Citroen e-Berlingo review

This is the Citroen e-Berlingo. That little ‘e’ stands for electricity, but more on that in a moment. In a stroke of mild genius, the Berlingo was the first van-based car on the market back in 1996, bringing a noisy lack of refinement but immense practicality and loads of space to the family market. It lured people in with bright interiors, sliding doors and did we mention loads of space? It had loads of space.

How many Berlingos have there been? 

Over 1.5 million since the car was first launched back in 1996, but you meant how many generations. The third iteration of the Berlingo was revealed in 2018 – roomier, rounder, more refined – with the electric variant launched in 2021.

Citroen followed this up with a facelift in late 2023, which brought with it the brand’s new logo and design signature, a much welcome updated interior with improved tech and – crucially – more range than before.

Officially you’re looking at 213 miles, up from 171, thanks to a new 52kWh (50 kWh usable) battery, which reads much healthier on paper but is still going to be a lot lower in practice. Generally account for two thirds of quoted range real world.

How does the e-Berlingo drive? 

About as swiftly as it looks, but the Berlingo has traditionally been a glacial mover. The 134bhp e-motor offers a reasonable but not excessive amount of power, so you’re not scrabbling the front wheels everywhere. Still, fans of previous cars will think they’ve upgraded to a supercar in comparison with some of the early diesels that were fitted here. 

There’s plenty of lean in corners, and the upright seating and sheer width of the car means you have a passing impression of where the front wheels actually sit. It’s a comfortable ride (as is the Citroen way these days, remember) though, and you’ll be driving to save range, not racing about. 

How much space is there inside?

There are two options of e-Berlingo available to you: the 4.4m long M version, and the 4.75m long XL version. M brings you five seats and XL offers you seven. There’s plenty of space for passengers and everyone will be comfortable enough (in the seven-seater you could even shove adults in the very back for short journeys), but those two configurations mean varying luggage capacities. Full details over on the Interior tab.

What's it gonna cost me?

Well, electric power tips it over £30k, compared to a starting price of £22-23k for the internal combustion variant. Sure, it’s tough to find an EV with this amount of space at this price, but it doesn’t compare well to something with a petrol or diesel engine. Plenty of second hand Berlingos on the market, of course.

Still, when it does come to charging you can at least do it at 100kW if you can find a rapid charger (the standard onboard charger is 7kW). Just remember that you can't open the left rear sliding door while you've got the car plugged in...

What about rivals?

The most obvious rivals to the e-Berlingo are all cousins from the Stellantis group: Peugeot’s version of the car is the e-Rifter, and Vauxhall does the Combo Life Electric. There’s very little between the three in price, so it’s mostly a case of sifting through the equipment levels and deciding which one you think looks nicest. But the Berlingo holds its own well, to our eyes.

There are of course alternative electric seven-seaters available, but you’re looking at prices an order of magnitude higher when it comes to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz EQB, Kia EV9 or Tesla Model X. So it really comes down to your priorities.

The Berlingo offers a lot of space and some neat ideas for families. The facelift brings with it some nice design quirks and an improved interior, including much improved tech. Though you need to buy the top-spec Max trim to benefit from most of it. Range is up slightly too.

There are many different configurations possible inside, what with all the folding and sliding, and the boot is huge as well. If the range isn’t too much of an issue – it’s very accessible as an entry into electric driving – then the Berlingo continues its reign as a no-nonsense bit of spacious family transport.