Citroen E-Berlingo 2026 review | A highly practical electric MPV

What is the Citroen E-Berlingo?

The e-Berlingo is Citroen’s electric take on the familiar Berlingo people carrier. It’s a practical, family-focused van-based MPV that prioritises space, versatility and ease of use over style or performance. It’s based on the same underpinnings as the petrol and diesel Berlingo, but swaps combustion engines for an electric drivetrain to become the most distinctive option in the range.

Following a comprehensive facelift in 2024, the e-Berlingo gained a revised front-end design, a new 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, a digital driver’s display and upgraded comfort features, bringing it into line with Citroen’s other passenger cars. Its styling is inspired by the e-C3 supermini, too.

The e-Berlingo is offered in two body lengths: the standard M version with five seats, and the longer XL, which adds a third row and makes the e-Berlingo one of the few fully electric seven-seat cars on sale.

Power comes from a single electric motor producing 134bhp, which is paired with a 52kWh battery. The official WLTP-tested driving range is 205-213 miles, depending on the version chosen, which reflects the e-Berlingo’s boxy shape and its focus on practicality rather than outright efficiency. Charging speeds are competitive for the class, and all versions come with the same powertrain.

In the UK, the e-Berlingo is sold in two trim levels: Plus and Max. Both are generously equipped by MPV standards. The fully electric version sits alongside the newly reintroduced petrol and diesel models, but while these versions are cheaper and may suit high-mileage drivers, the e-Berlingo is the obvious choice if you want to go electric.

Also, a need to meet emissions targets means that combustion-powered versions of the Berlingo sold after mid-2023 have a metal mesh bulkhead between their rear seats and luggage area. This classifies them as ‘five-seat window vans’ – officially making them commercial vehicles, rather than cars, for emissions and tax purposes. The bulkhead dramatically limits the Berlingo’s practicality, meaning you can’t carry longer loads, but thankfully there are no such issues with the e-Berlingo.

How practical is it?

What you’re paying for with the e-Berlingo is space, and there’s a huge amount of it inside. Your head, elbows and legs will never feel squashed in any of the front five seats, and there are neat little cubby holes and storage compartments galore. Boot space is 775 litres in M form (measured below the parcel shelf), rising to 1,050 litres in the XL when used as a five-seater with the third row folded away. Maximum luggage capacity increases to a van-like 3,000 litres or 3,500 litres in the M and XL versions respectively with the second row of seats folded. Your mates will definitely be asking for favours when they’re moving house or visiting a well-known Swedish furniture store.

It's a shame that the second row of seats isn’t a bit more flexible, though. In Plus trim it’s a split-folding bench, while Max models get three individual rear seats, but either way the second row doesn’t do the clever tricks some rivals offer, such as sliding or tumbling. The second-row seats do fold down to leave a flat load area, but you can’t remove them entirely to create a truly van-like load bay.

Opt for the XL model, though, and two seats in the third row are more flexible: they fold, can be removed entirely, and allow you to prioritise luggage space or seven seats depending on the trip.

What's it like to drive?

Take a look at the e-Berlingo and you can probably imagine how it drives. Clearly, this is not a car built to provide a scintillating dynamic experience.

The steering is over-assisted and doesn’t have much feel, while the soft suspension means the e-Berlingo isn’t exactly the epitome of pinpoint accuracy. That said, it’s surprisingly capable of tackling a back road with some verve. The suspension does a great job of keeping the body tight and controlled over mid-corner undulations, and there’s also plenty of grip.

It rides pretty well, too. Sure, it can feel clumsy and lumpy over really churned-up bits of road, but the e-Berlingo smothers most larger bumps pretty well, and it cruises comfortably. It’s also surprisingly free of wind and road noise on the motorway, given its big, bluff shape.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The facelifted e-Berlingo delivers some welcome improvements inside, particularly when it comes to infotainment and driver assistance technology. All versions get Citroen’s latest 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via your smartphone. While it’s far from cutting-edge, it’s clear, responsive and easy to use while driving.

Even entry-level Plus models come with a generous level of kit, including cruise control, air-con, rear parking sensors, a 10-inch driver display, central locking and a suite of driver assistance systems. Step up to Max trim and the e-Berlingo adds extra kit, including 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, a reversing camera, the XTR styling pack, longitudinal roof bars, three independent rear seats and an enhanced suite of driver assistance systems.

What you don’t get is an array of configurable displays, soft-touch plastics or fancy ambient lighting. Still, that feels entirely in keeping with the e-Berlingo’s brief. This is a functional and practical MPV that is very much fit for purpose.

Citroen E-Berlingo running costs

As electric cars go, the e-Berlingo is pretty efficient, achieving 3.9 miles per kWh in the official WLTP test. In the real world, of course, that figure will vary considerably, because it depends largely on ambient temperatures, how fast you’re driving, how much you’re braking, and how many hills you go up and down. You'll also need to select ‘Eco’ from the three driving modes to get anywhere near this figure, and that'll mean reduced heating and air-conditioning, which can get tiresome pretty quickly.

On the whole, though, this is slightly better-than-average efficiency for an electric car of the e-Berlingo’s size, which is all the more impressive when you consider what a big, boxy thing it is.

As with most electric cars, servicing costs should be pretty affordable, as the e-Berlingo's drivetrain has far fewer moving parts than you'd find in a petrol or diesel vehicle. Citroen dealers offer a range of service plans to help keep the costs even more manageable, while older Citroens benefit from a range of fixed-price repairs, which should apply to the e-Berlingo once it reaches three years old. Replacement tyres will be reasonably priced, too, thanks to the relatively small wheel sizes, particularly if you choose the entry-level Plus model.

Insurance should be relatively affordable thanks to group ratings of 20 and 21, although it’s worth noting these are significantly higher than the groups 12-15 of petrol and diesel versions.

Citroen E-Berlingo reliability

Predicting the e-Berlingo’s reliability isn’t easy, for several reasons: firstly, the Berlingo has historically sold in pretty small numbers, so we don’t have a huge sample of reliability study results to draw upon. Secondly, the e-Berlingo’s electric motor and battery pack are still fairly new and, even though they've been used in other cars, none of these have been around for long enough for us to be able to get any concrete idea about its dependability.

Citroen as a whole has been doing reasonably well in reliability surveys of late. It finished 10th out of the 30 manufacturers in the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey, for example: not a stellar showing by any stretch, but above average.

Citroen’s standard warranty is three years and 60,000 miles, although the company has, at times, offered longer cover on cars ordered via its website. More recently, it introduced the ‘Citroen, We Care’ service-activated coverage on eligible vehicles, which can extend cover beyond the standard warranty.