Citroen Berlingo review - Reliability and safety

Vans used to be simple machines, but the amount of safety and driver assistance tech you find on commercial vehicles these days is deeply impressive. That’s how the van-derived Berlingo features cruise control, lane keep assistance, speed limit recognition, active emergency braking and driver attention monitoring as standard, while top-spec Flair XTR models also come with a reversing camera.

The third-generation Berlingo received a four-star crash safety rating from industry experts Euro NCAP in 2018 based on how its sister car, the Peugeot Rifter, performed during its battery of tests. The Berlingo’s adult and child occupant scores of 91 and 81 per cent respectively are both very impressive, but the French MPV missed out the full five-star rating due to a less favourable 58 per cent score in the vulnerable road users category. This was caused by solid areas around the base of the windscreen pillars, which could cause injury to pedestrians or cyclists in the event of a collision.

NCAP also found the emergency braking system to be less effective at higher speeds, but considered the lane keeping system – which can actively steer the car back on course if it drifts out of lane – to be very useful.

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Unfortunately the Citroen Berlingo didn’t make an appearance on our latest best cars to own list, which is based on owners' feedback from our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey. However four other Citroen models did crack the 75-car strong list; in fact, the Mk3 Citroen C4 took first place. Meanwhile, Citroen as a brand finished 11th in the best car manufacturer rankings – ahead of rivals Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Fiat and Renault, to name but a few.

Warranty

All new Citroen vehicles come with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, but the e-Berlingo’s battery pack is covered by a separate eight-year/100,000-mile guarantee. Also included is a 12-year anti-perforation warranty and three years’ cover for paint.

Servicing

Equipped with Citroen’s more modest petrol and diesel engines, servicing costs for the Berlingo should be affordable, and potential even less for the electric e-Berlingo as EVs tend to be more reliable than their combustion-engine counterparts. Citroen offers a service plan that allows you to spread the cost of maintenance, or pay for it in a single fee.