Having had the opportunity of evaluating and appraising our Berlingo whilst abroad and driving on all types of road we think current and potential owners of a Berlingo or its close cousin the Partner may find this of use.
An XTR 110 in Tivoli blue with several upgrade options, ordered March '11 and delivered May '11.
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Driving position -
Top of dashboard causes very strong reflections on the windscreen in strong sunlight.
Passenger glove box is a joke -
Seat belts -
Rear view -
Ride comfort -
The ride in the UK is not good nor is the road noise from
the Michelin Primacies. However, cross the channel and it all changes -
Door storage (front and sliding) -
Headlights -
Rear Lights -
Eco system -
Instrument Panel -
Electric Window switches -
Centre console -
A big disappointment to us, and we believe it to be our fault, is that the boot/luggage space is quite a bit less, many inches in length, than we had expected. We both independently came to the wrong decision on the length of the luggage space (rear seats in place). This was important as some if not most of the time we have the two electric mobility scooters to transport.
Wind noise -
Driver and passenger seating -
Braking -
Performance -
Fuel Economy -
Electrically folding door mirrors -
Rear parking sensors -
Cruise Control -
Speed Limiter -
Summary -
Automatic digital air conditioning -
Heat reflecting windscreen -
Automatic rain sensitive windscreen wipers -
Automatic illumination of headlamps -
Summary -
This really does seem to be an expensive luxury but I think we can now say we wouldn't be without it.
We both suffered problems reading the display of our TomTom 730 due to (a) size of text; (b) distance from viewer when mounted on window sucker or too far out of eyeline when mounted on an air vent (also it upset the distribution of air); (c) almost impossible to view in bright sunlight; (d) 'Angela' produces a rather stilted pronunciation of some place and street names. ‘Her’ pronunciation of French and Spanish place names is just about incomprehensible.
The MyWay, however, gives concise, polite verbal responses and the most recent set of directions can be repeated using the switch at the end of the lighting stalk.
The radio/CD player etc seems to us old fogies to give excellent quality and more than adequate volume.
The coverage, mapwise, of the MyWay is excellent without the clutter that occasionally makes life difficult on the TomTom.
No, the MyWay is not touch screen enabled but follows on from the German way of doing things. Harman Becker, the manufacturers, also supply Mercedes, Audi and Porsche along with some other 'top of the league' manufacturers. Yes, the control knob takes a little getting used to but it is in the end far easier to use by a shaky geriatric than a 'tiny' touch screen.
As mentioned above, 'Marianne' presents her instructions very precisely and politely
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There has been much comment about the MyWay only accepting a five character post
code. OK, so this does not allow you to get the full geographical position in one
go -
Live traffic information is a blessing when it is up to date but that is not always the case so whether this feature is worth it is, in our minds, doubtful.
Blue Tooth compatibility is something that is a new art or science to us but we have found it to be very simple to use and very good. Connectivity between phone and MyWay is a cinch and the phone book/s get transferred to the MyWay allowing selection to be easily achieved on the large screen. On using it on a roughish section of the A2, the person we called could not believe that we were talking from the car whilst travelling 'at the legal speed limit'!
The trips are we guess the same as on all Berlingos, just presented on a bigger screen.
Summary -
A must! Nuff said.
The roof windows appear to the latest 'glue in place' type which should get over the leakage problems that seems to afflict Mk2s.
The air freshener is a bit gimmicky -
The rear overhead locker is a very useful feature in a space that is in reality redundant. Don’t know about the sliding panels in it though.
The 12 volt ‘fag lighter’ sockets are only powered when the ignition is on -
The torch/interior light in the luggage compartment is a good idea but the luggage space could benefit from more light especially with the parcel shelf in place.
The opening tailgate window rather took our fancy but after having had the car for four months the number of times it has been used is minimal.
The dark tinted side and back windows were a great boon in the warm weather in Corsica and kept the interior of the car at very acceptable temperatures even when parked in the sun. We believe the amount of tinting to be around 15%.
The XTR is fitted with 3 individual seats. Either or all may be removed, set back folded or folded forward to give more ‘boot’ floor space. The centre seat back folds neatly to provide a table top which is complemented by the airline type folding tables. We haven’t been too successful at finding cups, bottles etc to fit the cup holders. All in all though row 2 provides the ultimate OAP picnic facility! If only the ecosystem would allow the modutop provide air circulation for more than the maximum 20 minutes or so.
OK, we haven't for various reasons done too many miles in the Berlingo but the question of tyre wear, especially rear tyre wear is always rearing its head. We have done coming towards 4k miles now and the moulding marks, the little pimples, on the outside of the tyre tread are still visible on all four tyres, in fact they are more prominent on the rear tyres. We are hoping that this is a good omen.
No clunks or rattles -
There is a fair amount of shuddering on arriving too quickly at hidden traffic calmers.
In Corsica they often precede the hump with a shallow ditch -
On picking up the car we needed to put some diesel into the tank before returning home from Warrington and lo and behold on taking the filler cap off there was a device fitted which strongly resembled but was different from a Fuel Angel in subtle ways. We had bought a Fuel Angel before taking delivery of the car as someone who shall be nameless had the idea of trying to run the Xantia on unleaded! We still have said Fuel Angel and are still open to sensible offers. Give us a PM if you are interested. Fuel Angel sold it to us under the understanding that it would fit a Mk3 Berlingo (their web site quotes 08 on Partner).
Does anyone know if fuel cans with diesel diameter spouts are available OR how do you top up in an emergency?
So far the Berlingo has met and even surpassed our expectations. Just as well as we anticipate that it will have to serve us for the remainder of our motoring lives.
If you have any thoughts, suggestions or questions than we will attempt to reply to them.