Citroen Berlingo

Our verdict

Identical to Peugeot’s Partner in all but badges, the Citroen Berlingo is useful but basic family transport that doesn’t overdose on style.

Comfort

Capable of absorbing bumps well enough when not fully laden, but the aerodynamics of the average conservatory mean you get wind noise on the motorway. There's also a general boominess inside the cabin thanks to a big space and the hard, reflective plastics that form it.

Performance

There's a 1.4-litre petrol with 75bhp that gets to 62mph in 14.5 seconds, but best ignore it as it's useless. Better to go for the 92bhp1.6-litre Hdi diesel that hits 62mph in 12.9 seconds and nearly 100mph. It pulls hard enough and though noisy, is capable of motivating the Berlingo at normal m-way speeds.

Cool

Farah slacks? That cool.

Quality

They've done the best with what they had. The Berlingo feels like it's been put together with care, just from cheap materials. Still, the kids'll destroy it anyway.

Handling

The steering's surprisingly good and like all things that feel like they've been derived from a van, actually quite perky. But the ride can be crashy when loaded and there's way too much lean.

Practicality

A practicality tour-de-force, this is where the Berlingo really gets going. Shaped like a box and as useful, in other words, very. You can seat five easily, but the real deal is carrying capacity. Big square shape means that luggage space is huge at 624 litres, but fold the seats and you get 2,800 litres - more than most SUVs... Bike transport, dog transport. This is a car that can work for a living.

Running costs

The diesel gets 52.3mpg (more than the smaller, slower petrol at 37.7mpg), so cheap to run and insure at under Group 5. But residuals drop hard.