A remarkable thing happened to the Citroën ë-Berlingo while we had it on test. On the third day, without warning, it changed from being an expensive EV outlier in a range of piston-powered people carriers into the mainstream model.
Stellantis issued a terse release explaining that, henceforth, petrol and diesel versions of its van-based MPVs (including the Berlingo, Opel/ Vauxhall Combo and Peugeot Rifter triplets) would be electric-only in the UK and EU. Combustion would still power the commercial versions, but the family-oriented ones were goners.
The idea was “to ensure the future viability of these models”, which at first seemed a contradiction in terms. You had to read further to get the true gist: van-based MPVs are heavy and have a big frontal area so use more fuel than svelter ones; and with car makers pressured to cut emissions, something had to give. The Berlingo and its ilk were that something.
None of which strictly affects the merits of the ë-Berlingo: it’s still a useful, utilitarian MPV.
But what the change means is that the leisure vehicle aspect of the Berlingo-Combo-Rifter range – extensively depicted all these years in the brochures – is gone. That’s a function of poor range, which our test (admittedly in freezing conditions) showed to be drastically shorter than the “up to 182 miles WLTP” the 50kWh battery is claimed to deliver.
