Volkswagen Multivan vs Citroen Berlingo

What's the difference?

The Australian launch of the new generation Multivan was confined to the Life grade with the 2.0-litre diesel engine. Later in 2025 the Style grade will arrive bringing a hybrid powertrain and even more features. We’ll be able to test both more thoroughly once we have them in the CarsGuide garage.

From this first drive, however, it's clear that while slightly pricier than its Kia Carnival rival the new generation Multivan is more practical than ever, and now that it rides on a car platform, far better to drive.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

Given Citroen’s proud heritage of innovation, the Berlingo has a few unique and quirky features, but is overall quite conventional in its design and performance (though in a well thought-out and practical package).

With sub-$20K run-out pricing, it should have plenty of appeal for commercial customers, as it costs much less than its major rivals yet offers a superior payload.

As with all Volkswagens the redesign of the new-gen Multivan is more about refining than redefining. Just like the Golf hatch which has kept its look through eight generations the Multivan is recognisable and familiar but new and modern looking, too.

Smoother lines, a more heavily raked windscreen and a flatter bonnet make for a cuter snub nose. The new Multivan is less boxy than before even though it is still a box on wheels, just a sleeker, more adorable one. 

As mentioned, the Multivan comes in two lengths: the short wheelbase, which is 4973mm from the front bumper to the rear bumper, and the long wheelbase which is 5173mm long. Height for both is 1900mm.

Inside, the cabin is modern with large screens for media and driver instruments with a minimalist design to the dash, while the lack of a centre console frees up space. The sense of roominess is enhanced by daylight flooding in through oversized windows which can be taken a step further when combined with the optional panoramic (split panel) glass roof. 

There are nine body colours to pick from including 'Candy White', 'Pure Grey', 'Reflex Silver Metallic', 'Copper Bronze Metallic', 'Deep Black Pearlescent', 'Energetic Orange Metallic', 'Medium Blue Metallic', 'Mono Silver Metallic' and 'Starlight Blue Metallic'.

The smallest Berlingo rides on a front-wheel-drive, 2728mm wheelbase with an overall length of 4380mm and width of 1810mm. Compared to the Caddy, the Berlingo is 46mm longer in wheelbase, 28mm shorter and 37mm wider.

Suspension features MacPherson struts up front and a tidy trailing arm arrangement at the rear, which is well designed for carrying heavy loads. Steering is via power-assisted rack and pinion and four-wheel disc brakes provide reassuringly strong braking. The turning circle is a compact 11.0 metres.

The cabin and cargo bay are separated by a removable grey vinyl screen, with a large clear section in the upper half to allow rear vision for the driver. Citroen says this screen is primarily to reduce air-conditioning requirements, which in turn reduces the A/C load on the engine to optimise performance and fuel economy. 

It’s also claimed to (slightly) reduce noise intrusion from the cargo bay, which is mostly caused by tyre roar through the rear wheel arches. However, Citroen has taken a commendable step in trying to muffle these noise paths by surrounding each wheel arch with large plastic mouldings which are claimed to contain sound-absorbing material.

Glazed rear barn doors with wiper/washer and 180-degree opening, plus solid sliding side doors, are standard issue. The barn doors also feature an asymmetrical design (one wide, one narrow) to off-set the centre pillars and reduce the large blind spot they create in the rear-view mirror. 

The cabin layout is simple and functional with decent-sized door mirrors, although the kerb side would benefit from a wide-angle lens due to a big blind spot for the driver created by the solid side door. The fold-down inboard arm-rest is a nice touch and the cabin is quite spacious, although tall drivers will find the left footrest too high for a comfortable leg position.

Practicality is the Multivan's greatest strength. Seven seats come standard and the rear five can be configured into numerous variations. If you like you could have those rear seats facing each other or you can just have a second row with a large boot area or you could have two in the middle row and two in the third row or whatever other variation you can think up. Yes, you can remove all five rear seats and now that they're 25 per cent lighter it’s easier to do so.

People space is excellent and at 189cm tall I found it possible to not only sit comfortably in the second row behind my driving position, but also behind that in the third row with plenty of leg and headroom.  

An optional multi-functional table is also available and this can slide on rails from the third row all the way up to between the driver and front passenger.

