02-12-2020, 03:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-12-2020, 05:32 PM by Undermanager.)
So, did the rounds this morning test driving two cars. I'd booked drives for more (Rifter GL Line, a Doblo, a Combo), but the first two were so good, I thought I would be wasting my time for no real good reason.
1. Peugeot Rifter Allure, 1 year old. 13K on clock, going for £14K. Fabulous. Very comfy, great seating position, smooth suspension after the Hyundai i10, responsive, 1.2L engine very good, loved the small steering wheel and the bright controls above them that you could easily see. Enough space for bikes and one person camping / sleeping inside (couldn't get the passenger seat flat though, I guess because of the passenger arm rest?), lots of toys and stuff to play with. Nice size without being huge. Coming from an i10, you quickly got used to it. It's high, so both the Allure and XL are going to need step ladders to use any roof bars - seriously! I would have bought it then and there, but dealer wouldn't haggle, not even for a few hundred quid, so that was that. I'm tight, there was no give, so I said I'd think about it. Both this and the Flair XL have electronic handbrakes - new to me but worked a treat.
2. So next, off to the Citroen dealership to test drive a Berlingo Flair XL they had, 7000 miles, 7 months old. Excellent drives like the Allure above so all good, 1.2L engine which I was concerned about but no need - admittedly unladen, it was peppy enough for me. Drive was surprisingly quiet. The drive, suspension, viewing all good. Reversing sensors made reversing easy. I was surprised how quickly I got used to it - it's big but after 15 minutes, it's all fine. What can you say about the space? Loads of it. Excellent strap points for the bike and lots of cubby holes. It's gonna be easy to set this up and use this as a tourer / camper for two people. Seven seats but two of them are going on ebay - I don't have 6 friends :-). The white colour and black trim makes it stand out. The sat nav was surprisingly excellent. £16K after a bit of wiggle.
So now it's mine :-) Pick it up in a few days.
First purchase will be some good thermal blinds for all the windows, or a sewing machine .... Will also need to think about a leisure battery, solar, but thats in a month or two. need to time to plan ....
1. Peugeot Rifter Allure, 1 year old. 13K on clock, going for £14K. Fabulous. Very comfy, great seating position, smooth suspension after the Hyundai i10, responsive, 1.2L engine very good, loved the small steering wheel and the bright controls above them that you could easily see. Enough space for bikes and one person camping / sleeping inside (couldn't get the passenger seat flat though, I guess because of the passenger arm rest?), lots of toys and stuff to play with. Nice size without being huge. Coming from an i10, you quickly got used to it. It's high, so both the Allure and XL are going to need step ladders to use any roof bars - seriously! I would have bought it then and there, but dealer wouldn't haggle, not even for a few hundred quid, so that was that. I'm tight, there was no give, so I said I'd think about it. Both this and the Flair XL have electronic handbrakes - new to me but worked a treat.
2. So next, off to the Citroen dealership to test drive a Berlingo Flair XL they had, 7000 miles, 7 months old. Excellent drives like the Allure above so all good, 1.2L engine which I was concerned about but no need - admittedly unladen, it was peppy enough for me. Drive was surprisingly quiet. The drive, suspension, viewing all good. Reversing sensors made reversing easy. I was surprised how quickly I got used to it - it's big but after 15 minutes, it's all fine. What can you say about the space? Loads of it. Excellent strap points for the bike and lots of cubby holes. It's gonna be easy to set this up and use this as a tourer / camper for two people. Seven seats but two of them are going on ebay - I don't have 6 friends :-). The white colour and black trim makes it stand out. The sat nav was surprisingly excellent. £16K after a bit of wiggle.
So now it's mine :-) Pick it up in a few days.
First purchase will be some good thermal blinds for all the windows, or a sewing machine .... Will also need to think about a leisure battery, solar, but thats in a month or two. need to time to plan ....