CITROËN
|
 |
CITROËN
|
|
The Citroën Berlingo heralds a new era in concepts of utility vehicle design. Unlike its predecessors – resembling small saloons at the front with a “bubble” tacked on to the back as a loading area – the Berlingo is designed specifically for professional use. The Berlingo offers:
The design of the Berlingo made extensive use of computer-assisted design and drafting techniques coupled with scientific computation. The result is a geometric precision ensuring constant quality in volume production. During its gestation period, the Berlingo passed a series of severe endurance tests on the test bench and on the track.
The superstructure rests on a particularly
rigid platform, based on that of the Xsara. The frequently praised roadholding
qualities of the Xsara can be partially attributed to Like the rest of the body, the front subframe was the focus of detailed and specific development studies, endowing it with high resistance to impact, vibrations and fatigue. Highly robust engine mounts connect the powerplant mounting with the body. The mounting accommodates both the steering box and the running gear, thereby forming a cross-member that prevents the powerplant from entering the passenger compartment in the event of impact. The wing inner panel reinforcements sweep towards the back of the vehicle, growing gradually wider until they reach the front pillars, to which they are attached. Fold initiators dissipate energy in the event of impact. A vertical steel core inside the box section reinforces the rails supporting the powerplant. The top part of the reinforced front unit is raised by about 15 cm in order to meet the windscreen aperture and cowling. The lower front part is closed by a welded cross-member supporting the radiator and designed to distribute effort to both sides in the event of head-on impact. A removable support frame, built away from the vehicle assembly line to ensure a higher level of build quality and installation integrity, closes the front part of the structure. It supports the bumpers, radiator grille and headlamps and speeds servicing and maintenance. The cowling, which forms a screen between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment, is stiffened by a cross-member.
The platform is a structure obtained by assembling the front and rear floors, the heel board and a number of longitudinal and transversal beams. The front, back and sides of the platform are marked out by box-sections, acting as highly resistant beams.
The floors are supported by a number of side-members and cross-members of unequal inertia, two of which support the rear axle. The rear floor must tolerate loads of up to 800 kg. It is supported by three cross-members of high inertia, two of which are linked by two small side-members attached to the vehicle cross-members, at right angles to the rear pillars of the side doors.
The superstructure rests on a particularly stiff platform. The roof, which is 0.7 mm thick and stiffened, is mounted on four transversal stamped beam sections. The side panels, which are 0.7 mm thick, are made of a special type of metal, which takes on mechanical characteristics close to those of high-yield metal after stamping. Inside the vehicle, the panels are reinforced and partially covered by linings. At the top of the panel lining, two side-members bear the arches and cross-members supporting the roof. Like the Xsara, the Berlingo is equipped with a transversal-stiffening cage formed by the rear-reinforced pillars of the side doors, linked at the top by a large cross-member. The cage protects the occupants of the Berlingo in the event of side impact. The reinforcement bar placed at the bottom of each of the side doors further increases this protection. Four ring-shaped box-sections ensure that the superstructure is both stiff and robust.
The steel bonnet can be held open at an angle of 90 degrees in order to facilitate maintenance operations. The broad side doors offer a wide entrance for easy access to the vehicle. The access doors at the back are of the barn type. A large handle opens the right-hand door, while a lever on the edge of the door unlocks and opens the left-hand door. This door is equipped with a rubber stop to provide protection in case it is pushed back against the right-hand door. The right-hand door is equipped with a mechanism to open it from the inside, should anybody become trapped between the closed doors and an optional load stop partition. The doors open in two positions: 90 degrees and 180 degrees. No special procedure is required to close the doors when they are open to 180 degrees . The optional hinged rear roof flap is a special opening that lets users transport long loads such as ladders and surfboards. The roof flap is actually a mobile panel covering an opening at the back of the roof. Long loads do not rest on the top of the doors, but on a broad cross-member made of aluminum. A lever on the right is used to unlock, release and lower the flap, by rotating it around a shaft located top left. This provisional position must only be used to facilitate loading. The mobile panel of the roof flap is made of synthetic material. When there is no load, if the cross-member is in place and the rear doors closed, the panel can be folded down. It then locks automatically. The roof flap is compatible with a roof rack or bars.
This type of vehicle is frequently subject to intensive use. Citroën therefore made sure that it would be well protected in the event of minor collisions or corrosion. In terms of serious collisions, head-on or side impact, the Berlingo easily meets current standards. The rear bumper juts out from the body and it is designed to support a vertical load of 150 kg. It can be used as a step when loading, unloading, or securing objects on the roof rack.
