Citroen Berlingo road test - Hit the road (Roads and bridges special report)

Roads contractors generally have more robust requirements for their commercial vehicles compared with other builders. Colin Sowman finds out if Citroen's new enhanced traction Brerlingo passes the test.

Building and maintaining roads places unusual demands on machinery including transport for the crews. The site can be many kilometers long and it is often necessary to travel from one end to the other without driving on the road itself - either because it has not yet been built, or to stop contamination of the surface that will prevent a caping layer from adhering properly.

This on and off road requirement poses a particular problem when it comes to getting operators and site workers to their correct location: normal road-going vehicles can get bogged down while full-blown 4x4s are expensive to buy and run. Citroen thinks it has the answer in the form of its new Berlingo XTR+ an enhanced traction version of its popular middleweight van. To find out more we put both the enhanced traction and standard road-going Berlingo to the test

Background

Just a few years ago vans were either car-derived vehicle, with restricted payload and loadspace, or a large and heavy fully-blown panel van - there was nothing in between. But Peugeot and Citroen changed all that with the Partner and Berlingo - a purpose-built medium size van that offers loadspace and payload capacities well beyond that of car-derived units.

Citroen also points out that if the unladen weight is below 2t, these vans have the same speed limits as cars rather than the heavier vans’ restriction of 50mph on unrestricted roads and 60mph on dual carriageways.

This formula found favour with many builders who need the payload and space on offer from this size of vehicle allied with its car-like driving qualities and the ability to park them almost anywhere. Other manufacturers such as Ford entered this mid-size market with its Transit Connect and Fiat with the Doblo while Vauxhall’s offering was the curvy Combo.

As always happens, vehicles have upgrades and makeovers throughout their lives and Citroen now had three trim levels for the Berlingo: base, LX and Enterprise. The LX model come with electric front windows, heated mirrors (the nearside being electrically- adjustable) and remote central locking while for an extra £200, Enterprise version get ABS brakes and a CD player in place of the radio/cassette player.

With these packages Citroen says the Berlingo is in the top three hi-cube light van sellers and it has now has taken steps to widen the van’s appeal with the introduction of an enhanced traction version, the 600 Berlingo XTR+. This is fitted with a limited slip diff, mud and snow tyres and various other mods to equip it for life off the road.

To find out why the Berlingo is a popular choice and to evaluate the extra traction available from the XTR+ modifications, we tried a standard 2-litre/ 67kW 600TD HDi Enterprise and its all-terrain equivalent the 600 XTR+.

The Berlingo has an impressive 3m³ of loadspace and a 1.8t gross weight. As the axle loadings total almost 2t, the load tolerance is reasonable and, in addition, its 2.89t gross train weight also allows a small generator/ compressor/trailer to be towed. Out test vans had the standard side-hinged rear doors fitted with plain glass (heated glass with rear wash/wipe can be specified for an additional £110+VAT). Other options include air conditioning (£480), rear roof flap (£140), nearside side-loading door (£235), twin side-loading doors (£400) and a half-height steel bulkhead (£70).

Superficially the all-terrain XTR+ was identical to its road going counterpart save the paint job and the standard van’s wood panelled loadspace (a dealer-fit option). The real differences are beneath the skin where in slippery conditions a limited slip differential will automatically divert up to of 75% of the torque to the wheel with the most grip.

Modifications

Other off-road mods include larger diameter wheels (15" instead of 14") shod with mud and snow tyres which, along with uprated suspension (and steering geometry), increases ground clearance by a little over 40mm. Completing the all-terrain package is a sump guard to protect the engine and belly plates to prevent damage to the brake pipes and underside in the event of grounding.

For this additional equipment and capability a mere 30kg of payload has to be sacrificed.

While the road-going 600 van has, as the name suggests, a nominal payload 600kg payload (599kg actually), Citroen’s figures do not allow for a driver (usually taken 75kg) so in reality, loads up to 524kg can be transported. Payload is reduced further if a passenger is carried. While the same is true of the XTR+, its nominal payload starts at 569kg translating into a workable 494kg of carrying capacity once a driver is on-board.

