Greener Citroen C3 Picasso cuts costs

The Citroen C3 Picasso is now greener, with improved economy and CO2 emissions.

Improvements slash road tax
Modifications to the 1.6-litre HDi diesel engine fitted to the VTR+ and Exclusive versions have reduced CO2 output from 125g/km to 119g/km.

This means that both versions fall in to VED band C, which will result in road tax being slashed from £120 a year to just £35.

Fuel economy has also improved from 60.1mpg to 62.8mpg.

Cheaper models miss out on savings
Sadly, even though the cheaper 1.6 HDi VT model has had its CO2 emissions cut from 128g/km to 123g/km, which means it won't qualify for the cheaper road tax.

A Citroen spokesman said: 'The laws of physics dictate that the 15-inch wheels on the VT deliver slightly higher CO2 emissions and marginally lower mpg than the 16-inch wheels on the higher-specification VTR+ and Exclusive models.

'However, the bulk of C3 Picasso sales are in VTR+ spec and above, therefore the majority of customers will benefit from the lower CO2 and better economy.'

Citroen C3 Picasso details

Extra connectivity
Citroen is offering a new Bluetooth hands-free kit for both the VTR+ and Exclusive models. It costs £200 and comes with a built-in USB port.