CITROEN C3 Picasso Review

After experiencing other Citroens, we were expecting the same magic carpet ride quality in this short MPV as well. It's not that we were dead wrong or anything, but the long suspension travel isn't enough to overcome the hardness of the damping level or the fact that we were "rolling" on 17-inch wheels with low tire side walls.

The whole suspension and wheel setup really encourages sportier driving on the curves, but the roll angles probably look ridiculous from the outside. On the whole, the C3 Picasso is just so and so as far as suspension comfort goes.

The high seating position offers plenty of visibility and it's actually downright fun in the city, but the upright positioning of the seats, especially the rear ones, can really influence comfort in the long run. And we mean that in the bad way, naturally.

Speaking of the rear seats, besides being a bit too upright, they are also almost completely flat and rather hard, making the rear passengers feel like they're riding in the back of an old Jeep Willys on longer trips.

As far as the other creature comforts, the audio system was above average, while the automatic dual zone climate control system worked its magic in both cold and hot weather, despite the amount of glass windows, which would otherwise corrupt its efficiency.

Unlike its turbocharged brothers found in the Mini Cooper S and/or bigger Citroens, the 1.6-liter engine from under the C3 Picasso's hood is not exactly a highly modern piece of engineering. In other words, it doesn't have all the latest technology or any newfangled tricks.

There's no turbocharging and no direct injection, this version of the BMW-PSA gas-running love child having to do with a "regular" multipoint injection system. Still, even so, the mill can provide no less than 120 horsepower and 160 Nm (118 lb ft) of torque, which is quite a lot from a displacement of 1.6 liters with natural aspiration.

Plus, although we were expecting a BMW-like engine that has to be revved to get the best out of it, we were pleasantly surprised by its behavior, especially in the city. Sure, the 160 Nm (118 lb ft) of torque is available from a rather high 4250 rpm, but more than 80% of the maximum torque is available from under 2000 rpm.

Its fuel consumption numbers aren't impressive "thanks" to the lack of direct injection and a Low Pressure Turbocharger (LPT), but they're not exactly extremely bad either. As far as the transmission, our test car was fitted with a five speed manual gearbox which behaved a bit on the strange side.

First of all, when shifting into second there's an odd sensation that the shift is way long. And it is. Either there's was a glitch with our test car or all the C3 Picassos 1.6 VTis have the same, much-longer-than-usual shift from first to second gear. Second of all, both forth and fifth gear are a bit too fuel-consumption-focused, since fifth could actually be used as an overdrive.

Besides the engine and the transmission, there wasn't anything else worth mentioned at this chapter, since the suspension design is pretty basic, with a McPherson design in the front and a semi-rigid one on the rear axle.

Talking about the helpful gadgets to be found in a mini-MPV with a design as funky as this, you'd expect quite a long list of features, right? Well, yes and no. There aren't that many electronic gizmos, but the rest yof the "gadgets" available really make up for it.

From the four electric windows, only two are automatic, while the dual-zone climate control system is highly efficient but it's nothing very fancy about it. Sure, our car was also fitted with electrically foldable and heated mirrors, a pretty good audio system and a digital instrument display which is backlit by the ambient light during the day.

The amount of not-so-electronic features found on our test car was the real ice breaker though. Sliding and independent (60:40 percentage) rear seats which also fold completely flat? Check. Forward foldable front passenger seat? Check. Hidden storage spaces under the front passenger seat and the luggage compartment? Check.

Rear footlockers and a "shaving mirror" to check on the rear passengers? Check. What about retractable privacy curtains for the rear? You guessed it, those are also available. Obviously the most in-your-face useful gadgets are the wraparound three-piece panoramic windshield and the glass fixed sunroof, which pretty much destroy most forward and side blindspots.

Even though the PSA Peugeot Citroen Group isn't far behind Renault as a manufacturer with an increasing number of models featuring five EuroNCAP stars, the C3 Picasso can't be found on that list. The main reason for the car achieving only four stars after the aforementioned crash test is apparently the fact that it doesn't offer electronic stability control in standard on all its versions.

In other words, a C3 Picasso fitted with ESP, such as our car was, would have passed the test with flying colors, so we will give it top marks from this point of view. Considering the data gathered from EuroNCAP, the car's safety cell and crumple zones are very well designed since it achieved very good frontal impact scores and maximum scores in the side impact category.

As far as the airbag protection goes, our test car was fitted in standard with two single-stage frontal airbags, two side airbags for the front passengers, two head airbags that run from the front to the rear and a knee airbag for the driver. Also, the front passengers are also treated by two seatbelt double pretensioners with load limiters.

Apart from the standard anti-lock braking system, our C3 Picasso was also fitted with emergency brake distribution and electronic stability control, all of them ready to minimize any "insane racing" tendencies from the driver. Overall, the Citroen C3 Picasso is a pretty safe car and we would certainly trust it to carry our younger relatives to school.
We tried and tried, but in the end we didn't manage to make our mind about the best bit we could find in the Citroen C3 Picasso. Some of us said it was the astounding peripheral visibility created by the huge windowed areas, while others were praising mostly its interior ergonomics feel. In the end, we're inclined to think that its all-roundness is its main feature. A car that can be used both as a funky grocery-getter (and by groceries we also mean furniture) and an "escape" vehicle from the crowded cities is fine by us.

The worst part about the C3 Picasso we tested were probably the rear seats. Sure, we loved the way they move, slide and fold, but in the end, long-distance comfort matters just as much, if not even more. The complete lack of side support and their overall hardness don't make them very good partners for long road trips.

As far as the ugly bit about the car, we know we're entirely subjective, but it has to be the exterior design. Some of us (very few, actually) really liked it, but the other completely loathed the boxy look, the huge glass areas and the weird proportions. In other words, the "love it or hate it" design can clearly influence sales, in both good and bad ways. For some reason, we suspect it will be bought mostly by women. Against their husbands' opinion.