Excellent New Engine
by David Finlay (03 Jun 04)

In the early days of this magazine, one of the cars which attracted the most reader interest was the Citroen Picasso. It did not create the mini-MPV class - the Megane Scenic did that - but where Renault led, Citroen very effectively followed. Public enthusiasm was very high for a practical and stylish people-carrier which felt more or less like a normal car on the road.

The game has moved on. Honda has entered the class, as have Mazda and Vauxhall and (not before time) Ford, among others. There has been a brand new Scenic, too, based on the latest-generation Megane. The Picasso, though benefiting from some cosmetic work for the 2004 model year, is still at heart a soon-to-be-replaced Xsara.
 
It no longer feels quite as clever as it once did, though that's mainly because the practicality of its younger rivals is more immediately obvious. Most of them have an array of cubby holes and storage compartments within sight of the driver's seat. The Picasso hides its oddments space in dark corners, though there is certainly a lot of it.
 
My own favourite is the quite sizeable compartment underneath each of the rear passenger footwells, and I'm sure the Second Opinion of this car will mention at least one other. It did feel strange, however, to buy supplies at a service station, climb into the Picasso and not immediately find anywhere to put them.
 
That would be less of a problem to an owner, who would know where all the hidey-holes were, and could also make good use of the enormous amount of space which opens up when the rear seats are tucked away.
 
Driving the Picasso is made easier by the excellent view. In particular, nobody has yet made a better job than Citroen of allowing a good view at junctions with the areas of glass behind the windscreen pillars and in front of the doors. Properly sized glass, too - not like the peculiarly shaped portholes which feature in some rival cars and still leave large blind spots.
 
On the move, though, the Picasso is beginning to feel like yesterday's news. The ride is okay, but the handling is a bit uncertain by current standards. Yes, of course a body which is high relative to its length and width will tend to move around quite a lot on it suspension; even so, other manufacturers have since made a better job of quelling the symptoms. In the early days of the Picasso one of its plus points was the fact that it felt remarkably like a car to drive. Nowadays it feels closer to a van.

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