I may want to join the club - help me!

[Audaxjoe]

Hi I'm thinking of buying a Belingo 1.6 HDI probably and just wanted to know peoples opinions?

I do a lot of long distance cycling and want a vehicle I can store the bike in upright and still get a bit of a sleep in at the same time! As well as being reasonable to run.

Also what are peoples opinion on the semi auto box? I notice the economy is better and tax is lower - any negatives?

Are people relatively happy with their Belingos? I'm a Subaru Impreza owner now so it will be a bit of a change!

[FeuxLingo]

I see that the semi-auto is a 6-speed over the manual 5-speed, hence the lower CO2 and taxation class.

Not a fan of clutchless manuals personally, but it depends on your driving style.

[hachiroku]

Hi, I bought a 2003 2.0Hdi earlier this year and have found it super-practical. I do a lot of mountainbiking and all I do is fold one of the seats up , take the front wheel out of the bike and just slide the rest in upright (something you can't do in an estate car), the tie down hooks in the boot are handy for bungee cord to strap the bike to the side too.
I think the boot area is maybe a bit small to sleep in?? well it would be for me at 5'11", but I guess I could spend a night in there at a push.
You're asking peoples opinions of a Berlingo on a Berlingo owners forum so you're always going to hear more about the positives, but there's a few threads around on the sibject of good/bad things about the Berlingo, so have a read of those.

Personally I love my Berlingo, cheap, economical, practical, comfy, ok so it's not the most "fun" thing to drive about in but you can't have your cake AND eat it can you? :lol:

[Mindyerlingo]

Your spectrums apart after driving a Sube! The performance and handling couldn't be more different if you tried which I'm sure your aware of. On a practical note, you won't be dissapointed with a four wheeled Tardis! I've had my 09 - 1.6 / 90 XTR a couple of months and I'm totally smitten. Have a read about the turbo's / oil and filter change frequency on these units too. I have yet to drive in the snow and very high winds all well documented on the forum, will cross that bridge etc etc. Get a couple of test drives under your belt if you can, cornering will be fun after the Sube drive. I wish I'd bought a Berlingo a couple of years back, still getting the hang of mine but absolutely love it!!

[Guanajuato]

I've had my road bike, mountain bike and daughter's (24" wheel) mountain bike in the back of mine with two rear seats still in place and no wheels off the bikes. (Mk 3). But the bikes do kind of need to go diagonal. If I take the front wheels off the adult bikes, I can get one bike + daughter's bike in essentially in the width of one of the back seats. its easier if I take out the back seat rather than just tip it forward. With the one seat out, it needs one of the front seats moving forward a bit to get an adult bike in fully lengthways if you leave all the wheels on.
I think the 3 separate seats is an option on VT and VTR and standard on XTR.

[Audaxjoe]

I spotted a C3 Picasso at a cycling event and they had managed to fit 2x adult road bikes with front wheel removed and the forks attached to a stand just behind the folded seat. I was thinking of either a Picasso C3 or the Berlingo - I'd have thought the Berlingo would be a lot bigger inside? I have test drove the C3 and will pop down and take a Berlingo out next week.

It good to know it is easy enough to fit a bike in - I tried mine in the Berlingo at my local garage but couldn't quite get it in straight, about 2cm of wheel was stopping boot closing- I didn't think of angling the forks.... I'll go back and check again.

The idea of sleeping in it is more of a arriving back to an event really tired and grabbing a few hours sleep rather than a camper or the like. I did think of another Subaru - the Forester - but would also like to cut my overheads, I spend (or waste!) too much money on cars.I know this is a Berlingo forum but people do seem quite pleased with the cars (vans!) :-)

[hachiroku]

My previous car to the Berlingo was a turbocharged MX5, so yes the drive is completely different! I miss the fun factor of the MX but the Blingo is far more practical and suited to my needs for the moment.
I also considered an estate, the Forester being one of them, Stagea RS, Legnum VR4 and also the Outback were the others I considered, but the Blingo had more load space, lower insurance, and is a hell of a lot cheaper on the old "go-juice", plus driving the Blingo has made me a steadier driver so hopefully I should keep those points off my licence!

[Audaxjoe]

@hachiroku - your list of cars you looked at I've had two of them! VR4 Estate and the B type Legacy (like the Outback but not raised suspension) both where amazing cars but the cost of unleaded just makes cars like that a silly unless you have a bank balance like a third world country's debt mountain - or the UK's come to think of it!

I like the Berlingo in that it is like stepping away from the cars arms race so to speak. It a simple, practical and cheap car which looks incredibly versatile.

[hachiroku]

Can't agree with you more, think I needed a break from the "arms race" for a while, both the mx5 and previous 200sx were lucky to get 25mpg (on a good day!), but now my fuel bill is halved, and when I have a round trip of almost 800 miles a month to do (scotland to yorkshire) it all starts to make sense.

still... what I save on the fuel money can go towards that RX7 weekend toy I've always wanted