Second row cabin storage is outstanding. You’ll find drawers under the seats big enough for a pair of shoes, hidey holes and cupholders everywhere, seat-back tray tables and gigantic door pockets.

Up front is a double glove box, a dash-top storage bin, more cupholders as well as a multitude of pockets and small storage holes for bits and pieces.

For devices there’s a wireless phone charger and four USB ports.

You’ll also find three-zone climate control with air vents throughout the cabin and dark-tinted glass for the side windows. 

Finally, the power sliding rear side doors are huge and allow easy entry and exit to and from both rear rows.

Being able to leave the driver or front passenger’s seat and walk through to the second row is also handy and fun. Not while driving, of course, although it’s tempting.

The Berlingo’s 1433kg kerb weight and 2150kg GVM would normally result in a 717kg payload. However, Citroen’s official payload figure is 133kg higher, at a class-leading 850kg, because PSA calculates kerb weights differently to the norm (typically French). So, 75kg of that can be carried on the roof when shared across three racks with the mounting points provided.

Its robust 3250kg GCM allows up to 1100kg of braked trailer to be towed without any reduction in payload. Citroen states that this GCM applies up to a maximum altitude of 1000 metres above sea level, with a 10 per cent reduction for each additional 1000 metres. So keep those stats in mind if you’re heading for Mount Kosciuszko.

The cargo bay, which offers 3.3 cubic metres of load volume (or 3.7 with passenger sear folded), has a floor length of 1800mm and a roomy 1229mm between the wheel arches. This means it can carry one 1160mm-square standard Aussie pallet, easily loaded with a forklift through the rear barn doors and held in place by six tie-down points. There’s also internal lighting, a 12-volt outlet and sturdy ladder-frame cargo barrier behind the driver. Nothing for the passenger, though.

Cabin storage options include two pockets and a combined cup/bottle holder in each door. There’s also a large lidded compartment and two open bins set into the dash-top, two circular storage slots in the centre display plus two smaller pockets below and beside the gearstick; the latter a slim-line 'holster' complete with USB port.

The single glovebox has two-tier storage, and there’s a full-width cabin shelf overhead. The centre console, which is a module that can be unlocked and removed if you want floor space between the seats, has a cup holder at the front, a big internal storage area with sliding lid in the centre and two cup/small bottle holders at the rear. There’s also lots of vacant space for additional storage under both seats.

The Citroen Berlingo range comprises three models; the L1 Short Body Manual, L2 Long Body Manual and L2 Long Body Semi-Automatic.

Our test vehicle was the L1 Short Body Manual (aka M Confort VTi), which, with a 1.6-litre petrol engine and five-speed manual gearbox, is normally $22,990. This compares favourably with the Kangoo L1 SWB (1.2-litre petrol/six-speed manual) at $23,990, and is a huge 24 per cent saving over the Caddy TSI220 SWB (1.4-litre petrol/seven-speed dual-clutch auto) at $30,390. 

However, the Berlingo’s run-out price is now a bargain basement $19,990 drive-away, so you’ll save even more up front, plus be eligible for an immediate tax deduction if you're a business owner.

Given it’s a commercial van, our Berlingo came with all the usual visual cues of a hard worker, like the solid white body colour with contrasting black bumpers, door mirrors, handles and side rubbing strips, plus black hub caps inside 15-inch steel wheels with 195/65 R15 Michelin tyres and a matching spare. However, the cabin does at least get floor carpet.

Its standard equipment list includes useful stuff like a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors (essential in any van with solid side doors), guide-me-home headlights, height/reach adjustable steering wheel, RDS stereo sound system with a 7.0-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity options (including Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth), cruise control with adjustable speed limiter, one-touch electric front windows and more.

At the moment there’s just the one grade of Multivan, the Life, and it's powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel making 110kW and 360Nm. Transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic which sends drive to the front wheels.

Coming later in 2025 will be a petrol-electric variant but it will only be available in a more premium Style grade.

The Euro 6-compliant 1.6-litre multi-point fuel-injected four-cylinder petrol engine is conspicuously rev-happy for a commercial vehicle, as evidenced by its tachometer which displays rpm increments all the way up to 7000rpm - with no redline.

