Greetings from Norway
|
Posts: 22
Threads: 1
Thanks Received: 1 in 1 posts
Thanks Given: 5
Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Kongsberg, Norway
Reputation:
0
Hello, all! I live in Kongsberg, which is in the southeastern part of Norway. I've been looking around for a "sensible" car to take my family to work, school and kindergarden, and it looks like we're going to close the deal on a Berlingo next week. I'm currently reading up on the car to ensure that I'm not doing something stupid.
Our requirements are: Rear sliding doors, room for three child seats, boot space enough for a pram, good mileage, reliable and not too expensive. The Berlingo seems like a nice fit.
We've been back and forth on wether we "need" 4WD or not, but we've decided to put our trust in "Grip Control" and high-end winter tyres. Traction on winter roads is not to be treated lightly where we live, as there's winter half the year... :justno:
I've always done my own maintenance and repairs, so it'll be weird to own a new car and send it off for service...
I've owned Land Rovers for ages, but our ageing Discovery is not the most economical for the school run. Lovely vehicle, though. We'll eventually have to get something newer for overland travel as well, as that's our family activity #1.
So if anyones still reading this; thank you, and I'll probably annoy you with questions and stuff later!
•
Posts: 1,709
Threads: 52
Thanks Received: 316 in 279 posts
Thanks Given: 87
Joined: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
Reputation:
5
Welcome Harald,
Sounds like you have serious snow and ice in that part of the world. Here in Switzerland my Multispace with ESP and good winter tires got me though this winter without problems. Over on a German Berlingo forum (berlingo.org) the consensus of opinion on Grip Control seemed to be that is just an over priced firmware tweak for the ESP and not worth the increased price. I live on a hill and after a while the snow gets compacted to ice but with the ESP and Continental TS830's we got up every time with the ESP kicking in and out. Looking forward to your posts and experiences with a Berli.
Tom
2010 Berlingo Multispace HDi 110 with FAP. Persamos green.
•
Posts: 1,884
Threads: 147
Thanks Received: 388 in 254 posts
Thanks Given: 263
Joined: Sep 2010
Location: London
Reputation:
11
Welcome Harald, another Scandanavian member!
You seem to have considered a lot more than most when it comes to picking a new vehicle, which is great. On grip control, you should check out this previous thread on the topic http://www.berlingoforum.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=98
Look forward to seeing you around.
Want Help with the Forum? Read Help Documents Here
•
Posts: 697
Threads: 25
Thanks Received: 231 in 131 posts
Thanks Given: 44
Joined: Sep 2010
Location: Moscow
Reputation:
12
Hi, Harald. Welcome to forum.
Greetings from Russia.
•
Posts: 498
Threads: 30
Thanks Received: 99 in 44 posts
Thanks Given: 40
Joined: Sep 2010
Location: Southend - On - Sea
Reputation:
4
Welcome to the forum herald
Lliam
53 plate Berlingo Multispace Forte 1.9D Polar White
•
Posts: 1,124
Threads: 32
Thanks Received: 217 in 171 posts
Thanks Given: 18
Joined: Mar 2011
Location: Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Reputation:
3
Welcome to the forum mate!
Somedays you're the pigeon, Somedays you're the statue.
•
Posts: 328
Threads: 47
Thanks Received: 63 in 49 posts
Thanks Given: 48
Joined: Oct 2010
Location: uk
Reputation:
0
Hi and welcome to the forum,
great first post
•
Posts: 850
Threads: 52
Thanks Received: 82 in 67 posts
Thanks Given: 9
Joined: Sep 2010
Location: Kent
Reputation:
0
Hi Harald and welcome to the forum
Some more thoughts on Berlingos and winter tyres in this thread
Generally, members seem to have been impressed with how well their Berlingos coped with snow and ice, especially with winter tyres (I know I was )
Which model Berlingo are you looking at?
2005 Berlingo Multispace 1.6i Desire (Iron Grey)
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
•
Posts: 22
Threads: 1
Thanks Received: 1 in 1 posts
Thanks Given: 5
Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Kongsberg, Norway
Reputation:
0
04-04-2011, 01:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-04-2011, 01:23 PM by Harald Hansen.)
Thank you for the warm welcome, all!
Winter tyres used in Central Europe are different than what is usually recommended for Scandinavia. Let's say they are engineered for 80% tarmac / 20% snow&ice, whereas Nordic spec are more like 50/50. I've always got a separate set of winter tyres for my cars. Expensive, of course, but worth it. My last 2WD (Pug 405) had Nokian Hakkapeliitta studless Nordic spec. Those and Bridgestone Blizzak Nordic spec are what I'll look into next time. And don't get me started on the "four season" tyres that a lot of SUVs are fitted with...
Having gotten that off my chest, I can proudly announce that I've doomed my children to a year of eating only oatmeal by ordering a brand new Berlingo from the dealership! I'll dig up the specs and post them in-thread (or maybe I'll have to start a different thread?)
On second tought, lets get started on four season tyres!
I'll just share this anecdote: A couple of years ago we were driving the before mentioned Pug 405. Our old Range Rover was having some kind of trouble, so we decided to go to the Land Rover club's Christmas dinner by French saloon... The venue was a fairly remote mountain lodge (as is fitting). Snow surprised us on the way, so the last small, but steep, hill was unsurmountable for our friend's Land Rover Discovery 2 with older four-season tyres. Remember, the Disco is a serious off-roader, with low range gearbox and proper traction control, but they had to park at the bottom of the hill. I managed to nurse our front wheel drive car, with new Hakkapeliittas, all the way to the top.
I managed to dodge most of the ribbing due me for turning up in a non-Land Rover...
•
Posts: 1,709
Threads: 52
Thanks Received: 316 in 279 posts
Thanks Given: 87
Joined: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
Reputation:
5
Interesting info on the difference between winter tires here and in the northern countries. It seems many new cars come with "all weather" tires these days. Our neighbor's new Toyota (with all weather) could not get up our hill several times this winter. I cruised up like on dry ground to their dismay :lol:
2010 Berlingo Multispace HDi 110 with FAP. Persamos green.
•
|
Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
|
Welcome
|
You have to register before you can post on our site.
|
Latest Threads
|
Airbag light won't go out
Last Post: Multispacer
Today 12:00 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 25
|
Berlingo multispace Clockspring issue
Last Post: Multispacer
Yesterday 11:39 PM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 34
|
Phone call in progress
Last Post: Leonberger
Yesterday 09:11 PM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 32
|
M49 wiper blades
Last Post: geoff
Yesterday 07:48 PM
» Replies: 4
» Views: 41
|
DV6C 9HL injector options
Last Post: KD305
Yesterday 06:25 PM
» Replies: 4
» Views: 155
|
brake master cylinder
Last Post: BigVtwin996
Yesterday 03:28 PM
» Replies: 2
» Views: 24
|
Hello
Last Post: OMG
Yesterday 01:11 PM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 55
|
Passenger seat warning light by pass
Last Post: Bluebottle
Yesterday 11:37 AM
» Replies: 0
» Views: 25
|
How to identify knocking injector
Last Post: brodfather11
Yesterday 10:35 AM
» Replies: 1
» Views: 35
|
Dangel 4x4 rear brake discs
Last Post: dwr400
Yesterday 05:00 AM
» Replies: 17
» Views: 9243
|
Recent Visitors
|
|
Hosting by
|
|
|