While I am usually all for market selection and capitalism, sometimes I wish that car companies were more like media companies -- that you had one Google and maybe two or three other major manufacturers, all of them on the brink of merging with the first.
Instead there's at least 20 brands. All of them I associate vaguely with quality. There's not a Yugo among them. Even though it would be fun to laugh at Skoda, even this turns out to be a respectable company, like an Eastern cousin of VW, nor do the trams and trolleys Skoda made for the city of Tallinn ever break down.
All of the brands have a minivan type of car, now also known as a leisure activity vehicle, and a couple other names, none of which I can remember off the top of my head.
All of them are similarly priced. None is especially unique, as far I can see. One will be 10 cm longer, or there will be a couple mpg difference. They're all efficient, with the diesel models pushing 60 mpg. They all pretty have an jet-plane-like snout and a big ugly back end, almost like the door of a house. They're a little too high and the clearnance is a little low, but on the inside they could be fun family cars.
While we were driving back, my wife pointed out cars -- "look, there's a Citroen Berlingo" (this being the car-LAV we are leaning toward). One in fact turned out to be a Ford Tourneo.
The Berlingo is made in partnership with Peugeot, which markets its own version, called the Partner.
It seems it would be less confusing just to merge. Instead of the Berlingo, the Partner and (Renault) Kangoo, just have a Berlinpargoo.
This is another phenomenon -- proliferation of silly names. What on earth possessed the French to name a car after that foreign capital, anyway?
4 comments:
So funny you should post this today. I was sitting in traffic today and there was a Peugeot Partner and a Citroen Berlingo in front of us.
I told my wife I wanted to buy one of those as a second car for trips to the home improvement store and to tote the dog around in so I don't have to keep mucking up the back of our family estate car.
I'd pick up a older one for cheap since it would get abused anyway. Maybe even find one with the sunroof. Think I'd go for the Berlingo though cause it sounds better than Partner.
1) Do NOT get a Berlingo/Partner or a Kangoo, and under no circumstances get a used one. They are not Leisure Activity Vehicles, even if they have seats and sunroofs. They are urban commercial vehicles, designed to haul 800kg worth of cargo around the city. This has two implications. One, their suspension is designed to work well when heavily laden, so with two up they will be quite jumpy. Two, they are designed for a lifespan of a lease cycle of hard labour, company cars completely abused by drivers who don't have to pay for repairs out of their own pocket. So used ones are predominantly three-year-olds just coming off a lease, being dumped before they need major repairs.
2) The Berlingo, I imagine, has something to do with the concept of Berlinetta, which was a type of coach body - last used for four-door saloons in the 70s.
If you need space for a family, get a Kia Ceed SW.
Much obliged.
This may or not be helpful to you but these are places I check when I'm looking for a car. I'm big on reliability and safety. These two sites can help you sort that out.
Good car reviews including reliabilty ratings and problems to watch out for: http://www.whatcar.co.uk
Euro crash test info. Includes child safety and pedestrian ratings:
http://www.euroncap.com
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