As the XTR+ requires no driver input to activate the limited slip diff on the inside, the vans are identical. For a relatively small van the Berlingo has lots of storage space with a handy tray on top of the dashboard where mobile phones sit nicely and a folding forward the back of the passenger seat provides a tray with cup holders and somewhere to put sandwiches. Further storage is provided in the form of a very neat and quite sizeable (100 litres) compartment beneath the passenger seat that keeps items hidden from prying eyes when the van is parked. Overhead storage, door pockets and a lockable glove compartment complete the storage options.

The 600 TD 2.0HDi Enterprise we tested can be purchased for £10,645 +vat and delivery while the equivalent price for the XTR+ version is £12,045. To see what you get for your money we took both vans round our test route and then did a little off-roading with the XTR+.

On the road

As the Berlingo has an adjustable steering column, plenty of rearward movement on the seat and a rake-adjustable seat-back, most drivers are able to make themselves comfortable in the cockpit. Clutch and steering efforts are all very low and the controls all fall easily to hand with the exception of the nearside mirror adjustment which is hidden behind the indicator stalk.

Both the transmission and steering are well up to standard making driving the Berlingo quite relaxing while touches like the stalk-mounted radio controls means you never need take your eyes off the road.

Visibility is generally good, although a wide-angle section on the door mirrors would go a long way towards removing the blind spots behind the ‘B’ posts - especially on the nearside.

Although the XTR+ comes with different wheels, tyres and the limited-slip differential, the overall gearing is the same. This means at 48km/h (30mph) the engine is pulling a lazy 1,800rpm in third gear. With just 1,750rpm on the clock in 4th gear brings the speed up to 64km/h (40mph) and 1,800rpm in top sees progress at 80km/h (50mph). Even at the motorway limit the 66kW four-cylinder engine is only spinning at 2,500 rpm keeping noise, stress levels and consumption very low. With maximum torque coming in at 1,900rpm there is little need, and no advantage, in taking the needle near the tachometer’s almost indiscernible 5,500rpm red line. Even with the revs kept below the 4,000 mark, the laden van’s acceleration is adequate to keep up with the traffic flow.

On the road the XTR+ was discernibly noisier than the standard van although not to the point where the radio was drowned out. We were unable to determine how much of the additional noise was due to the chunkier tyres and how much was down to the insulating effects of the wood panelling. Adding a load was by far the biggest factor in suppressing the overall noise levels.

This latest generation Berlingo comes with improved ride and handling which copes well with the variations in weight between the loaded and unladen conditions. This means the driver does not have to suffer a spine jolting ride when the van is empty or excessive roll when loaded - albeit that our load had a very low centre of gravity.

Safety

On the safety side the Berlingo has been considerably strengthened and the engine has been repositioned to increase protection in the event of a major accident. A driver’s airbag, pyrotechnic seal belt pre-tensioning and anti-submarining seats also aid safety and the Enterprise versions come with ABS and electronic brake distribution (EBD).

Regular use needs to be made of the six tie-down points in the loadspace as the small lip at the front of the loadbed and the ladder rack behind the driver may offer little resistance to a load entering the cab with minimal provocation. Investing £70 in the optional half-height steel bulkhead would be money well spent - if only for peace of mind.

Around our 50-mile test route combining urban and rural roads and motorway driving, the fully-laden road going van consumed 4.31 litres of diesel. By comparison the all-terrain XTR+ was disappointing using 5.64 litres. It would, however, be harsh to damn the off-road version as it had only 700 miles on the clock at the start of the test run, so the engine was far from fully run-in.

As the overall gearing is the same in both vans, the only differences are the XTR+’s chunkier tyres and slightly higher ride height due to the increased ground clearance. This may lead to a slight difference in fuel consumption but a 25% penalty is unlikely. Indeed Citroen does not expect a fuel consumption penalty and if there is one it believes this won’t be noticeable to the majority of users.

Speed

The average speed of the vans was within a whisker of each other and this was caused by traffic conditions rather than any differences in the vehicles.

