Citroën ë-Berlingo 2023 electric car owner review

Terry drives a Citroën ë-Berlingo Flair XTR M 50kWh 2023.

This is Terry’s first electric car, he’s owned the Citroën ë-Berlingo from new and drives 10,000-15,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 500-1,000 miles and he achieves 140 miles from a full charge.

Why did you choose the Citroën ë-Berlingo?

We chose this car as it was the most affordable car for us on the Motability scheme that had the largest boot. We switched from a C4 Space Tourer 7-seater that had enough room with the 3rd row folded down, however Citroen stopped making this car and my wife wasn’t keen on the C5 Aircross. At first viewing and on the subsequent test drive, the ë-Berlingo seemed to be the ideal vehicle to move to.

Positives

Big boot
good radio
sliding rear doors
reversing camera.

Negatives

Lack of tech on offer (the spec changed between order date and build)
suspension too firm
range.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

The initial spec of the car (2022 March order) included built-in sat nav, head up display and an energy screen to show statistics for energy consumption. We were told that the head up display would not be included, then found out that the sat nav wouldn’t be included which meant although the car would be CarPlay-compatible, there was no way to share the navigation to the main instrument display like most cars can (including our 4 year old C4 Space Tourer).

Turns out that the energy display is also not included which to me seems a fairly important piece of kit to tell how well the car is performing! The tyre repair kit was missing (this has now been rectified). The suspension in the car is that stiff you can feel every lump & bump in the road (we have had 5 Citroens before this one & this is definitely the worst for comfort). The speed limit recognition system has a mind of its own, picking up random speed limits on signs that are on side roads. The last cars was much better.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

The reversing camera has a top down view as well as a regular rear facing view. I find myself using the top down view much more.

Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car

Unfortunately, the surprise is what the car doesn’t have.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

Something with the boot size of the Berlingo but not another Berlingo (or Rifter or Combo E). See what comes out in the next 3 years.

Home charging unit

Pod Point Solo – it does the job we need it to, has an app to track costing & usage and also does differed charging.

Electricity supplier & tariff

At the moment we are on British Gas standard variable. We’re trying to change to their EV tariff, however, they have completely messed up our billing so we’re currently waiting for them to fix it. Once it’s fixed we’ll probably switch!

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

Pod Point & GRIDSERVE are the two we have tried. Both worked fine but Gridserve doesn’t need an app which is nice!

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a Citroën ë-Berlingo

As Motability cover the cost of the lease, tax, insurance and the maintenance we only have to worry about fuel. With the standard tariff we’re saving about £20 a month over our old diesel car, which will go up to £60 a month with the EV tariff. That’s also taking into account in the increase in household electricity costs as they whack up the day rate costs.