Bigger, Better, Longer - The New Citroen Berlingo Arrives In New Zealand
05/04/09
The new Citroen Berlingo has arrived in New Zealand and, with up to 4.1 cubic metres of space, an 850 kg payload, advanced Turbo Diesel engine, a remarkable array of standard equipment and all completed with a $39,990 price, the new Berlingo is set to change the face of small vans in New Zealand.
“The Berlingo is the worldwide benchmark for compact vans,” says Lawrie Malatios, General Manager for Citroen in New Zealand. “Its qualities and abilities have defined the category and it has become one of the most imitated vehicles in the world. With the new Berlingo Citroen have re-defined the class and lifted the benchmark to a new level.”
Few vehicles have had such a significant impact on the market place as the Citroen Berlingo with it changing the face of the commercial vehicle market place in every market in which it has been sold.
Given that Citroen, arguably, invented the whole idea of box van with the Citroen TUB and the car derived van with the Citroen 2CV van, setting the design standard for the two most common van types, it should be no surprise that the original Berlingo was such a benchmark in commercial vehicle design. Yet it revolutionised small van design and has become one of the most copied designs of the last year.
This was achieved by blending together the best elements of the two types of van that Citroen had pioneered many years before, the box van and the car derived van, and eliminating the shortcomings of both to produce a new van type.
Thus the Citroen Berlingo looks as if it is car derived, with a bonnet and a conventional driving position. However, there is no Berlingo car to hamper Citroen’s designers from making the ideal small van – so although bonneted, the driver sits high with easy access, the van section blends into the overall vehicle shape to produce a shape that is as functional as it is homogeneous. The Berlingo eliminated the ‘bubble back’ shape of the conventional car derived van and all its handicaps. From the conventional box van, the Berlingo took a large, useful, easily accessible load space and left behind the box-like looks of the standard shape in the class.
Added to this Citroen threw into the mix a range of functional, useful features and equipment designed for the van driver on the road all day, plenty of storage space, seats that are comfortable and easy to get into and out of all day. Finally, there was one extra feature that only Citroen could offer – it was built on the platform of one of the most successful rally cars of all time, the Citroen Xsara Coupe, making the Berlingo fleet of foot and a real driver’s machine.
This mix has made the Citroen Berlingo one of the most successful commercial vehicles of all time, with more than three million Berlingos and its versions around the world working hard and delivering the goods on time, economically and with safety, as well as presenting a stylish and chic image for the companies and businesses that it represents.
Now, the new Citroen Berlingo has arrived in New Zealand.
With such a heritage on which to build, Citroen knew it had to have a clean sheet design that could inherit all the benefits of the original Berlingo, add new skills and abilities and bring the Citroen Berlingo well and truly into the 21st Century in all areas.
Thus the new Berlingo is a fresh clean design, with its bonneted good looks and box van carrying ability. But so much is also new. Once again the new Berlingo sits on a world-beating platform, in this case the Citroen C4 Picasso platform, which is derived from the underpinnings of the World Rally Championship dominating Citroen C4 WRC car.
By moving to the bigger platform from the C4 Picasso, the new Berlingo offers significantly more space, up from 3.0 to 3.7 cubic metres, but there is more. The original Berlingo had an optional simple folding seat that provided a table – the new Berlingo has the optional Extenso, a new seat, both a table and a load space extender, lifting the volume to 4.7 cubic metres.
As would be expected from a company renowned for its fuel burning engines, the Berlingo has an advanced 1.6 litre Turbo Diesel engine, with 66 kW. Inside there is veritable plethora of storage spaces, from the huge locker between the seats to the cunning driver’s side glove box behind the instruments and the vast roof mounted tray above the occupants heads and even a hook to hang the takeaway on to stop it spilling. In all there is a remarkable 61 litres of storage space in the cab area!
To meet business demands for greater efficiency, better performance and lower running costs, Citroën has developed the new Berlingo to deliver more. It has greater carrying capacity, thanks to its larger load compartment and higher payload capability, it has even higher standards of driver/passenger safety and comfort and delivers optimum performance and economy with low running costs.
“The original Berlingo pioneered what’s now known as the high-cube van sector,” says Lawrie Malatios, General Manager of Citroen in New Zealand. “The fantastic new Berlingo retains all the successful key ingredients of its predecessor, which were valued by discerning van customers and builds upon these to redefine the benchmark in this all-important sector. Citroën has worked closely with business operators around the world to ensure that the new Berlingo provides the optimum combination of load carrying efficiency, driver/passenger comfort and safety, performance and economy.”
