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Citroën's new Berlingo is badged the Airdream to highlight its greener credentials, but do the changes make for a better, more economical drive?
When we got the callfromatroën about the availability of a new Berlingo Airdream with a micro-hybrid system and automated gearbox, we understandably jumped at the chance to put it through the revised CM road test. Little did we know that just a few weeks later a 'brand new' Berlingo Airdream sporting a revised front end would arrive in the office car park, equipped with a manual gearbox.
with the opportunity to test them side-by-side now gone, we resorted to putting the manual Berlingo through an exact replica of the test carried out in the automatic Berlingo. The comparative results make for an informative read, but of the two models, the automated Berlingo is arguably the most interesting.
Automated transmissions have become fairly common in the LCV market, particularly in higher G VW vans where the greatest economy gains are likely to be achieved. So, too, have the stop/start systems that manufacturers have begun fitting across many models to help lower CO2 emissions. What we have yet to experience, however, is the two systems on the same vehicle - until, that is, the Berlingo Airdream ESG6 arrived.
With a six-speed automatic transmission, controlled by a dash-mounted selector the Berlingo's gearbox functions as you would expect. Simply rotate the dial to select drive and press the accelerator, or if you want to take control of the shifts yourself, pull on the paddle-shifts located on either side of the steering wheel. It's not until you begin to slow down that the system gets interesting.
Ready to pounce as you near a standstill is the stop/start system, which is activated at around 3mph to help cut idling times in traffic While this is a worthwhile system it is different to the conventional three-pedal systems where the stop/start is not activated until me clutch and brake pedal are both depressed. Without a clutch pedal, Berlingo waits until the brake is pressed to kill the engine, a reasonable method, albeit one that is unnerving when we found ourselves coasting into a parking space with the engine already in shutdown.
The system is part of a much wider fuel-saving...