2001 Citroen Picasso SX review from UK and Ireland

I have been most impressed with the quality of this car. I have never bought a Citroen before and was wary of buying one because of the marque's reputation for patchy reliability and expensive spares, servicing and poor dealer service.

However, you have to speak as you find and so far the performance of the car and my local dealership has been impeccable.

Unless you definately need 7 seats, don't bother with the Shalaxy or Espace type vehicles. Both the Vauxhall Zafira and Renault Scenic are considerably narrower than the Picasso inside. The three seats in the rear of the Citroen are wider and more comfortable than a Galaxy's and the quality of the crushed velour trim shames that in the far more expensive Ford. The rear seats also recline and the centre one has a proper three point seatbelt harness, unlike the Galaxy which only has a lap belt. In fact the interior of the Picasso looks really quite plush and inviting. The front seats are very supportive and have arm rests.

My wife and I both like the digital dash and the onboard computer offers a whole host of features such as outside temperature, average and instant mpg, range left before the next fill up and so on.

The Picasso feels really well screwed together and there are no rattles, creaks or other noises. The paint finish is excellent, although the interior plastics look a little cheap.

There is a six speaker CD player and the sound quality is excellent.

Ride quality is also better than a Galaxy, particularly the absorbtion of ridges and small lumps and bumps in the poor quality roads that we have in the UK. The car handles quite tidily with little roll in fast cornering. Standard brakes feature ABS with EBD. Brake pedal feel is progressive and the car stops very quickly if called on.

The Picasso is much easier to drive than 7 seater MPV's and you can add as an extra the reversing sensors, which are an absolute must and standard on the Galaxy Zetec for instance.

The diesel engine is smooth and flexible with little noise penetrating the cabin from this unit. Economy is first rate and averages around 47 mpg.

We obtained a good deal from our local Citroen dealer who put this 2.0 HDi SX with metallic paint and electric full size sunroof on the road for £13,500.

Citroens now have a full 3 year mechanical and a 12 year anti-corrosion warranty.

Although it doesn't offer a 7 seat option, a lot of thought has gone into the Picasso and it is an interesting alternative to the usual estate offerings of mainstream saloons.