Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

I've got a ulez friendly diesel Berlingo. It's currently at the main dealer as its got an emissions fault with a 700 mile countdown to not starting!

Apart from that it's been great the 2 years we've owned it. Great for bike hauling, DIY supplies and soon to be baby carrying (sliding rear doors). I fitted a permanent modified Fiamma VW transporter bike rack to the back of mine. Driven to Girona and the french alps in it on separate trips. Make sure to get the XTR spec because... Well XTR.

Only needs to be Euro 4 for a petrol to be ULEZ. Euro 6 for diesel.

A turbo is a turbine driven by exhaust gases to force pressurised air into the engine allowing an engine of a smaller size to produce more power. Good for efficiency, but adds complexity and expense when things go wrong.

The older shape of Berlingo are really tough cars and they use a pretty tried and tested engine design, not so sure on the 1.2 of newer ones though. VW/Skoda quality isn't what it once was and personally I would avoid them simply as they aren't worth the premium prices.

The first one seems to be a good spec. 3 rear split seats, rear tailgate window, touchscreen radio, climate control unit.

All three seats can be removed or folded separately. We usually leave 1 or 2 in the house so we can roll bikes in easily.

Just do Berlingo, get something with low miles, and get it serviced annually. AA cover is cheap if you want it. Easy as.

All this Berlingo chat is good! Will look at some listings and post here.

@damitamit

I've got a ulez friendly diesel Berlingo. It's currently at the main dealer as its got an emissions fault with a 700 mile countdown to not starting!

Tell me more about the fault and which year model is yours?

Thank you!

I think they might be - have seen 996 turbos for under 30k recently

AA cover is cheap if you want it. Easy as.

Just got mine with a Nationwide Flexplus account. £13 per month - also includes travel and mobile phone insurance 👍

And a quick search of eBay shows most GR Yaris around 35k

The older shape of Berlingo are really tough cars and they use a pretty tried and tested engine design, not so sure on the 1.2 of newer ones though.

The 1.2 is a great engine to drive but has serious reliability issues, and has been the subject of at least 2 recalls and an ongoing class action lawsuit in France.
PSA decided in their wisdom to fit it with a cambelt, rather than a chain, but one which you have to remove half the engine to find, and then compound their mistake by making it out of substandard rubber. It degrades, gets into the oil and wrecks the turbo. The recalls are to replace the belt with a new type. Recall 1 was insufficient, and that belt also fails.
Get a late one, or if not, make sure it has been recalled, and check it has had oil and filter changes every single year, especially if not driven much.

I've got a ulez friendly diesel Berlingo. It's currently at the main dealer as its got an emissions fault with a 700 mile countdown to not starting!

Thinks it's out of Adblue?

Modern diesels...lol.

A newer 1.2 is fine then? Say 2017 onwards?

From your list I would avoid the Vauxhall Zafira like the plague. Horrible things and very underpowered. Plus they are something of an orphan now that Vauxhall/Opel is part of Stellantis and not General Motors anymore.
I would also not bother with the Octavia or Superb. A baby seat is going to be about the same width as an adult. I've tried it and 3 adults even in the back of a Passat is a tight squeeze, and the Skodas are no wider. I think you need to look only at the MPVs on the list.

For me the best one on your list would be the S Max. Big enough to do the job, small enough to not feel like a bus.

I wouldn't touch the berlingo, as it is homologated as a van (which of course it basically is). According to Citroën's website:
"Petrol & diesel versions of Berlingo are homologated as light goods vehicle under 3.5 tonnes, due to having a mesh bulkhead. Therefore:
Like LCVs, this vehicle will be subject to a speed limit of 50 mph on non-residential single carriageways, 60 mph on dual carriageways, and 70 mph on motorways.
The vehicle will show as an LCV on the V5 registration document. Customers may also be required to pay the higher LCV toll road charges (where appliable). For example, the VED will be charged at the fixed rate per year in line with other light commercial vehicles under 3.5 tonnes, rather than being based on the CO2 rating.
Berlingo will have a mesh bulkhead behind the second row of seats. This will result in a slightly steeper backrest angle for the row 2 seats as compared with ë-Berlingo passenger vehicle (18º vs 23º)."

It may be. April 2017 was the cut-off date. I have a 2019 which is apparently OK.
A Citroën dealer can check.

Very helpful!

S Max does appeal; is there any Ford engine folklore? ones to avoid etc?

The thing I found with S-max/Touran, etc is that my lower budget restricted me to older models, therefore the majority were diesel - Hopefully you get more petrol choice with a bigger budget.

Today Sir, you win the internet.

Is that the puretek 3 cylinder wet cambelt jobs? Don't they need a specific oil to protect the belt, allegedly.

Ford has an issue with wet belts too.

Have they fixed the rear beam issue?

@amey

Baby seat is so easy in the Civic

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/391011/#comment17210607

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Dacia Jogger

Loads of space
Not an SUV
Comes in a small petrol engine
The interior is quite pleasant to be in
Theres an optional extra camping bed for inside

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Dacia Jogger

Plus, take a 'D' from a Dacia Duster badge and you can turn it into a dogger!

that was designed in as part of the camp bed trim option

will check! also @PhilDAS will check.

https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/check-your-vehicle/Results
It's ULEZ compliant

I’m replacing my cars battery, is there any virtue in getting a bigger battery or just a standard one.

It’s a dry weekend/summer car so most of the winter the battery will be disconnected.