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1.6 diesel. Totally stock, no modifications.
Where is the furthest that I could drive to? Could I make it to Johannesburg? Are there tarmac roads all the way?
What about Peking?
Could a Berlingo be driven all the way around the planet?
Yes.. but it will slowly fall apart driving it through third world countries
Magadan? The road of bones appears to have been recently refurbished.
Somebody recently had an idea about starting up a bus service to Delhi.
Berlingos appear to be relatively bomb proof mechanically. I reckon your limits will be down to traction, fording depth and quality of fuel.
My father been doing some work for these people https://www.endurorally.com/some cars a lot older than yours drove home from China this year.
My dad got paid to do it and in a nice shiny new 4x4 I keep telling him he needs an assistant!
Pretty sure I could sort you the directions to peking if you don't mind reversing them
Anywhere you want to. My parents drove a bedford c2 camper - a much less capable vehicle from India to the UK in the 60s - when roads were much worse.
As above - your real limit will be wading depth.
Paging Trail_Rat to the thread!
Depends how good you are with the limited amount of tools you would be able to take for the inevitable mechanical issues and how tolerant the fuel system is of crappy sub Saharan 'barrel' fuel supply.
I reckon the older 1.9 mechanical fuel pump Berlingo with steel wheels would be an ideal overlander.
Dads mate ride to OZ on a Honda c90. Probably easier in a Berlingo.
It would be absolutely fine until you need the electrics.
600 miles on a tank, so as long as you can find the diesel to refill, the car will go pretty much anywhere (actually everywhere that a proper 4x4 isn't needed using its full mechanical potential).
Pretty much any overland destination is less than one service interval away in a modern car so the only mechanical considerations are anything you might damage or bad fuel.
A friend is currrenty approaching Mongolia in an old Vauxhall Corsa.
I did consider driving to Sydney at one point in my life and had a big discussion about what vehicle would be best for it. My heart was saying Defender 110*, but the sensible choice is to use whatever has the most spares on the route you choose.
It was also suggested to me that a petrol engine would be more forgiving of shitty fuel than a diesel one would be.
* The discussion was with the mechanic at my old local Landy workshop. Newer engined 110s were ruled out as being too reliant on electrics, the TD5 especially because of problems, and the older ones because of power (or lack of). 300TDi was the recommendation and choosing a Disco, not a 110.
you don't need roads to drive a car. We drove the below volvo 340 with the roof chopped off (wanted a tan, obvs) through the sahara (not on roads, across the actual desert) to the Gambia, I know someone who's driven a porsche 944 to south africa and a rolls royce to vietnam. A belingo would be fine to get pretty much anywhere in the world. we took a funnel based fuel filter that stops crap before it even gets into your fuel tank
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If you drive with a bit of sympathy when the going gets rough (and don't attempt to ford the unfordable), you should be fine to go as far as you want. Might need some running repairs, but that's the nature of anything.
I'd be very surprised if it isn't nicely paved roads all the way to Beijing (Peking) by now. Possibly even to Cape Town as well, but harder to navigate around politically unstable countries that way!
I reckon you'd get to S****horpe then lose the will to drive any further.
It would be absolutely fine until you need the electrics.
i'd bet good money on it getting further than yer golf.
RNPS on the money the old XUD or XAD engine preferably with the bosch pump over the lucas cav and your laughing.
the rest of its robust and it has minimal electronics to go wrong....and the air box is high enough that you will get a wet crotch and bottle it before its an issue - so long as your remove the *intake* which is in the front grill and turn the pipe round to face the back of the engine.....better to suck in warm air than water.
its one of the few french motors you see plentiful in west african countries. it seems to be the new 504 as i see alot less of them now than i used to see 10 years ago.
Its also relitively worthless and a much less of a rob me target that most overland land rovers you see......
I genuinely want to do something like this. I'd probably use a Panda 4x4 because personal preference and I'm looking for an excuse to buy one. We've already been all over Europe in a 100hp with its skateboard suspension setup.
An old Jimny would be good. Still a small cheap car with a petrol engine but would keep going where the Berlingo would quit. Plus it would look pretty mean with a roof tent!
