling, strong equipment levels and the hi-tech option of efficient BlueHDi diesel engines and even all-electric power, this value-for-money five or sevenseater is now a vehicle that demands to be taken very seriously indeed.

By the time this second generation version was launched in 2008, well over a million Multispace models were pounding European roads.

In recent times, the brand has improved it further, adding clever equipment and a smarter look.

But it’s inside that the contrast between this modern Multispace and the utilitarian original are most marked. Spartan wipe-clean black plastic is replaced in top secondgeneration variants with soft-touch plastics and a hi-tech cabin-fest capable of satisfying the most demanding modern family.

Everything from MyWay satellite navigation to a Bluetooth and USBenabled ‘Connecting Box’ for the stereo system. There’s even an optional Modutop roof apparently inspired by aviation which combines a glazed top with multiple stowage compartments and even interior roof bars for storing your snowboard. It also includes an air freshener system that works with the vents to spread a subtly-scented atmosphere around the cabin.

There are cubbies and storage bins absolutely everywhere in this Berlingo, though some, like this useful overhead storage shelf, are either optional or to be found only on plusher variants.

There’s also a 675-litre boot, which can take as much as 3000-litres if you remove the seats.

As before, standard Berlingo Multispace models are five-seaters and the rear cabin is accessible by sliding side doors that’ll stop your kids from re-sculpting the paintwork of adjacent cars when they leap out in a crowded car park.

Pay extra for a ‘Family Pack’ and that will give you a couple of extra fold-out (and removable) seats in the boot — though these are really only intended for smaller folk.

Let’s face it, cash-strapped families don’t want to spend too much on the car that’ll move them about.

The good news with this Berlingo Multispace is they don’t have to. Prices range in the £13,500 to £18,500 bracket, around £5,000 less than you’d pay for a conventional five-seat MPV like Ford’s C-MAX, Renault’s Scenic or indeed the Citroen C4 Picasso that shares this model’s underpinnings.