Citroen Berlingo vs Peugeot Partner

What's the difference?

Citroen, the famous French manufacturer founded in 1919, has achieved global acclaim for daringly bold and brilliant design and engineering that was often ahead of its time.

Despite this, the double chevron badge has suffered a tumultuous ride since the 1970s, including a lifesaving merger with Peugeot in 1976, followed by another near-death experience for Peugeot-Citroen (PSA Group) in 2012. 

Since then, though, major restructuring has seen a remarkable turnaround. Under Inchcape Australasia, which took over PSA’s local distribution in 2017, Peugeot Citroen Australia has a fresh focus on light commercial vehicles, with the venerable Citroen Berlingo holding centre stage with its class-leading payload capacity.

Even so, with less than seven per cent of the local small van segment (under 2.5 tonne GVM), the Berlingo’s market share is dwarfed by French rival Renault’s Kangoo, with 25 per cent, and VW’s kick-butt Caddy, which now commands more than 65 per cent.

However, with an all-new Berlingo range just around the corner and super deals being done with the current model in run-out mode, we put one to work for a week to see if it would be worth a trip to your local Citroen dealer to bag a bargain.

Is there a class of vehicle more overlooked in Australia than the humble light van?

While the pragmatic and often hatchback-based small van is dwarfed in size and sales by the popular ute as the commercial vehicle of choice here, the case is completely reversed in Europe, where light commercial vans dominate city streets, favoured for their compact nature and relative fuel efficiency.

What is it about Australia which makes the ute more successful? Is it just our history of locally producing them? Do you really even need one, or are the Europeans on to something? 

I spent a week reacquainting myself with the freshly facelifted 2025 Peugeot Partner to find out.