Corrosion is prevented by a host of methods and precautions: quality of sheet metal and mounting, sealing beads, protection of box sections, paint, etc. In all these areas, the Berlingo is treated in the same way as a saloon. Almost 75 per cent of the sheet steel is precoated, galvanised on both sides or zinc electroplated. Protection against corrosion also depends on the quality and the number of spot welds. A large number of spot welds (4,200 on the Berlingo) reduces lengths of non-coupled metal and thereby cuts the risk of water seeping in. To perfect the sealing of metal plates, 11 kilos of mastic are used, stopping rust-causing metal to metal contact.
Polypropylene mudguards protect the front and rear wheel arches. Two strips of synthetic material are placed as bump protection on the rear doors of the Berlingo. They protrude from the doors to protect them if they are opened carelessly and slam against an object outside the vehicle, the angle of a wall for example.
Whether it is empty or fully laden, the Berlingo is a utility vehicle offering the same qualities in terms of comfort and roadholding as a Citroën saloon. This achievement can be attributed to:
With a wide load range, it is important for the brakes to be both efficient and fatigue resisting. The brakes are double-circuit with full or ventilated discs at the front and drums at the back. A power brake multiplies the braking force by a factor of 3.9. A dual brake pressure compensator modulates braking force on the rear wheels according to variations in load.
The Berlingo offers all the features developed for the Xsara in order to protect the occupants in the event of head-on impact. Ahead of the A pillar both vehicles are similar under the skin, with a cross-member distributing effort on either side, programmed crumple beams and a cowling cross-member to prevent the powerplant from entering the passenger compartment. In the event of side impact, the passengers are well protected for several reasons, including:
In the event of rollover, occupants are protected by the highly resistant upper bodywork. Four rings protect the occupants in roll-over accidents: the transversal stiffening ring, the two ring-shaped box sections surrounding the windscreen, the cowling and the load entrance at the back and a fourth ring resting on the rear wheel arches.
The load barriers are designed to tie the load down or to stop it from moving around and entering the passenger compartment. The rubber carpet covering the load floor in the has a high coefficient of adhesion and prevents movement.
Six hooks on the walls are used to secure loads that are bigger or have higher levels of inertia.
The Berlingo is equipped with three main fire protection devices:
Whatever the driving conditions, visibility is vital to safety. During the day, the large glazed area (239 cm²) immense windscreen (114 cm²) and generously sized rearview mirrors ensure that the driver can easily see what is happening on the road. All versions are fitted with halogen headlamps fitted with H4 lamps for driving at night. On all versions, the elevation of the headlamps can be adjusted according to the load. When the headlamps are switched off, the rear fog lamp is automatically switched off too.
All versions are equipped with the following as standard:
The Berlingo is a benchmark in comfort and low noise. For low- and medium frequency noise, the Berlingo offers the same features as other Citroën vehicles with host of noise damping features and devices built into the drive train. High and medium frequency noise is caused by wind hitting the car. The Berlingo addresses the problem through its styling. With its fluid, gentle and uninterrupted lines, the Berlingo surpasses the stringent new European standard limiting noise emissions by utility vehicles to 77 decibels. On the Berlingo, high-frequency noises are addressed by soundproofing materials and a high quality trim. The passenger compartment is isolated from the engine compartment by:
The following items also contribute to the soundproofing of the passenger compartment;
Site design and construction by InterStellar - © 1998-9 & 2000 |
|||||||||||||||||||
AUSTRALIA
CONSTRUCTION OF THE
CITROËN BERLINGO
The modern and innovative
Citroën Berlingo has a style defined by continuous, fluid and aerodynamic
lines, incorporating the driver’s position with the loading
area.
A central tunnel running
the length of the front floor partially clears the way for the exhaust system.
Applying the experience gained with the development of the Xsara, the acoustic
engineering of the front and rear floors was repeated on the Berlingo. The
front floor is 0.7 mm thick and is stamped into a dish shape. Behind it is the
rear floor. It is thick (0.9 mm) and extensively marked with longitudinal
stamped sections broken up by a transversal stamped section. The configuration
of these stamped sections maximizes the tension of the metal in order to
eliminate low frequency noise, including boom.
The paint is applied in the same way as for saloon. First, the
metal undergoes degreasing and phosphatation, then it receives two coats of
primer, one applied by cataphoresis, sealing beads followed by a coat of PVC (a
bituminous product) on the side-members and front wheel arches to protect
against gravel chipping. Two layers of paint are then applied, followed by a
coat of supergloss in some cases. 
A removable tubular load
barrier is standard on all versions to protect the driver. A load barrier
measuring 90mm in height is positioned behind the seats to prevent loads from
moving into the passenger area.
