Hello everyone,
Have been thinking of selling my berlingo as it's looking a bit worse for wear after 180K miles. I have always bought citroen with exception to my last car a 3.0 Nissan patrol and have been pretty happy. But time for a change as I need a car with more boot space for bulky camping gear for our trips to the continent.

Every time I have had bother with my cars it can all be traced back to the emissions systems. I am getting sick of sticking EGR valves and now DPF to contend with, also the dual mass flywheel on the patrol acted up.

So I am considering going back to the more reliable petrol engines. I have a few questions about the 1.4 doblo from people who drive them.

What is the true Mpg?
Will they cruise at 80 easily and do hill upset them.
I understand that all new doblos now have air con how efficient is this on the 1.4.

The deals on the 1.4 are really tempting add this to the points above and it starts to make sense.

Opinions are most welcome, I will of course try both them but the petrol is looking better by the day.

Thanks for any help.

We have a 2008 1.4 8v Doblo. We avoided the diesels due to the DPF and DMF issues. We are happy with our choice.

MPG is 34 to 37 mpg depending on whether is is local or long distance use. This is not brilliant but cheaper than DPF and DMF repairs!

The air con is fine, but we have also tinted the back 5 windows to cut down the solar gain. Cruising at 70 to 80 mph is not an issue but acceleration and hill climbing with a full load does require plenty of gear box use. I imagine the latest 16v will be less asthmatic than our 8v.

We will certainly consider upgrading to the latest 1.4 16v when the time comes.

Hi Brummy,
Yes that sounds exactly what I thought would be the answer. Ok the mpg is down but would take years to make back the extra needed to buy the diesel. Thats excluding the expensive repairs for DPF and DMF etc which are more than likely at some point especially if you keep the car for along period. I assume the 16V will be a bit better but historically 8V had better low down power.

Be sure to take it on the motorway and make sure you're happy with how many revs its doing at 70mph as it will be more frantic than the diesel. Other than that my 2006 1.4 8v is very flexible and a good engine. It has a flexible flywheel which I think is Italian for dual mass but its probably under less stress than a diesel so hopefully it will last longer. It also has a steel sump mine rusted through and cost the best part of a grand. Diesels have alloy sumps so don't have this problem. Swings and roundabouts and I'm sure the 16v is different again but yes, no DPFs .

Yes it's easy to forget the differences between petrol and diesel. My wife has a 1.6 petrol C4 and it does take some getting used to if I use it. Everything happens at higher revs everything seems less relaxed but I do get used to it.

Do not get me wrong I do prefer a diesel to drive but they have completely ruined them with this relentless emission push. I can honestly see a petrol revival then they will ruin them hopefully many years down the line. But on saying that they are now adding ethanol to petrol which reaps havok with older cars or plastic motorcycle tanks. Even the garages want nothing to do with it as it's so corrosive to their equipment. One day they will push the diesel over the edge and I think we are close to it.

The 1.4 8v does 17mph per 1000rpm in 5th. It could easily take another ratio, but I guess it's geared based on the needs of a van. I am used to Mercedes diesels with 7 speed auto boxes which are 35mph per 10000rpm.

That is a good point as it does look pretty high about 4K at 70 mph. I had a look at the C4 today at 70 mph and it was about 3400 so will definitely give it a run on the motorway. But its all relative i guess depending on many other factors but do you find that its livable for long periods on the motorway?

We live in Northamptonshire. Journeys to Devon, the West Midlands and the Norfolk coast do not present a problem for us. It's not as quiet as a Mercedes but it's a hell of a lot better than a Series III Land Rover!!!!

Tyre noise seems to be the most intrusive, but that may be the Firestone Multihawks we are running. Engine noise seems to settle down as it reaches temperature.

Hi,
I just bought a 2008 doblo ptrol 1400. wheelchair access with dropped floor. exhaust pipe situated just behind driver door. I am smelling petrol fumes and the exhaust sounds a little noisy. is this normal for the conversion I have or should I get the exhaust checked out? I am very happy otherwise. only 23 k on clock.
also can only get about 25 to 30 pouns worth of petrol in it then the pump stops filling the tank. Do they have smaller tanks because of the conversion? Cheers. Bob

Hi Bobl,


Mine will easily take £50 of fuel perhaps more as I don't run it down so it sounds like yours has a smaller tank. If you're in any doubt about the exhaust get it checked no one could suggest anything else.


Regards, John