New Berlingo – bigger and better load carrying efficiency
Two ISO pallets can be carried in the new Berlingo van, thanks to a load compartment length of 2050mm. Width between wheelarches is an impressive 1229mm while the maximum width of the load compartment at 1620mm is outstanding in this category.
As standard, new Berlingo has glazed twin hinged rear doors with a heated rear window and wiper. The twin rear doors are an asymmetric design, split 60/40. Both open out to 177 degrees, to enable the new Berlingo to back right up to a loading bay.
In its two-seater format the passenger seat back folds flat onto the seat squab to provide a load carrying platform for longer lengths. At the rear of the vehicle the load sill height of the new Berlingo is 612 mm.
Internally new Berlingo’s load compartment is fully panelled to the waist rail to prevent damage and a ladder frame bulkhead protects the driver.
New Berlingo – modern, but practical styling
The new Berlingo combines style and practicality – but the stylish exterior has not compromised its practicality in a demanding working environment. Thus, new Berlingo’s contemporary looks include a large glass area for excellent visibility and the large cabin doors ensure ease of access.
The overall shape of new Berlingo has also been designed to achieve good aerodynamic characteristics with resultant low noise levels at cruise speed. Other practical features of the design include robust bumpers and generous side impact protection – with rear lights and headlights positioned to avoid minor impact damage.
New Berlingo – designed for crew safety and comfort
New Berlingo, like its predecessor, majors on comfort, safety and convenience, with a working environment which combines both style and practicality. Thus, new Berlingo has a light and airy cabin which makes full use of stylish but hard wearing materials, including fabric-lined door trims and in-cab carpeted flooring. The option of a removable, washable PVC load compartment mat is also available.
Considerable effort has been made within the new Berlingo to provide the driver with a proper office on wheels. In two seater format the passenger seat can be folded down to give a flat writing surface, complete with two cup holders.
New Berlingos fitted with the optional Extenso® cabin option also provide a desk function, as the central seat folds flat to form a writing surface, complete with a document retaining strap. In addition the Extenso® centre seat houses a 7.6 litre secure storage bin to conceal valuables from passers-by.
Storage space is an area where new Berlingo’s cabin excels. A combination of a passenger side glove box, a glove box behind the steering wheel, over-windscreen storage, large door pockets, a central console and additional driver’s seat storage provide a total in-cab storage space of up to 61 litres.
The dashboard of the new Berlingo has been designed to provide a premium quality feel and appearance – and all controls, including the dashboard mounted gear lever, are within easy reach. In addition all new Berlingo models incorporate an airbag as standard and the steering wheel is adjustable for height and reach. Both driver and passenger(s) are provided with comfortable, hard wearing/easy clean cloth faced seats. In addition, the driver’s seat has the benefit of height adjustment and an arm rest.
The benefits of new Berlingo’s aerodynamic design and resulting low wind noise levels are complemented by extensive internal noise reduction measures. Low cabin noise levels are achieved with effective acoustic encapsulation of the engine and the under-floor body pan is specially coated to reduce road noise and protect the vehicle body structure from stone chipping. In addition, the new Berlingo interior also boasts a wide range of noise-absorbent acoustic materials applied to dash, roof and other interior surfaces.
Standard equipment on all Berlingos includes a trip computer, cruise control, AirCon, remote central locking, electric front windows, electrically adjustable door mirrors a heat reflecting windscreen and an external temperature sensor. Standard audio equipment includes an MP3 compatible stereo radio/CD player on all models.
A wide range of competitively priced options is available for the new Berlingo including a Bluetooth hands-free phone kit, rear parking sensors, a visibility pack which includes automatic rain sensitive wipers and automatic actuation of headlights. Passenger, side and lateral airbags are also optionally available, as are tyre pressure sensors, ESP and ASR.
New Berlingo – the optimum combination of ride and handling
Many operational benefits of the new Berlingo stem from its state-of-the-art platform. This includes a sophisticated suspension package to provide the new Berlingo with the highest standards of ride and handling and the associated safety and cost benefits of ultra-modern running gear.
Front suspension is by means of MacPherson-type struts, with lower wishbones and an anti-roll bar. At the rear new Berlingo’s rubber mounted suspension package is made up of a twisting transverse beam, with an anti-roll bar. To maximise internal load space between wheel arches the rear shock absorbers are inclined.
The Berlingo has 283mm ventilated front discs and rear 269mm disc brakes with ABS fitted as standard. Standard wheels are 15-inch units with 195/65 Michelin tyres.
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