New Berlingo spotted out on road test

[Hell Razor5543]

Browsing the Web I found this article, which I thought might be of interest;

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/funk ... spartanntp

Not sure about the paint scheme though!

[CitroJim]

Looks like it's got a heck of a load in it... If ever a vehicle needed hydropneumatic suspension it is that one

I've always said that a 'Lingo with proper hydropneumatic would be getting on for being the perfect vehicle...

Shape, to me, under that awful disguise, looks a bit frumpy rather than funky...

[Michel]

The Berlingo has always looked a bit frumpy Jim!

[bobins]

Looks like it's got a heck of a load in it... If ever a vehicle needed hydropneumatic suspension it is that one

Perhaps they're making them with air suspension on the rear, but to cut out any anxiety about how long it will last before it fails, they're manufacturing them already broken

[demag]

I think the general shape is similar to the old one. I liked mine apart from the crap engine and there was ample room for most stuff in there. Also for some reason the sliding doors used to rattle and it really wasn't obvious how to adjust them.

[Michel]

I think the general shape is similar to the old one. I liked mine apart from the crap engine and there was ample room for most stuff in there. Also for some reason the sliding doors used to rattle and it really wasn't obvious how to adjust them.

Looks like just a new nose-cone to me. The M59 - 2002-2008 shape is the best in my view. I wasn't keen on the later B9 version. Had a look at a few the last few weeks with a view to buying one to replace my 2004 one but they just didn't do it for me, and we've come down on the side of a German saloon, either a Passat, or as is looking more likely, a BMW 320 D M-Sport version on a 2011 plate. Better for the long journey's I'll be doing than a Berlingo.

[CitroJim]

Looks like it's got a heck of a load in it... If ever a vehicle needed hydropneumatic suspension it is that one

Perhaps they're making them with air suspension on the rear, but to cut out any anxiety about how long it will last before it fails, they're manufacturing them already broken

That did make me giggle!

[RichardW]

Always makes me laugh that they cover them in that wrap.... ostensibly to 'hide' the shape - but if you see that going down the road you are immediately going to look at it; whereas if it was just another car you might wonder what it was, but take it no further. Perhaps that is the point!

[myglaren]

When Volvo began making the 850 they dotted some around the streets in Gothenburg and hardly anyone noticed

[elma]

I think they mostly spend their time on test tracks being set up. I saw the new civic in the odd wrap when I worked at Honda. It went between the test track, wheel alignment and a laptop. They were very secretive and a bit agitated that we were there. It hides the shape well. The car I saw had already been released in the states but was unrecognisable comparing a picture to the wrapped version.

[Hell Razor5543]

The idea of that wrap design is to confuse the auto focus on cameras.

[CitroJim]

The idea of that wrap design is to confuse the auto focus on cameras.

Ahh! That makes sense You learn something new every day! Thanks James

[elma]

Didn't work on mine!
No I can't show you sorry, I'd be in trouble if I really had pictures of inside a car factory.

They also don't wrap it tight so it confuses the eyes as well.
If you look closely you can see it's not been heated to shrink it into all the nooks and crannies as per wrapping a car the normal way.
It's just stretched over as a sheet so a lot of what looks like bulges is actually just empty space between features.

Looking at the test tracks with a Drone would be so easy nowadays I imagine the press will be getting much better pictures of upcoming models as time goes by.
I'd actually quite enjoy doing that as a job but it's probably illegal and pointless.

[demag]

I just thought maybe it's the electric one with the latest HEAVY duty battery pack. Geddit? Oh suit yerselves.

[CitroJim]

I just thought maybe it's the electric one with the latest HEAVY duty battery pack. Geddit? Oh suit yerselves.

Good one Dave!!!