Citroen Berlingo Airdream van review – well-specced fun-to-drive all-rounder

A sliding nearside door is standard; the Enterprise pack adds one to the offside too

Our test van had an Enterprise pack which adds aircon, Bluetooth/USB connectivity and rear parking sensors. It costs £600, which seems like good value. The metallic paint job adds another £320.

The Berlingo has a well thought out and equipped cab with an abundance of storage areas. It will seat three, though the Extenso multi-function centre seat is on the narrow side. It’s better used as a fold-down ‘desk’ and it also houses a very useful storage area underneath.

There’s a multi-function on-board trip computer that’s linked to the audio system to provide information such as distance travelled and average fuel consumption.

Bluetooth and USB socket are standard on Enterprise and optional on other models.

Extenso multi-function centre seat houses a very useful storage area

I enjoyed driving the Berlingo. It felt comfortable, impressively lively and handled extremely well – with an almost sporty feel to it.

In terms of cargo, the L1 model can cram in a 670kg payload in a loadspace measuring 1800mm long, 1620mm wide (1230mm between the wheelarches), and 1250mm high. Load volume is 3.3cu.

Fold the front seats, and the load length increases to a very useful 3m, and gives an increased volume of 3.7cu m.

A range of bulkheads is available. With the Enterprise pack you get a half-height steel bulkhead with mesh upper and removable panel to allow the load space to be increased into the cab.

There’s no problem with loadspace access, which is via a pair of asymmetrically split rear doors and a nearside sliding side door. The Enterprise pack adds a useful offside sliding side door.

What’s hot?

• It’s lively, with sporty handling making for a fun drive.
  

  Car-like cab with masses of storage space

• The cab can seat for three, the Airdeam LX model being equipped with Extenso multi-function dual passenger seat with integral storage.
• The car-like cab’s also well thought out with a profusion of storage compartments.
• There’s a good level of standard equipment that includes ABS, electronic brake force distribution (EBFD) and emergency brake assist (EBA).
• The automated manual six-speed EGS system is especially good.

What’s not?

• The automated gearbox works so well, I couldn’t see the point of the steering column-mounted paddles
• The 12,500-mile service interval might seem to come round quickly