Citroen e-Berlingo review

The e-Berlingo doesn’t drive badly per se, it’s just not a car you’d ever really wish to drive too quickly. There’s certainly lean in corners, and the e-Berlingo’s van roots shine through, but at least with an electric powertrain there’s less of that roarsome engine noise invading the cabin. 

Platform enthusiasts will delight in the knowledge that the Berlingo sits on the EMP2 base developed when Citroen was still part of PSA (it’s now of course part of the Stellantis extended universe). Turns out this platform has underpinned some really good cars including the good Peugeots and the C5 Aircross and X.

Is it comfortable then?

That’s more like the sort of question we should be asking of the e-Berlingo. Citroen has decided in recent years to focus more on comfort than trying to make its cars even vaguely sporty. It’s been much more successful at the former than the latter at any rate, and we applaud a carmaker that’s trying to do something a bit interesting and different.

The e-Berlingo rides very comfortably, smothering out all but the worst of the lumps and bumps we have to suffer in the UK. The ride and the electric motor all conspire to have you driving in a much more relaxed manner than you might otherwise consider.

Is it easy to drive? 

The Stellantis electric set-up has been applied across many of the cars in the capacious family stable, save perhaps some of the Vauxhalls that have got ideas above their station. If you’ve driven an electric Peugeot, for instance, you’ll recognise all of the controls in here. You get in, hold down a few buttons at various points and you’re ready to go.

As part of the facelift the regen system now offers a choice of three braking modes, with handy steering wheel paddles allowing you to easily adjust the level of charging power when you come off the accelerator. We saw 3.5mi/kWh day to day, which amounts to 175 miles of range, versus 213 claimed.

Plus, the other virtue of the Berlingo’s van provenance is that the upright rear end makes it easy to place when reversing, and there are huge mirrors to use. Still, we’d probably advise going for the MAX-spec model that comes with a reversing camera, though the entry model does at least come with rear sensors as standard.