Having something you could easily sleep inside would be a big advantage though.
Gone 167K in mine.
Panda 4x4 would be my personal choice, but I doubt a berlingo or kangoo type vehicle would put a foot wrong.
You can do the dakar in a panda though:
https://www.redbull.com/car-en/pandakar-fiat-panda-giulio-verzeletti-rally-dakar-2017
and this looks like good fun:
http://www.pandaraid.com/
Oooh, getting a bit sort of in a planning mood now. I'd really like to visit friends in Lesotho. I'm a bit inept, what's the problem with Sub-Saharan diesel?
what’s the problem with Sub-Saharan diesel
Potentially full of contaminants or worse, water. You can drain a mechanical injection system pretty easily. Modern electronic injectors are far less forgiving.
Politically I think there no longer North south routes in Africa that aren't risky
I drove to Tanzania in the late 1980s. Most of it would have been fine with 2 wheel drive. People carry basic self rescue bear in case of soft sand
The holes of what was Ziare might have stopped you but only for a few minutes as some one coming the other way would just pull you out
Deep lorry ruts are a pain in a smaller vehicle but not impossible
The 10-15 year old Honda Prius seems to be pretty ubiquitous in most places that I have seen or been to recently where money, a fully paved road network and reliable fuel are in short supply.
Usually exported from Japan by the 1000s.
Often given a hard life over rough surfaces, occasionally jacked up a couple of inches but somehow maintained enough to keep running so they must be relatively robust and spares readily available.
An old Jimny would be good. Still a small cheap car with a petrol engine but would keep going where the Berlingo would quit. Plus it would look pretty mean with a roof tent!
Although I love our Jimny dearly, they are not a nice place to be on a long drive, and they are tiny inside! Very very reliable and easy to work on though.
As for the Berlingo, I recently bought the 1.6 version. The engine bay is very accessible and the engine itself mechanically straightforward. The 1.6 is considered an unreliable engine though. After reading the forums I can't drive mine without a sense of anxiety!
How far? About five miles before the sheer discomfort of driving the bloody thing drove me to petrol bomb it.
How far? About five miles before the sheer discomfort of driving the bloody thing drove me to petrol bomb it.
Yeah you probably wouldn't enjoy the trip. Maybe the dialabus will take you out on a day trip and save your poor leg.
As for the Berlingo, I recently bought the 1.6 version. The engine bay is very accessible and the engine itself mechanically straightforward. The 1.6 is considered an unreliable engine though. After reading the forums I can’t drive mine without a sense of anxiety!
It really isn't an unreliable engine. It's an engine that's in a huge variety of vehicles. It's actually a fairly robust engine if treated well. It got a bad rep early on because garages didn't realise the importance of the low saps oil and were using their marvel mystery oil can to fill them. Up leading to clogging.
This resulted in everyone taking to the forums spouting how unreliable they are.
We have one now....having come from a succession of 2 1.9xuds
peekay
Subscriber
The 10-15 year old Honda Prius seems to be pretty ubiquitous in most places that I have seen or been to recently where money, a fully paved road network and reliable fuel are in short supply
Honda Prius?
"The 10-15 year old Honda Prius seems to be pretty ubiquitous in most places that I have seen or been to recently where money, a fully paved road network and reliable fuel are in short supply"
I've been up and down West Africa. I've seen feraris, Lamborghini's, Mustangs , old rolls royces the whole 9 yards.... But I don't think I've ever seen a Prius , never mind noted them to be in plentiful supply.
Or did you mean to write Hilux....as horrible as they are they are fairly common. That or all the rusty hi ace vans .
I reckon our '06 plate 1.2l 3 cylinder VW Polo would do pretty well.
Decent ride height, very little electronic gubbins from what I can see to go wrong.
I'd take an old 2CV and prep it properly beforehand. (Burton Cars for complete rebuilds)
And when all else fails you can turn it into a motorbike.
Have some fun, google it... 🙂
My wife lives in fear of me doing this. Target nearest port to Oz.