Berlingo is still go – and Merry Christmas

It just works – a phrase once used to advertise a Japanese pick-up, but one entirely suitable for the Berlingo.

With a fair sum spent (servicing, new tyres, new windscreen and a partial exhaust) on it since its acquisition in late summer it’s been trundling around town, lugging logs, shifting coal and doing the shopping run. And it goes and goes.

There are still more things to attend to, not least the heater, whose efforts to clear the screen are, well, pitiful first thing in the morning. But it’s an entirely cheerful van that breezes along nicely, sips diesel and doesn’t use any oil.

What more could you want? As the guv’nor gets older, a car’s reliability and comfort are more important than all-out speed and a loud exhaust. So far, so good – let’s hope the Berlingo stays reliable.

Meanwhile it’s time for a sit-down with the latest copy of The Road Rat (theroadrat.com), a quarterly publication that’s well beyond being a mere magazine. Think of it instead as informed comment, supported by great photography, and you’ll get the idea. And if you like all things 1990s-related the latest issue, 22, is the one for you.