2008 Citroen C4 Picasso 7 Seater Privilege 1.6 HDi turbo diesel

Summary:

Good spec, reliable, cheap to run, would buy again

Faults:

Dare I say it, no hassles related to build etc. Of any major level anyhow..

The boot/trunk opening handle can be a bit temperamental from time to time.

General Comments:

Plenty of room for a car of this class size. The boot has plenty of room, so a family of 5 can travel in comfort. Once the pop up rear seats come into play, you've no storage in the boot really though. We've a 750 litre Thule roof box, which comes into play then, so happy out!

The ride is quite firm on the road, Irish secondary roads aren't exactly renowned for their smooth straight surfaces... (;> Overall the car feels solid on the road, and I've no complaints.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th May, 2011

2007 Citroen C4 Picasso Exclusive 2.0 HDi turbo diesel

Summary:

Good looking, practical, no sports car, can be thirsty

Faults:

Shortly after delivery the fault log was indicating "Rear suspension fault". The car has air suspension at the rear. Dealer diagnosed a faulty battery, which had insufficient power to pump the suspension on unlocking the car. Battery was replaced under warranty and the problem has not reappeared.

After about 30k miles, the fuel filler flap would not open when the release button in the dashboard was pressed. Dealer said this is a common fault and that Citroen had advised a free of charge repair for it. Problem has not reappeared since dealer did the repair.

Car is fitted with the Blue-tooth hands-free phone kit. If you try to synchronise too many contacts from the phone to the car on initially establishing the bluetooth pair, some of the contacts stored by the car become corrupted. I got around this by syncing about 20, adding another 20 and syncing, adding another 20 and syncing etc.

Fuel consumption was originally in the 40~45mpg range, but dropped to consistently below 40mpg after about 30k miles. Following the 40k service it has returned to run in the 40~45mpg range.

General Comments:

ESG gearbox compared to VW's DSG? The DSG is a better "full automatic", but the ESG, which is not claimed to be a "full automatic" is a better semi-automatic than the DSG. I normally drive the car in M-Mode, except when using cruise control on the motorway when I use the A-Mode.

It's no sports car but pretty comfortable - a motorised sofa, which is what it's supposed to be.

My car is the 5 door version. It tends to wander in (not very strong) crosswinds, rather like the early Ford Sierras. I've read similar comments in forums so I don't think its tyre pressures or anything specific to my car.

In normal UK driving it can return 40~45mpg. But cruising French Autoroutes at 130kph with 3 people and a full boot this drops to <35mpg.

It's well built, a big improvement for Citroen compared to the Mk1 Picasso. But also very expensive compared to the Mk1 Picasso. £23k for a Citroen MPV! Somehow it feels a bit characterless, as did the Touran, but not something I could say of the Fiat Multipla I had before the Touran.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 8th December, 2008

23rd Jun 2009, 15:02

I wrote the original review. The car has now done 61500 miles and just had its 60000 mile service. The service included a software upgrade to the gear change "gird" and software adjustment of the clutch biting point. The gear shifts are smoother in "A" mode now. Generally the car had no serious problems until it was serviced. But a couple of days after servicing the air conditioning would not blow chilled air, only ambient air from outside and the car was draining its battery overnight, eventually failing to start completely. Today it's been fixed by my local Citroen dealer. No parts where changed, just more software upgrades, including one for the Body Systems Interface (BSI) unit; and re-pressurising the air-con. The dealer says it it's only drawing 20mA from the battery now when parked up, which is "in spec". But they've no idea why it suddenly started draining the battery when parked. I'm now waiting to see if the battery is flat again tomorrow morning - watch this space!

24th Jun 2009, 15:57

Car started fine. Looks like the software upgrades fixed the problem.

17th Oct 2009, 10:51

The wheel bearing was replaced by a Citroen main dealer, and the car now vibrates under braking. Looking underneath the car, I've noticed that the undertray is cracked. The mounting bolts have been tightened before correctly aligning the tray, stressing the tray and causing the crack. The Citroen dealer probably did this last time they changed the oil, as nobody else has ever done any service or repair work on the car.

5th Dec 2009, 11:13

72,000 miles had vibration when braking. Citroen dealer replaced all brake pads (1st replacements since new) and the front discs.

74,000 miles it's vibrating under braking again. Will be returned to the Citroen dealer for investigation.

13th Dec 2009, 13:57

Citroen dealer has admitted that when they replaced the failed wheel bearing, they damaged the hub, which caused the wheel to not run true. Hence the brake discs warped and needed replacing 2000 miles after the wheel bearing was replaced. And then the new discs warped and needed replacing 2000 miles after they were fitted. GBP215 for the bearing to be replaced (and hub damaged). Approx GBP450 for the pads and front discs to be replaced (because the dealer had damaged the hub doing the wheel bearing). The dealer says the current replacement of of hub, bearing and disc will be free of charge. But I've still had to pay for discs that were warped because of the errors made by the dealer when the bearing originally failed.

21st Jan 2010, 14:51

80,000 miles: Armrest on the driver's seat has fallen off. Fuel filler cap is sticking closed, again. It's off to the dealers for a service soon.

1st Mar 2010, 13:29

80,000 service was just under GBP500

82,000 Eloy system needed work, another GBP300

83,000 "Suspension Faulty" warning on display. Car booked into the dealer again.