Are Citroen Picassos any good?

[GingerMagic]

I have been looking at replacing our old but 100% reliable Pug 306 with something as reliable but more spacious - has anyone had any experience with a Citroen Picasso?

The 306 is falling apart but mega reliable so I am loathe to get rid of it for something else which may not be as trustworthy, basically I need a reason to either buy or avoid a Picasso. I normally flip a coin but I know there is a wealth of knowledge here waiting to be tapped into.....

I will obvious choose the diesel one, its in the blood..

[Doggy]

I had a Xsara HDi 90 estate before the first 406. It was nippy, reliable and served me well for 4 years / 100k miles.

But......


Sorry, I think the Picasso is an almost successful attempt to make something uglier than a Fiat Muitipla

[GingerMagic]

True, its not really a looker but that isn't really important to me - I'm not driving it..!!

If it is a reliable and frugal motor that can carry the wife and kids about in comfort and safety then thats good enough for me...

[Captain Jack]

My mum bought a c4 HDI on a 54 plate last year and it has no end of problems. It's only on 60k. sorry but I think Citroens are much worse build wise..I wouldn't have one after knowing what she went through.

[waue1978]

We nearly bought one before we bought the Partner. Very good use of interior space even if they aren't too pretty. There's a place in Hook called ARO that specialises in them & the guy that runs it knows a lot about them & is quite friendly & honest. They're always advertising on Autotrader, so should be easy enough to see their current selection, but even if they don't have one that catches your eye, the guy will probably happily give you a few pointers as he did with us at the time.

[GingerMagic]

Too late, bought it anyway..

There is a chap in Poole that breaks only Picasso, so spares not an issue. Will collect it from Basingstoke next weekend I hope.

[Sonia406]

What's the specs on your 306, will it be scrapped? I'm after another car........

[GingerMagic]

Hi Sonia - the 306 will be up for sale when Picasso arrives, just to get some cash back in the bank. It is an ideal 1st car as cheap insurance and cheap to run.

I will stick it on Gumtree when I get round to it, maybe Monday/Tuesday so everyone can have a look. Too good to scrap as 100% reliable but it is a bit basic and rough around the edges ( Duct tape - cable ties etc ) as it a 1998 and we have had it 12 years now.

Will be sad to see it go..

[Sonia406]

Definitely give me that link....

[lozz]

I had a Picasso for a short while.
They're as reliable as a 306.

Only problems you've got to watch out for are iffy digital displays, drivers window mechs fail and they're hard to get hold of
Drivers seats collapse .

They're not a bad motor for the price of them IMHO.

[steve_earwig]

My mate here's had one for a couple of years, 2001 1.6 petrol I think. Only problems he's had with so far have been a cracked exhaust manifold (common fault on the TUs I believer) which he welded up himself (I taught him everything he knows ) and an old fart in his not-so-invincible Merc trying to drive through the side of it (it still goes). The only down side to it that I can see is it suffers the same massive blind spots as a Zafira.

[GingerMagic]

Thanks Lozz / Steve - lets hope it is as reliable as the 306 has been. There are loads around these parts being used as Taxis and generally a Taxi driver chooses reliable cars....
I think it is a Hdi 90, so good news for reliability and economy, bad news for enthusiastic driving.

I did have a chance a year ago of getting a decent 1.6 petrol for £350, but it was sold after I test drove it.. Dashboard showed the average fuel was 42mpg which was a surprise.

[Bailes1992]

Nowt wrong with the HDi90! No DMF and with a remap they are quite lively!

[lozz]

The 1.6 does 38mpg round town,
tbh, id avoid them, the 1.6 wont pull the skin of off a rice pudding, (Theyre ok on a flat run but you might aswell get out and push if you get it on a decent hill,

1.8 or hdi is the best ones.

[Doggy]

My Hdi 90 Xsara estate was really nippy, (if it isn't 10:1 you've got a blocked cat). Most often returned 49/50 mpg driven pretty hard, got 53 on one tankfull.
Oddly it seemed at its least economical on holiday trips, when fully loaded it would drop to 45/46 mpg. Wasn't really happy much above 70 on the motorway.