There are some really good things about the C3 Picasso and then some really bad things. I'll kick off with the bad: the engine isn't big enough, it is incredibly slow. I didn't buy it as a racing car but still, it has very limited performance and this is a real let down on this car. Its worth noting at the off that there really is nothing on this car for a 'driver'. I'm not much of one, but a little bit of a thrill in the drive wouldn't go amiss. That aside, its a comfortable car to drive, you just can't do it very quickly.
One thing that did really appeal to me about the Citroen is that it looks quite good, at least some effort has gone into the styling. So on to the really good things: the cabin is great, so much space and a genuinely nice place to be. It also has quite a posh feel to it, unlike what you'd usually expect from a Citroen. I also think the central instrument display is a good idea and works well in practice.
Other things which I like are that its fairly cheap to run, does 40mpg.
Overall, if you're looking for space, this is a brilliant buy, just don't expect any sort of thrill from the driving, not even remotely.
I'm still getting used to the idea that we're actually averaging almost 60 miles to the gallon. That's actually over twice what we were getting with our old people carrier. I don't know how the Citroen C3 Picasso achieves this, frankly I don't care, but it's won me over completely. Fair enough it's not a Ferrari and with a full load you will struggle to overtake in some instances, but who cares! SIXTY miles a gallon! With a people carrier! Well it goes down a little bit with a particularly full load but, seriously, it could drop quite a bit before it stopped being really economical.
Inside the Citroen C3 Picasso it's a real tardis. Bags and bags of space for such a relatively small footprint. It's pretty cubical really, so there's room to stretch out in all directions, and lots of storage bins and spaces too. Some bits could have been better thought through, like the glove box is split in two, in an odd way. But really there are so many other little cubby holes and spaces it hardly matters. The boot is also very big, we've got all three kids bikes in there before (small bikes mind, with the wheels off).
I'm very impressed with the way the speedo and other dials poke out the top of the dash. It's much safer and more practical than having them lower down. You might think that the digital displays would be outshone when the sun is on them but it's ok actually, very seldom gets difficult to see.
The driving seat position is very good, nice and high up, and also very adjustable. The steering wheel is adjustable too, which is good for me and my wife as we're quite different heights and like different seating positions. Visibility all round is good thanks to the big windows, but there are parking sensors too for helping out with tight spots. It's clever the way the music automatically turns down when you need to hear instructions like that.
It's early days yet so I'm hesitant to say it's 100% reliable, but here's hoping it stays as well behaved as it's been so far.
This was a really well-marketed car in the UK and I'd probably decided I wanted a Citroen C3 Picasso before I'd even seen one 'in the flesh'. But once I'd learned a bit about it and given it a test run I knew that my instincts were correct as this is still the best MPV on the market in my opinion.
A great mpg for such a big car, my C3 gives me maybe 50mpg on average. This compensates for the buying price which was really pretty high. It's a comfortable performer, a sort of solid, consistent drive which might not be the best overtaker but will certainly serve you well on long journeys. It's also extremely roomy, Citroen have really thought about how to use the available space, which is very important to me.
It's proved very reliable so far (but I haven't had it long) and it looks very unique. All round a thoroughly recommended buy.