Review
The petrol tank is 60 litres while the LPG tank holds 36 litres – enough for about 200 miles.
In the rear, the LPG tank is slung under the vehicle so doesn’t encroach on the loadspace.
Now things start to get a trifle grey.
While LPG emissions are undoubtedly less than those of petrol – indeed this van is zero rated for the London congestion charge – LPG is still a fossil fuel at the end of the day and has to be processed somewhere.
So the clean air in London is probably compensated for by dirtier air wherever the gas is made.
It’s called the ‘well-to-wheel’ pollution factor.
The cleanest alternative fuel, of course, is natural gas, but you can only buy it in a handful of garages, so Citroen doesn’t bother making a van that runs on it.
Now let’s turn to some of the minus points.
For starters, this van costs £10,495 ex-VAT, whereas for £10,195 you can buy a Berlingo powered by one of Citroen’s HDi common rail diesel engines, which promise excellent fuel economy and the longevity that diesel technology brings.
Once upon a time, the Government’s Energy Saving Trust used to subsidise LPG conversions, but these grants have now ceased.
Buying LPG at filling stations used to be a problem but everyone seems to be flogging it now, so I can’t mark that against the Berlingo.
But if you want to fill both tanks, you’ll find the petrol filler cap on one side of the van and the LPG filler on the other side.
How daft is that?
And a huge question mark hangs over the residual value of LPG-powered vans.
While the HDi versions are sure to command good money at auction, operators could find themselves losing cash at selling time with an LPG van.
Verdict
So there you have it in a nutshell.
A lot of good points and quite a few bad ones too.
It’s a tough decision to make but a subject that will be talked about in earnest for many a month yet.