How Do You Replace A Berlingo?

[moon_monkie]

Hi all, our Berlingo will be three years old soon and although we like the car and have never had a moments trouble from it I'm thinking of replacing it. This probably has more to do with the fact that after three years with the same car I fancy something different but we also no longer need anything as big.

 

What I'm wondering is what we could possibly replace it with, as the Berlingo is such good value there are no obvious contenders and I suspect if we go for a smaller car we'll miss the space and flexibility!

 

Has anyone got any suggestiions?

[Terry1100]

Fiat Idea perhaps? - I'd say Nissan Note but that's just a R****lt Modus in drag.

 

Suzuki SX4's funky if you like that sort of thing.

 

Mr Sensible would probably go for a Ford Fusion and there's always the Vauxhall Meriva.

 

So many cars, so little time (and money!)

[Snoopy]

How about hanging on until the new Fiat 500 come out - looks like it mak have some character :-)

[Terry1100]

Skoda Roomster launches soon - might be too pricey (relatively).

[northman]

Depends how sensible you want to be.

 

If you are feeling adventurous, get a Roomster. Then you can tell us all about it, and how it compares with a Berlingo.

 

If you are feeling sensible, get a Honda Jazz.

 

If you are actually sensible, just hang on to your faithful Berlingo.

[wozza]

And if your not sensible get yourself a cheap sportscar :o

[Guest CE05LDB]

If you shop round for a good deal you could get a new C3 1.6HDi 92BHP Exclusive cheap. Reason why I said this as its cheap to tax and brill on fuel and its smaller that a Berlingo

[tronboy]

Depends how sensible you want to be. 

 

If you are feeling adventurous,  get a Roomster.  Then you can tell us all about it, and how it compares with a Berlingo.

Very unfair group test of Lingo v Roomster v Nissan Note in this week's Auto Express. Lingo panned for residual values and build quality/materials yet residual calculations being made on list price. A quick shop around revealed I couldn't get a discount at all on a new Roomster, next to nothing on a Note, and £1400 off list before I start negotiating on a Lingo..... Added to the fact that most people buy a Lingo for the space and practicality rather than quality of cabin materials. It's rightly identified as the biggest on test.

 

Now a road test of the Lingo v Partner v Kangoo v Doblo would be fair..... Partner written off first because it's identical to the Lingo but at least grand more expensive; Doblo next because it's an ugly pig and the 7-seater places the rearmost occupants in the safety crumple-zone. Lingo v Kangoo anyone?

[Terry1100]

Yeah, it's a bit like a guy from Ford telling me how good a C-Max is around Brands Hatch - that's the route I always take from home to the supermarket :o .

 

Road testers just don't get the Blingo - or anything else that's apperciated for anything other than dynamic qualities - mind you Clarkson likes it. At least it keeps it our little secret - and in relative terms depreciation is so much better than a Picasso.

 

Ignoring things that I accept because it's a van/cheap/practical etc the only things I can really criticise the Blingo for is a poor turning circle (oh and failing to properly utilise the electrics - one touch windows that stay on after the ignition is off etc)

 

Vs a Kangoo - well it's a R****lt for a start so dearer servicing. also quite a bit smaller, poorer dash (IMHO) poorer overhead storage, no 1.6 petrol option.

 

(love that clever code that changes the word R*****t if you type it in full (try it :D )

[tronboy]

Renault (Rubbish)

 

Yeah that's ace!!!

 

The only things I'd criticise it for are the mediocre headlamps and the weak brakes.

[northman]

Didn't see that Autoexpress. Rather sorry I missed it. Did they say anything interesting about the different cars?

 

What Car tested the Berlingo against the Doblo and the Kangoo back at the beginning of 2002. (Berlingo won)

[tronboy]

Didn't see that Autoexpress. Rather sorry I missed it. Did they say anything interesting about the different cars?

As you'd expect really. Weighted towards the Skoda because they're obvious fans in that office......

[northman]

Tronboy

 

What strikes me, looking at the prices of the Roomster compared to the Berlingo (real world prices, rather than sticker prices), is that if you consider the power of the different engines (well, the 0-60 figures give a rough guide), the Berlingo is about £3000 cheaper, engine for engine, than the equivalent Roomster.

 

Bit of a no-brainer that, unless this Roomster is really good.

 

I'd say the Roomster will not be taking sales from the Berlingo - it's real competitors will be things like the Picasso, the Scenic, C-Max, etc.

 

Remember the VW Caddy Life Combi that was going to come into the UK a few years ago as a Berlingo rival. It never seemed to appear. The prices were just too high. The Roomster will be a fine car, no doubt - but not a real Berlingo rival.

[tronboy]

Agreed. The Roomster will, I'm sure be a good car, but not the bargain basement experience that we're all used to with the Berlingo.

 

Interesting you should mention the Caddy Life. I had my local VW dealer ready to alert me when it hit the showrooms, but the call never came, and I've never seen one on the road. I was really only interested out of curiosity because I only buy sunroof equipped cars, the Lingo being the ultimate in this respect! VW obviously never intended it to be a real Lingo/Kangoo/Doblo rival because it was to be sold via the van dealerships. They are occasionally seen in mainland Europe it appears, and despite their price, they are austere in appearance, rather like the Berlingo Entreprise models which are available in France

 

http://www.citroen.com/NR/rdonlyres/BEEA86A1-B743-4632-B8ED-ECC1F300300C/17089/berlingo_VU_01.jpg

 

which are true vans with rear seats and windows! Wind-up windows, no stereo, dual rear doors and raising roof section instead of tailgate, heavy duty seats (passenger seat tips and becomes a desk!) no tints, black bumpers and thick rubbing strips.