The needle has to reach 6000rpm to access the engine’s relatively modest maximum power of 72kW (less than Kangoo/Caddy, which are both turbos), with peak torque of 152Nm (also less) at a relatively high 3500rpm. It also requires 95-octane fuel.

The five-speed manual gearbox has useful spread of ratios for both city/suburban delivery work and load hauling on the highway.

Volkswagen says that after a combination of open and urban roads the Multivan Life should use 6.4L/100km. While on the launch the trip computer was recording an average of about 8.5L/100km, but we’ll assess fuel efficiency again when this VW comes into the CarsGuide road test garage. 

In theory, if you do use 6.4L/100km, the Multivan's 80-litre tank should give you 1250km of range.

The score for efficiency looks quite low here and that's because without having driven the Style grade and the hybrid powertrain all we have to go by currently is the diesel.

Our Berlingo achieved a combined figure of 7.2L/100km over a distance of 422km on a variety of roads and with different loads, including near-maximum GVM. Impressively, that was line-ball with the official combined figure of 7.1. With its 60-litre tank, you could expect a realistic driving range of 580-600km.

The missing piece of the Multivan puzzle for me has been the way it drives. Past versions have been less 'car-like' than rivals like the Kia Carnival. It felt like a commercial van to drive, because essentially it was. But that's been fixed.

One of the biggest changes to this new-generation Multivan is the platform on which it's built. Volkswagen has decided to swap the truck-like platform from the past for the 'MQB' platform which underpins vehicles such as the Golf and Tiguan. 

Having spent a few hours driving this new generation Multivan around some great country roads during the launch I can testify that not only is the ride comfortable and composed but this van handles way better than you might imagine.

While the Multivan is in no way a sports car, good handling adds to the fun factor. It's easy to drive with light, accurate and direct steering, good acceleration and smooth gear changes from the transmission, great pedal feel under your feet and superb visibility from the high seating position and oversized windows all around.

That said, I enjoyed driving the previous generation Multivan. I loved its fun and easy piloting factor and the change in platform for this new-gen model makes the experience even more pleasurable.

The first thing we noticed was the relatively low cargo-bay noise, combined with low wind and engine noise. The ride quality was firm but acceptable without a load, and the steering responsive and linear in weight, with a strong self-centering effect ensuring good directional stability. 

The slick-shifting manual gearshift was nice to use, with well-defined gates and a light clutch action. Braking response was strong, but four discs designed to cope with a 3250kg GCM could bite hard if you pressed too firmly without a load.

With maximum torque at 3500rpm and peak power at 6000rpm, the 1.6-litre non-turbo engine responded best around town when kept revving freely between those two numbers. Although torque started to fall away sharply below 1800rpm, a useful amount remained between 1800-3500rpm, as evidenced by 2750rpm at 100km/h and 3000rpm at 110km/h in top gear on the highway.

With 600kg in the cargo bay plus a 100kg driver, our 700kg payload was 150kg below GVM. Handling and ride quality with this load was excellent, particularly over large bumps and on heavily patched bitumen roads. Braking was also reassuringly strong and it continued to track straight in cross-winds at highway speeds.

The engine’s rev-happy nature was noticeable on our 2.0km, 13 per cent gradient set climb with this load, finding its sweet spot in second gear at 3750rpm - which it happily pulled all the way to the top. Engine braking on the way down was non-existent, but the powerful brakes easily covered this shortfall.

No ANCAP rating here, but a LHD diesel version with dual airbags achieved four stars when tested by Euro NCAP in 2009. Evidence that our local model is aimed at cost-cutting fleet buyers is a front airbag and cargo barrier for driver only, with passenger front airbag and side airbags for both sides only available as optional extras. There’s no AEB either, but you do get an electronic stability control program with traction control and hill start assist, plus a rear-view camera and rear parking sensors.

The Multivan is covered by Volkswagen’s five year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Servicing is recommended every 15,000km or annually and will cost you between about $600-800 a year.

A three-year/100,000km warranty includes roadside assistance, plus there’s a five-year anti-corrosion warranty. Scheduled servicing is 12 months/20,000km, whichever occurs first. There is also fixed pricing for the first three scheduled services of $416 (12 months/20,000km), $777 (24 months/40,000km) and $416 (36 months/60,000km).