Has the Citroen Berlingo automatic transmission system improved since 2014?

PhotoMan

Hi,

My wife and I share two cars. One is a manual transmission 2017 Citroen C4 cactus and the other an automatic 2014 Citroen Berlingo. We love everything about the Berlingo except for the implementation of the automatic gear changing, especially when starting from stationary - it seems to pause too long between pressing the accelerator and the car starting to move. The pause is probably less than a second but it is significant, particularly when you are pulling out of a junction or onto a roundabout - I have to think about which car I am driving because for example, there are some traffic gaps on a roundabout where I could safely pull out in the manual C4 but not in the automatic Berlingo.

The Berlingo has always been this way since we bought it, nearly new. I have driven more expensive automatics, hire cars on holiday in North America, and they don't seem to exhibit this prolonged pause.

It is approaching time to consider buying a new, or fairly new, Berlingo. The ideal plan would be to test drive one and see if this behaviour still occurs or whether the system has been improved since the 2014 models. But even before Covid no one seemed to have Berlingos available for test drives - you just had to buy them sight unseen.

So finally to my question - does anyone know whether more modern automatic Berlingos have a better automatic transmission system than the 2014 models?

Thank you for reading this far. Any advice/comments gratefully received. Thank you.

Goudy

Citroen have been using an automated manual gearbox in their cars for a while. The earlier version was called the ETG6 (sometimes badged as EGS6) and the later, current version the EAT6 or EAT8 (6 or 8 speed).

They are both basically a manual gearbox and clutch that is operated hydraulically for you and they do tend to be jerky.

I seem to think all but the latest model Berlingo were ETG6 and the Cactus were EAT6.

I had a Berlingo with a ETG6 'box and it was pretty awful at low speed, clunky, jerky and didn't creep at all which made slow reversing a right pain. It eventually started leaking from the concentric slave cylinder and ended up costing a fortune to repair.

As you probably know, the EAT in the later Cactus is a little better as they creep, so makes starting from stationary a lot smoother. I seem to think they offered this in the 2018 onward Berlingo/Rifter/Combo.

I've a EDC (dual clutch similar to VW's DSG) in a Renault at the moment and it's super slick.

PhotoMan

Goudy said:

Citroen have been using an automated manual gearbox in their cars for a while. The earlier version was called the ETG6 (sometimes badged as EGS6) and the later, current version the EAT6 or EAT8 (6 or 8 speed).

They are both basically a manual gearbox and clutch that is operated hydraulically for you and they do tend to be jerky.

I seem to think all but the latest model Berlingo were ETG6 and the Cactus were EAT6.

I had a Berlingo with a ETG6 'box and it was pretty awful at low speed, clunky, jerky and didn't creep at all which made slow reversing a right pain. It eventually started leaking from the concentric slave cylinder and ended up costing a fortune to repair.

As you probably know, the EAT in the later Cactus is a little better as they creep, so makes starting from stationary a lot smoother. I seem to think they offered this in the 2018 onward Berlingo/Rifter/Combo.

I've a EDC (dual clutch similar to VW's DSG) in a Renault at the moment and it's super slick

Wow! Impressive reply - thank you.
You've certainly got that right about reversing - you have no control over reversing at slow speed - you can only "lurch" in 4 foot "lumps" which is no good if the brick wall is 2 feet behind you!
I am not a "car person" so may I see if I have understood correctly what you are saying? Are you saying that when buying a new Berlingo one can opt for one with the better automatic system (EAT)? And if so does it respond more quickly when driving away from stationary (our current one sits and does nothing and then when the approaching traffic has got closer it shoots you out into it!).
(btw - I may have misled - our C4 cactus is totally manual - "stick shift")

PhotoMan

Now I have some acronyms to Google I have found this article which explains things well. It looks as though the EAT and the ETG6 are both a similar type with similar limitations?
https://www.whatcar.com/news/which-type-of-automatic-gearbox-should-i-buy/n17022#3

Goudy

I believe the latest Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Rifter and Vauxhall Combo from around 2018 (all the same car/van) use the later EAT auto gearbox, though the different brands might call them different things but they are the same.

It is better than the ETG6 as the EAT "creeps" (moves forward or backward slowly in gear without press the accelerator).

Only you can gauge if it the EAT is a big enough improvement over the ETG6 to be worthwhile. I tried a few and thought it miles better than the old ETG6, though most autos are a bit slack when it comes to setting off, it's just how they work. They need a certain amount of engine rpm (hence a bit more pedal/delay) to engage otherwise they would stall the engine all the time.

I found Dual Clutch systems (DCT, DSG, EDC etc) felt like they had a more positive take up from the off, though some complain VW's dry clutch DSG (fitted to smaller engined cars) can dither a bit.

I've no trouble with my Renault dual clutch EDC7 gearbox even with the electric handbrake set to auto, just the slightest touch to the accelerator turns off the handbrake and has the car moving pretty slickly and the changes are silky smooth and instant.

It wasn't a wall in my old ETG6 but a metal bollard!

I knew I was close but still needed to reverse a few more inches (still plenty of room) to clear the front. Just the lightest prod caused the car to lurch backwards 6 feet and clatter the bollard.

The trick with the ETG6 and other similar transmissions (like Fiats Dualogic) is to left foot brake when slow maneuvering, it takes some getting used too but you just can't do it with one pedal alone like you can with an auto that creeps, with a creeper you just modulate the speed with the brake.