Car Audio

Posts Tagged ‘citroen van lease’

Citroen Berlingo 1.6 16V (109 PS) Tonic Edition 0-100 km/h Sprint

The excellent Citroen Berlingo remains a popular favourite with fleet managers and small businesses. The Berlingo has recently been awarded the Fleet Vans best in class trophy and the car maker, Citroen, reports that the Berlingo accounts for 49.7% of the carmakers sales and Citroen lease contracts.

The Citroen Berlingo has undergone some excellent updates and now boasts a whole load of features that will ensure that this great little van continues to win accolades and praise from fleet managers and van drivers.

Here in the United Kingdom there are two versions of the Citroen Berlingo van. These are the L1 and L2 versions. The L1 has been extended by 240mm and widened by 80mm. This compact van now boasts a larger load area and increased weight capacity. You can now fold down the passenger seat to extend the load area even further making it ideal for those longer items.

And these recent modifications aren’t limited to the vans load carrying capabilities. The revised Berlingo design is more modern, stylish and aerodynamic which results in far less noise when on the road. Both the headlights and the rear lights have been moved to lessen the risk of minor damage and the windscreen has been enlarged providing improved visibility. The internal design has also undergone revision to provide even more storage space including a driver side glove compartment and much larger door pockets.

But one of the most outstanding new features is available in the LX model. This featured is called Extenso Seating which provides a valuable third seat in between the front two seats. This makes the Berlingo the only van in its class to boast this versatile three seat feature.

The standard Berlingo boasts a whole load of features that you would ordinarily not expect to find in vans at this price or in this class. These features include heated wing mirrors, electric windows and that essential driver tool, a radio and CD player.

With all of these fantastic features you might expect the Citroen Berlingo to be an expensive option. But you can find this van at some very affordable van lease prices. You can get a Citroen van lease deal from as little as £170 per month with various options including van lease purchase.

Andre Citroen the famous car manufacturer was born in 1934. He attended the Polytechnical school in Paris where he was an excellent student. From there he started working for the car company “Mors”. By age 27 he had founded his first company.

In 1913 he also founded another company to ensure the best use of his patent for carburettors. In the beginning Citroen was influenced by the business methods of Henry Ford who utilised the assembly line as early as 1908 in the USA.

In 1915 at the start of war, Andre received a commission to make 7500 grenades. Citroen then convinced the Ministry of Defence that he would in fact deliver larger quantities if produced industrially.

By 1919 the first “citroen car” was produced. It had a 4 cylinder engine and was capable of speeds of 65km/h. During the year they produced 2,500 cars. However the next year they were producing 20,200!

In 1921 the Citroen taxis made their entrance onto the streets of Paris.

Eleven years on at the beginning of 1932 the C4 and C6 were built using the “floating power” engine. The engine was made secure by rubber mounts in preference to being bolted to the chassis. Obviously this eliminated a lot of the vibrations making it a much more comfortable ride.

About this time they started to produce toy cars for children, a somewhat unusual idea!

However things took a turn for the worse after the Wall Street crash in 1929. In 1933 their factories were rebuilt which cost a great deal of money. By April of that year there was a strike at the factory. Cars stopped selling profitably abroad due to the exchange rates and restrictions against foreign products. By the end of the year they had accrued several debts.

By December 1934 the company was declared bankrupt. Andre Citroen died the next year.

It was from here that the Michelin Company stepped in with financial help and therefore the name continues today.

There are still countless “citroens” on our roads today and many of these are used for van leasing.  It is often more viable to lease vans and indeed in years to come Citroen van leasing companies would be spread worldwide.