Citroën
do make a wacky cheeky chappie van with windows... in the shape
of the Berlingo Multispace. |
| Zog
Ziegler |
Tricky
Johnny - brother Frog. But I rather like him.
I suspect
the reason so many British folk nurture such a dislike for Frere
Grenouille has little to do with the unpleasant events at Creçy,
Agincourt and Waterloo.
No,
to be honest - it's green-eyed envy.
By
and large we covet their lifestyle, to use the word in its non-cycling,
surfing, Evian-quaffing sense.
Two
hour lunch
They
may be smoking themselves to death faster than any other nation
in Europe but, hey, any country where even the humblest road sweeper
takes a two hour lunch has got to have the edge.
And
as we all know, they get things done…
They
even nail together some half decent cars - though, on balance, Renault
seem to have grabbed the style baton from Citroën and appear
to be running away with it.
We
need some more of that idiosyncratic Gallic flair from Citroën,
missing since the demise of the wonderful XM.
Opposition
licked
That
said, Citroën do make a wacky cheeky chappie van with windows
- van fenêtre - in the shape of the Berlingo Multispace -
which has the opposition licked, so doff your hats Renault Kangoo
and design disaster - Fiat Doblo - a right dobin!
I was
determined to hate the Berlingo and looked forward to rubbishing
the thing with a few deft strokes of my quill and guess what…
I'm rather taken back by the blasted contraption.
|
You
may even be able to loose one of your unruly brats in the extra
100 litres of storage space the Modutop offers. |
| Zog
Ziegler |
It
does what it says on the tin - and then some; it does it frugally
and will only cost a round of drinks to buy.
There
are two petrol engines - 1.4 and 1.6 - and two diesels - 1.9 and
the much punchier 2.0HDi, with 90 bhp and, much more importantly,
151 lbs ft of torque to save you swapping cogs at the nearest hint
of gradient.
Double
cream
Prices
range from £9,450 to £11,250 OTR.
The
Forte spec. models come with all the fruit, whilst the, ahem, Desire
spec. cars, as tested here, get a splosh of double cream as well.
On
top of the basic list price our test Desire' came with a further
£1900 worth of goodies such as Wicked Red Metallic paint at
£300, 15 inch Estoril alloys at £350, safety pack (front
seat passenger whoopie cushion, lateral whoopie cushions, ABS and
EBD) at £650 and air conditioning at £600.
Paint
job
Personally,
I could just about live without the Desire and Estoril bits, namely
paint job and wheels.
As
the Berlingo Multispace is all about transporting people and stuff
rather than out and out performance, let me highlight some of the
car's interior features, if I may.
The
Wicked Red Desire, teetering on its poncy little Estorils, is something
of an illusionist - more airliner than Tardis.
Crumb-snatchers
Well,
you get aircraft style tables on the back of the front seats and
a roof mounted storage system that Citroën insist on calling
Modutop.
Here
'lifestyle' sporty types and their crumb-snatchers can store their
sundry accoutrements in "overhead compartments - arranged along
similar lines to aircraft lockers".
You
may even be able to loose one of your unruly brats in the extra
100 litres of storage space the Modutop offers.
|
Even cleverer is the exterior bit of the
Modutop option, which comes with two built-in removable pivoting
roof bars. |
| Zog
Ziegler |
And
just like an aircraft, the Modutop has interior lighting, CD/cassette
holder, two 12-volt sockets, adjustable fans and - unlike the aircraft
- tinted roof panels for each of the five seats.
The
Modutop looks groovy, has more cubby-holes than you can shake a
well licked toffee apple at, but… I'm not sure how long it
would be before bits of it start biffing the car's occupants about
the bonce, it all looks a nadgers on the flimsy side of frail to
me.
Well
thumbed
Also,
go for a dark Modutop. The cream one on 'our' car was already looking
well thumbed.
Just
think what a good jet of Coca Cola could do.
|
The
face-lift gives it a friendly if slightly gloopy appearance.
|
| Zog
Ziegler |
Even
cleverer is the exterior bit of the Modutop option, which comes
with two built-in removable pivoting roof bars.
Surfboards
Positioned
lengthways they act like a normal roof-rack. Stick 'em crosswise
over the roof and serious lifestyle items such as bikes, skis or,
God no, surfboards may be attached.
Lashed
to one side of the cavernous boot is a plastic folding contraption
with wheels that turns into a sort of shopping trolley like your
gran had - only without the tartan.
Snapper
Sherratt and I wondered who would ever bother with it.
Spooky
Then,
24 hours later, he actually saw one in use at an air show. How spooky
is that?
And
guess what… the flaming thing's called a Modubox; Ye Gods and
little fishes…
Given
the car's brick outhouse aerodynamics it footles along at a fair
old clip, only the odd crosswind unsettling matters.
|
The
Berlingo Multispace 2.0 HDi is vastly practical, mildly trend
setting and almost amusing. |
| Zog
Ziegler |
The
face-lift gives it a friendly if slightly gloopy appearance. Suspenders,
as well as safety aspects have been much improved.
I have
a few minor reservations about overall build quality, but that is
to a degree reflected in the price.
Vastly
practical
The
Berlingo Multispace 2.0 HDi is vastly practical, mildly trend setting
and almost amusing.
I like
it, tho' I just know that some owners will indubitably get up my
nose.
Article
by Zog Ziegler
This
article contains user-generated content (ie external contribution)
expressing a personal opinion, not the views of BBC Gloucestershire.
|
BBC
Gloucestershire's motoring guru Zog Ziegler gets his hands on the
Citroën Berlingo Multispace 2.0 HDi, and takes it for a spin.
