USED Citroën Xsara Picasso MPV (00 - 10)

My car

This is the first review I have written so forgive me for any mistakes. We have owned a xsara picasso now for 2 years and 9 months on the motability scheme and overall we love it. The room inside the xsara picasso is excellent and is perfect for 2 baby seats. Yes, many people do critise french cars for their reliability and sure ours has had niggling faults like:

1.passenger door lock needed to be replaced

2. air vent has little pin things that move side to side and they sometimes fall out the back and then they have to be forced back into their place again.

3.We have the 2005 model with the chrome bits on the bumpers and on the front passenger side the chrome piece keeps on popping out and I have to keep pushing it back into place.

4. At one stage, part of the digital display went dim but then it recoved itself the next day.

5. Rattling dashboard and 3rd rear brake light

6. Squeeky seats

But really I'm just finding problems because it's a citroen and the car has never broken down or had anything serious go wrong with it. It will be a shame to see our baby go. The car is a 55 reg Citroen xsara picasso in iron grey with a petrol powered 1.6 16v engine. We have already chosen our next motability car and it's a ford c-max 1.6 style in tango red and it will arrive on a 58 reg.

My car

The xsara picasso is starting to show age and with the new c4 picasso launched one must wonder how much longer it will continue to be around? This obviously means prices are falling and so it is fair to say that for the size of vehicle with so much seat & storage flexibility it is a bargin even before knocking a bit off at the dealer. However build quality leaves a bit to be desired, with shut lines not great and plastics a bit average inside. As it is driven the jelly mould shape becomes jelly handling unlike some other similar sized vehicles that can remain firmer (eg from Ford). Fuel economy is not much better than I used to get in a diesel freelander. Mine is 18 months old now and the dealer has closed down, not surprised really ... making a mess of delivery, the initial check, the 1st year service and numerous other issues not to mention a product recall slipping past them leaving me calling out the RAC for recovery from 110 miles away! It is cheap as chips but you get what you pay for! I will not be buying another Citroen let alone a picasso.

My car

I bought this car new in May 2003 and still own it. It has now covered 37,000 miles.

Two re-calls by manufacturer, both handled free and stress free by the dealer (Edinburgh).

I had my first problem a few months ago when the car started to 'hesitate' and stutter now and again when idling (e.g. when stopped at traffic lights). The dealer fixed this (a malfunctioning air sensor, which they removed, cleaned and re-fitted free of charge [outwith warranty as I had just had a full service done]). My car does 40mpg, and more on long journeys.

It is very roomy, especially for passengers in the back. The driver's seat is excellent, and is very good for my bad back unlike many other cars. You also do not need to bend to get in this car because of its height. The boot is huge, and the tail back is good for sitting on when changing shoes at the beach etc.

It cruises drives well on the motorway and has good acceleration to overtake etc. Very quiet car, which still looks good/modern. Overall, this has been a good car, very good value for just over 10k. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good value, room and flexible car.

My car

I purchased a new Picasso in August 2006 and it has been in the garage five times with an engine fault. I am now in dispute with the garage as it has again come up with an engine fault for the sixth time. I would never recommend this car to anyone.