 

Actually, the Peugeot Partner is sold in the UK in this stripped-out form, and often sold to Post Offices delivering in rural areas. It's still not as cheap as a Berlingo Forte with all the equipment now supplied as standard. A Berlingo version sold here would probably be so cheap it'd nearly be free!

 

Another 'disappearing budget MPV' in the UK was the Transit Connect Combi which was a 6-seater (three abreast) and set to cost about £13k for a base model. Anybody seen one?

 

http://www.ttn.com.tr/ttn/TTDS/pics/20924/757653.jpg

[northman]

Actually, I know someone who bought one (a Connect Combi) - his wife was disabled. He was very pleased with it. I don't know what he paid, but I gather that it wasn't exactly cheap - possibly well over £13,000.

 

The constabulary around our way have used them, and our local bobby thought his was pretty good.

[tronboy]

They certainly look nice.

 

A disabled person's version with wheelchair access would be far more expensive I'm sure. Maybe base price was 15k? I can't remember....

[Terry1100]

I looked at the Tranny out of academic interest.

 

By the time you've specced it close to a Blingo (air and stuff) it lists at £18,000.

 

As Northman says, (even with Ford discount which can get close to Citroen if you play them right) it's still 000's more than the Blingo.

 

Mind you I bet you can carry a shedload of cheap booze/Orangina Rouge in it.

 

At the end of the day, the only thing you can replace a BLingo with is

 

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Another Blingo :o

[moon_monkie]

Looks like I'm keeping the Berlingo then!

 

after reading the magazine and looking around I can't actually find anything that I really want so either the Berlingo is better than even I thought or I'm getting old!

 

Could be a combination of the two I suppose... :o

[tronboy]

Just tested a Roomster.

 

The czeapest variant, the 1 is a tad under 10K, and the Roomster3 is the dearest nudging 15.

 

Well. Unless you specify a Roomster 2 or 3, the kit is miserly. The Roomster1 doesn't even have a glovebox lid. All variants except the 3 have very dull dark grey/blueish interiors, but the 3 has a nice bright cream dash and very pretty, highly impractical, cream coloured cloth seats. In fact, you really have to buy a Roomster3 to appreciate just how well built the interior is. Somehow the drab grey of the lesser models doesn't do the fine VW-beating build quality justice. The 3 also gives you the Panoramic Roof, which is £400-odd extra on the other two. The Roomster1 is a real scumline model, but fails to impart the charm of a basic 'Lingo Forte which can be had for at least 2K less.

 

In the flesh, in a pretty colour like the nice metallic blue of my test car it looks odd, but nicely quirky. The 3 looks best with the stylish alloys. In a poor choice of colour, it just looks too odd to be acceptable. Like the b*st*rd offspring of a Fabia and a Morrison's Ice Cream Van. The trouble is, it's just rather small. It's Bloody small compared to a 'Lingo, and I informed the salesman that it should be renamed the Crampster. It drives OK and that's it. Quieter and more refined than our beloved 'Lingo, but you'd expect that, since it doesn't have the aerodynamic profile of Anne Hathaway's house.

 

Seeing as I can get the old Mellotron in the 'Lingo without even dropping the seat, and the Hammond in with the seats down, I shan't be changing to this bit of Czech, mate. I'd be hard pushed to fit a small Bontempi in its silly little boot.

[northman]

Thanks, Tronboy. Interesting.

 

You were quick off the mark with that test. I've not even seen one yet (though I did see a VW Caddy Life in France recently!)

 

So that's the Crampster off the shopping list - at least until they come up with the vRS version. :D

[Oxymoron]

So when's the new model Berlingo coming out?....Probably best to wait for that? :D

[mr moto]

there have been lots of rumours about a new four wheel drive blingo due for 2007, maybe they will take this chance to update the whole blingo range. i can wait as mine will be three years old come 2008, so there should be an updated model out by then :D

[tronboy]

A decent UK version of the X-TR would be a start! The van version is on sale in the UK c/w strengthened sumpguard (essential. I've knackered two of the standard items so far) raised ride height and limited slip diff. The Forestry Commission have ordered a fleet as well as a few Water companies. Mainland Europe has a M'space version of it as many of us know, whereas the UK market "XTR" (note no hyphen) is simply a Forte with velour seats (silly in a pretend off-roader) and blacked out rear windows.

[Alec]

My work vehicle is a Vauxhall Combo, drives nicely. Whilst on holiday in France recently I noticed a few of the Opel ones on the road.

 

 

http://www.opel.at/contents/images/2006111512533448IM7.jpg

http://www.opel.at/contents/images/2004090612054771IM7.jpg

http://www.opel.at/contents/images/2006111513075700IM7.jpg

[tronboy]

Ren**lt's budget arm Dacia is to produce a cheap mpv version of it's highly unsafe Logan.

 

http://www.autorevue.cz/Obrazky/2006/02unor/logan/1.jpg

 

This is the ponced-up version, the basic version looks rather more Post Office than Off-Piste, but with a crash test as bad as this

 

http://magazine.avtoindex.com/images/forum/2005/logan_crash_1.jpg

 

here's one Logan you wouldn't run from..... Especially as there's a 7 seat version. Oof!

 

It earned a tragic 2 NCAP stars.

 

TronX