I just thought I'd give you my first impressions of the Multispace II.
First of all, that "Multispace" name. Yes, there are lots of spaces, but most of them are useless. Having moved up from a tiny polo to this enormous van-like creature I thought I'd have loads of space - but oh no. The door pockets are not big enough to take a road atlas, and the overhead shelf is too small. The only place to keep it is on the back seat. The door pockets are not even the right size and shape to take a can of anti-freeze.
Talking of those overhead shelves, my National Trust and English Heritage handbooks, which fitted nicely in the compartment near the driver's knees in the Polo, keep falling off the overhead shelf. I can't think of anything much smaller that one would want to keep on there.
While we're mentioning handbooks, I still haven't received a service manual from the dealer yet!
All over the place there are "cup holders" which are just too small to take a cup, or even a soft-drinks can.
The glove compartment (which also acts as a cool box when the air-conditioning is on) is too small to take a coupld of soft drinks cans, or even a small boxed salad from the supermarket.
The rear load area is good, but there are only four points for tying things down, all at floor level, and for anything of an upright disposition there is nothing higher up to which a strap can be attached.
I'm getting 50 m.p.g out of the 1.6 110HP engine, and its got a nice bit of torque at low revs. However I find that whenever I've had it in reverse, I invariably select 3rd instead of 1st gear - that 1st gear position is an awful long way over. I'm also finding it quite difficult to get used to how little there is of the car at the front - as I turn into car parking spaces I expect to take a chunk out of the side of the adjacent car, only to find when I've stopped that I'm quite a way from it, and have to reverse out and drive in again so that the people can get in to the car on my left.
The other slight snag I've found is when approaching a Y junction from the top left hand corner of the Y. The combination of the passenger head rest, the central door pillar and the handle of the rear door gives a huge blind spot. As I use such a junction I've got used to bobbing backwards and forwards to see round it, but its taken some getting used to.
Generally I quite like the new Berlingo, and it is so much easier carrying large things around - which is one of the main reasons why I got it. Its the little things that it doesn't do well!
Edited by Pugugly on 07/11/2009 at 21:55
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Interesting report, danensis. Thanks!
But what a strange set of failings. A Berlingo isn't designed for performance or style; it's intended as a practical carry-stuff vehicle, and it's disappointing to hear that it doesn't do that job a bit better.
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I was thinking the same thing, NW... I did look at one before we got the Roomster, but it was far too big for my liking, though if SWMBO ends up permammently in a wheelchair we may have no choice... Good mpg, though for such a large machine.
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Very interesting read. Just goes to show, you have to live with a car to get to know it rather than believe what the journos say about them. Just have to look at ownershiop surveys where the supposed best in class is usually somewhere in the middle or worse!
Isnt it about time we a section for people to give running reports on their cars? I think in both classic car mags and in Top Gear/What car, those are the sections I read most.
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rather than believe what the journos say about them.
Oh, how true, if I believed several journo's revues I'd have been quite ok with a Note, Soul or Meriva... but I wouldn't 'cause they just ain't big enough behind the rear seats! I do wonder sometimes if they've just copied their stuff from the press releases... send them on holiday with 4 adults and luggage and then see how "roomy" they really are!
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What is so amazing, reading Danensis's comments, is that Citroen / Peugeot didn't think to try out some prototypes with a few French families, who would surely have pointed out most if not all of the points. Do they just get tested by childless engineers and marketing executives?
Praise be for the good drinking man who designs VAG interiors: both the Octavia and the Golf that I had before it have front door pockets that at one end will take a full-size bottle of wine (or of course water). Both also have a little compartment close to the driver's right knee where my Trafficmaster machine lives - particularly convenient.
Edited by Avant on 08/11/2009 at 14:37
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>>What is so amazing, reading Danensis's comments, is that Citroen / Peugeot didn't think to try out some prototypes with a few French families, who would surely have pointed out most if not all of the points. Do they just get tested by childless engineers and marketing executives?
Equally, one could argue that Danesis could very easily have spotted these storage shortcomings in the showroom! :-)
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I haven't had a close look at the new model but I am very surprised by this. My Berlingo (07) has enormous storage space. I have had four bottles of wine in each door and the overhead storage is well damped and capable of holding a small library of atlases. In the boot, the Modubox is such a simple but brilliant idea. There is a big bottle holder between the seats and room for CDs and suchlike under the dash.
This has aroused some curiosity: I will have a good look inside the new model when next in a showroom.
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I think its a bit harsh to expect that the cupholders infact cant hold a cup, or a can of drink - you would kind of assume when they were signed off that someone woul dhave checked this!
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Ever seen a French coffee cup ?
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Very odd - since most of the crits don't apply to the "old" model I have as mentioned by mlj above - so I went on Cit website to have a look at pictures of interior - guess what - their 360 degree view of interior of new Berlingo actually shows old interior so no help!
Phil
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I think criticising the car because the front is smaller than you thought, and therefore easier to park than you were anticipating is a bit rich!
It's called getting used to the size of a new car!
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Thanks for that review, danensis.
I've driven my old Berlingo for seven years, and am still delighted with it, but I'm interested in the new one, because I think that it looks absolutely gorgeous. (No jokes about specsavers, please. I know my tastes are a bit odd!)
I had, however read (elsewhere on the internet) that the door pockets on the new one are small compared to those on the old one, which are, as mlj says, excellent. I'm not sure why the new ones are smaller, but I suspect that it is something to do with safety and NCAP scores.
So I guess I'm content with my old Berlingo - because those big door pockets are one of the great things about it - though I would love to have a good test drive in a new one.
(p.s. And speaking of handbooks, when I got my Berlingo new from the dealers in 2002, I had to wait several weeks to get a handbook!)
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I don't know too much about door pocket sizes etc though overall space inside seems cavernous, i've driven several examples of both, and i had my doubts that the new model could really be any better than the old one, which i liked before and still do.
Well it is, it's lovely to drive and just as manoueverable with those marvellous huge sensible mirrors, and good turning circle.
As before the engine's are torquey and forgiving, they don't seem to mind too much if you leave it in top gear on the roundabout it will still pull away.
Even though it's really a new Picasso underneath it doesn't wallow like the GP does IMO, but seems firmer whilst still retaining a smooth compliant ride.
The only thing that disappointed me was again no auto option, which is probably just as well as it would no doubt have been the automated manual.
Given a proper auto from PSA'a other cars it would be a cracker.
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Unfortunately I forgot to mention the biggest issue - amazing how quickly you can get used to things - and that's the noisy suspension. Its like having a bag of spanners attached to each axle. The clonking from underneath was so bad that I took it back to the dealer a week after delivery, as I thought the exhaust must be loose. But no, that's the way its meant to be!
John
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Hi danensis,
absolutely spot on in your summing up of the berlingo . Just bought a berlingo vt 78bhp -- pretty useless all those midget sized spaces , and no i did not really realise it when i bought it . The exhaust has started to rattle, mine started a week ago [the car is 7 weeks old ] and i can tell you it is booked in to the garage for them to sort it out and it is not coming out until they do. One thing i noticed right from the off is a whine upon accelerating and when changing up gears and as a consequence accelerating again.
The sound is like when you first hear/think "is that a a siren far off } anyone else experienced this --any ideas-- its also going to the garage to be checkd out.
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