Citroen e-Berlingo
REPORT 3
£31,995 OTR/£33,870 as tested/£519pcm
WHY IT’S HERE
Can a van with windows triumph as an EV?
DRIVER
Sam Burnett
ANDY FRANKLIN LET ME BORROW THE BERLINGO WHILE HE DITCHED it for a ruinously expensive petrol beast on his summer jaunt Yes the thought of continuous recharging through France had him running for Ollie’s V Jag I was delighted to make the Citroen’s acquaintance plenty big enough to fill up with camping stuff and still space left for a few friends I’m not a natural camper my preferred environment is staying warm indoors with a film on none of which was covered by our intents summer holiday experience But you’ve got to get away haven’t you?
The usual wheels in the Burnett household are also electric but significantly smaller so I was excited about all the places I could lose things in The roof storage is a pleasant gimmick but useless in practice The one good thing is the locker over the boot somewhere to stash the charging cables I also got excited about the parcel shelf which can be shifted to the middle of the boot to chuck things in via the glass hatch
When I drive these things I put them into Eco I can’t think of any car I want to be spinning the front wheels away from the lights in least of all a family EV It wasn’t hard to improve on AF’s economy I got around mpkWh making for about miles of range before you panic and head for a plug
The steering is usefully light you sit nice and high and the cabin feels relaxed in an upright sort of way Never got on with the brakes though no finesse to them Citroen makes a lot of noise about how comfortable its cars are but it can be hit and miss Everyone who had a trip in the Berlingo was complimentary of the ride
It sits well with the electric character you want to be relaxed because it’ll take you ages to get wherever you’re going It’s a whole different approach to motoring and I quite like it Much like a camping holiday actually although I’m not so keen on one of those