2003 Citroen Picasso Exclusive from UK and Ireland - Comments

Within a couple of weeks the driver's door handle broke so it couldn't be opened from inside, but this was fixed by the dealer without hassle.

The picasso is excellent for family travel in comfort and space.

It offers outstanding value for money for the size and equipment level compared to what else is on the market.

There is generous cabin space for 5 passengers and luggage, good boot space and excellent flexibility. The flat floor between the front seats, made possible by the dash-mounted gear change, makes a big difference in the amount of space for packing.

The rear seats are easily and individually removable giving lots of options for using all the space.

The picasso beats the multi-purpose vehicle competition (eg Vauxhall Zafira) unless you actually need 7 seats.

The driving position and seats are comfortable, and the ability to recline the rear seats a little is a good feature not found in many cars.

The sloping roof at the rear, giving the exterior egg-shaped form, unnecessarily restricts rear seat headroom for tall passengers.

The HDI diesel unit delivers excellent fuel economy for a car of this size. I'm routinely getting 50-55 mpg (mainly out of town driving).

The engine is responsive and smooth in normal driving, but push it hard and you start to see the compromise.

The engine is seriously underpowered at higher revs, making overtaking manoeuvres at speed something of a white knuckle adventure. I would like a lot more power in reserve (previous car: 2 litre petrol Mondeo).

The handling is soft, giving a comfortable ride, but a tendency to wallow on faster cornering. Overall the ride is quite acceptable, but don't try to push it too hard along winding roads.

The exclusive has a very good equipment level and all the gadgets seem to work well.

The cruise control falls nicely to hand, but I would prefer a visual indication that cruise control is engaged.

I also like the climate control, and the sunroof is excellent for giving the interior an even more airy and spacious feel.

The dash mounted gear change is well positioned and falls easily to hand.

The digital speedo takes some getting used to, but now seems fine.

The kids love the seat back trays.

I hired Picassos on my three latest visits to Dublin. Although I could only hire the 1.6 petrol version, I have become rather fond of the vehicle. The most recent one was dark blue in colour, and it really looked striking. Both my wife and my ten year old daughter, also my wife's parents found the Picasso extremely comfortable and roomy.

I plan to buy the diesel version; but I am concerned that two out of three hired Picassos had faulty fuel guages. I also like the Picasso; because it is easy to park, as it is not too large.

I have just seen the proposed Citroen Picasso replacement for 2006. One just types in to the Google search " Citroen Picasso replacement 2006 " and the correct heading should appear. The story and the pictures come from an AutoExpress site.

If you are getting 50-55mpg from a 2 litre hdi then you must be driving it with a feather on the accelerator, no wonder you find the performance poor!

I get 40-45mpg from mine which is good considering my driving style is 'to get there' rather than to admire the scenery.

Pushing the engine like this gives me no problem with performance, hey..it's an MPV after all!

I have owned a 2.0L HDI exclusive for almost two years now and for a family car find it very good I use it for towing a fairly big caravan as-well and it returns a modest 30+ MPG compared to an average 40-45 MPG on its own it is comfortable and reliable the bad bits are that it was back twice for fuel guage probs before it was replaced and a couple of trims inside have broken, but have been replaced under warranty, I intend to keep it till the new one is available because for all round ownership it is one of the best about.