Personally I hate Toyota Picnics - the food is warm and usually squashed, there are too many bugs everywhere and sitting on the floor is far from comfortable. Bad choice on the name front, then, Toyota. However, I've had a Toyota Picnic for years and I have to say that the car is a lot better than the name suggests.
There's nothing really special about the Picnic but my family grew too large for our Ford Mondeo and so we decided to buy into the small end of the MPV market. The Picnic is a bit underpowered performance-wise but it handles nicely and has been extremely reliable in the ten years or so that we've owned it. This is the main positive point for me.
Nothing to get excited about, then, and it looks really dated now compared to your fancy modern MPVs, but the Toyota Picnic is a compact and practical MPV which will house your family comfortably and, most importantly, will not let you down.
They say it's hard to find a Toyota Picnic second had because nobody ever wants to get rid of one! Well I've actually had two Picnics now (only ditched the first one cos it got written off when someone hit me!). They were both a dream to own. Nice and big which is why I got them - I could easily get my lot (six including hubby) into it, along with all the shopping or whatever.
I suppose these days it would seem like a bit of a gas guzzler, being a 2 litre it was a little bit thirsty. That and the road tax is why I eventually got a smaller car (and my eldest two had moved out by then).
It's very safe and secure too, proper seatbelts for all six seats, and two airbags in the front. I loved it. If I was in the same position again I'd get one.