Where the XTR+ makes sense is when you need to go off the road - a situation many contractors face almost daily. For the most part this amounts to just pulling onto a site and parking in the nearest safe and convenient spot. But on bigger sites or long road building sites, the off road jaunt can turn into something of a nightmare as the van grinds to a halt with the driven wheels spinning in the mud.

If the XTR+ is to justify its £1,400 premium then it must be able to tackle these conditions - so we tried one out round an off-road track designed for teaching driving techniques to 4x4 owners. As with a lot of off-road driving, the vehicle will do most of the work for you if you let it. The course was very muddy, but with a firm base, and contained several short, steep inclines and descents.

Because it has the same gearing as the on-road version, in first gear, with the engine on tickover, the KTR+ moves uncomfortably fast over the track.

The natural instinct is to slip the clutch. However, having resisted this urge, you soon get used to doing things at the Berlingo’s speed. When you do, the van shows how capable it is and will claw its way through impressive amounts of mud. Tackling inclines require a degree of run-up speed and the inevitable clunking from beneath demonstrates the necessity of the sump guard and skid plates.

The relatively high gearing poses a bigger problem when it comes to steep descents because it means engine braking is minimal at the speed most drivers would feel comfortable. This leaves only one option and that is to use the brakes - something that flies in the face of everything a 4x4 driver instructor has ever taught.

Because the underlying conditions on our test ground were firm, gentle braking could be applied without causing a problem, but that may not be the case on a construction site pounded into mud by dumpers, ADTs wheeled excavators and 4x4s.

In very slippery conditions it can also be that the hi-tech brake electronics can adversly affect the braking - although it must be said that we did not encounter any such problem. If while braking on a long descent the van starts to slide, the only option is to release the brakes and accelerate - counter to all instincts but the only way to regain directional control - and definitely not for the faint hearted.

That said, most road-building, construction and civil-engineering sites are unlikely to have the severity of climbing and descents we experienced on the test track and the XTR+ will easily cope with flatter, muddier conditions. From what we experienced, it would take ruts or mud deep enough to the ground the XTR+ to stop the van. This combination of off- and on-road ability has convinced the Forestry Commission to order 35 XTR+ vans.

Conclusion

If you are in the market for a 0.5t  to 2t/3m³ van, the Berlingo is a competent package at an attractive price. At almost 50mpg (5.7lit/100km), 20,000km (12,500 miles) service intervals and two year unlimited mileage/three year 100,000mile warranty, running costs should be equally palatable.

For those who need to venture off the road, the XTR+ with its minimal loss of payload and on-cost has to be worth serious consideration. After all, if it gets the driver right up to the workplace rather than having to abandon the van at the edge of the site for fear of becoming stuck and then trek for 15 minutes, the additional cost will soon be recouped.

Technical spec
Make	Citroen Berlingo	Citroen Berlingo
Model	Enterprise 600HDi	Enterprise 600HDi XTR+
Gross vehicle weight (kg)	1,805	1,805
Gross train weight (kg)	2,890	2,890
Payload with 75kg driver (kg)	524	494
Load capacity (m3)	3	3
Max loadbed length (mm)	1,700 (2,100 with passenger seat folded)	1,700 (2,100 with passenger seat folded)
Max/min loadbed width (mm)	1,600/1,190	1,600/1,190
Loadbed headroom (mm	1,246	1,246
Loading height (mm)	567	567
Engine	4 cyl /1,997cc common rail diesel	4 cyl /1,997cc common rail diesel
Max Power @ rpm	66kW @4,000	66kW @4,000
Max Torque@rpm	205Nm @ 1,900	205Nm @ 1,900
Transmission	5-speed manual	5-speed manual
Driven wheels	Front	Front
Differential	Unlimited	Limited slip
Wheel size	14 inch	15 inch
Tyres	175/65R14	185/65R15 Michelin Synchrone
Recommended retail price (£-ex VAT)	10,645	12,045
Test results
Fuel used (lit)	4.31	5.64
Fuel consumption (lit/100km/mpg)	5.72/49.43	7.43//38.04
Time taken (min)	66	62
Average speed (km/h/mph)	69km/h/42.9mph	73.49/45.68

[Contract Journal, 26 July 2006, pp. 30-32]