nightmare van
Please explain in a little more detail why its a nightmare van. If that's your experience, please tell us your reasons for saying that as it helps people to make informed decisions.
IMO its 'horses for courses'. If you are going to do a lot of miles then the 1.9 is sluggish from my own personal experience. It maybe the same engine as the Berlingo but it has different gear ratios. Because of this and the extra weight and wind resistance it will use more fuel than the Berlingo.
Having had the 1.9 and now the Hdi, I find there is not a lot of difference in fuel consumption between them. While the performance is much better with the hdi, using the turbo knocks fuel consumption. On the open road. I could only get about 60mph out of it with 600 litres of water, but then apart from motorways, that's your maximum speed limit anyway.
For WFP the problem with this van (Boxer 270) is it's carrying capacity - around the 800 - 900kg mark before you add anything in, so you will be restricted by the size of tank you can fit in it.
If that is not an issue then make sure you have a decent service history and that the gearbox doesn't grate in any gears. Even better to have the gearbox oil checked. Mine had 100k on the clock when I bought it from a rental company, body work a bit bashed around, but mechanically 100% sound.
As has been suggested, try to find a newer Hdi Citroen Relay 11, Peugeot Boxer 290, or Fiat Ducato 2.0 Jtd. They all have a similar payload of 1100kgs. They are exactly the same van, made by Fiat with Peugeot/Citroen mechanicals and engine. The later 2002 - 2006 models have remote central locking as well as heated/electric mirrors. Again, check service history and ensure gearbox is sound. The newer Hdi had a different gearbox which was better designed than the original.
Spruce