Citroen Berlingo Beige

The entry-level Berlingo comes with a 110-horsepower, 1.2-litre petrol engine, and previously with a now-discontinued 130-horsepower version, but we haven’t tried either. The petrol us unlikely to sell in big numbers, but if you’re set on petrol, then that’s your only choice, as it’s not available in higher trims. Diesel choices are all 1.5s with either 100 or 130 horsepower (the latter with a manual or an automatic gearbox, while the former is manual only). A 75-horsepower version that used to be available has also now been axed. The 100-horsepower version is smooth and quiet most of the time, which adds to the impressive level of mechanical refinement mentioned in the last section, and if you’re prepared to be merciless with the revs, it’s capable of half-decent acceleration, too. However, if you let the revs fall any lower than 3500rpm (which is a lot), the engine isn’t nearly as punchy, and you can often be left waiting a disproportionately long time for the engine to respond to a prod of the accelerator. The 130-horsepower version is capable at lower speeds and pulls reasonably well, but its automatic gearbox highlights how it runs out of puff when working harder. Try and go up a steep hill and it’ll frantically jump between gears as it tries to find a suitable ratio.