Can it really be six months since our sturdy Citroën Berlingo first arrived at Fleet Towers for long-term appraisal?

Sadly yes, which means that the man from Citroën will soon be knocking on our door asking for his van back. I’m enjoying driving this vehicle so much that I’m almost tempted to flee the country with it on that fateful day!

Seriously though, we can’t praise the Berlingo highly enough. It has been voted Van of the Year at the Fleet Van awards for the past two years and driving it day to day, it’s easy to see why.

Recently we’ve had snow and ice enough to freeze over hell, but the Berlingo has never missed a beat and its traction control system has been working overtime helping to keep me safe and sound.

This van is rather unusual insofar as it’s a large load version – the wheelbase is the same but the body is longer. And there’s certainly been no shortage of storage space in the back. I had to take a ladder to repair a problem at the house of number one daughter recently and despite the fact that it’s more than six feet long, the ladder fitted in easily.

The second passenger seat has also come in handy when I’ve had to transport two other people. It doesn’t look as though there is much legroom for the middle person but as long as the journey isn’t too onerous, three can be seated in reasonable comfort.

We’ve also been pleased with fuel consumption, which has hovered around the 45mpg mark, despite the fact that none of our testers are known for their light right feet.

My only real niggle is that there isn’t much room to put my left foot when it isn’t doing anything.

The rest pedal to the left isn’t in the right place and I end up with my foot wandering all over the place.

That problem, I believe, is due to the fact that this van was designed with its steering wheel on the left-hand side.

Specification

Gross vehicle weight (kg) 2,150
Power (bhp/rpm) 90/4,000
Torque (lb-ft/rpm) 159/1,750
Load volume (cu m) 3.7
Payload (kg) 750
Comb fuel economy (mpg) 48.7
CO2 emissions (g/km) 153
Price as tested (ex-VAT) £14,780