Fantastic economical family car! (Citroën Xsara Picasso HDI 2.0l Desire)

Member Name: sarahlp

Product:	Citroën Xsara Picasso HDI 2.0l Desire
Date:	02/05/06 (2560 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap to run, spacious!

Disadvantages: Bit of a Mummy mobile!

I'm going to start this review by saying i have always been extremely spoilt when it comes to cars - my partner is a motor trader. Before the Picasso, i was a proud owner of a BMW X3 sport (see review), i supose i was also a bit of a car snob!!

Anyway, i work in a city centre and travel 15 miles to work each day. The majority of my journey i am bumper to bumper in traffic, due to the previous car being a nightmare on fuel, my partner talked my into getting a diesel car. My main concern was space, i've had a number of different cars, one of my favourites being a Mini Cooper - unfortuantley with kids and shopping it just wasn't big enough. I was insistant that i had a similar size car to the X3.

Sure enough he appeared with the Citroen, at first i wasn't to appreciative of his efforts - it is a typical mother mobile! But... once i'd had a drive i loved it! The Picasso is one of the most practical cars i have ever owned. (Any parent will understand this!)

The interior of the car is surprisingly spacious, in the rear are three seats which are all fitted with proper seatbelts (not one of those dreadful across the tummy belts.) On the back of each front seat is a tray that pulls down for the kids in the back - this is great if you go out for the day and stop off for a Mcdonalds! In each rear seat footwell are two deep storage compartments, these are handy for throwing toys in - for those longer journeys! The actual seat height is great for my little boy who is 7 years old, he can see out of the window without sitting on his knees.

In the front of the car, again there is lots of space. The driving position is great, there's a kind of all round view as the the front windscreen is complemented by little side windows hense your view being completely unrestricted. The passenger also has lots of leg room, oh..and you have little arm rests that fold down from the side of the seats.

The boot is fairly huge and is perfect if you have prams (which i don't anymore) but we do go camping everynow and again and you really have no problems cramming all the usual camping equipment in! There is also a box that concertinas away if you don't want to use it. I tend to use it for muddy shoes if camping or heavy goods if i've been shopping and i don't want my bread squashing.

All of the rear seats are movable so if you ever have large items to carry you have no problems fitting them in.

I'm sure there are other gadgets in this car, i find something different most days when we use the car for something out of the ordinary, it really does baffle me!

The only down side to the car is probably how it looks, it needs a face lift. A bit dawdy looking!!

The model i have is a Citroen Zsara Picasso Desire HDI 1997cc. 2005 model. I get approx 37 mpg.

I've not had any mechanical problems (touch wood) its been a right little trooper. It gets hammered as well. I just don't recommend going round corners too fast, like most higher cars they sometimes feel a little unsafe!

As long as you're no boy racer - which you deffinately wouldn't have one of these! - Corners aren't really a problem!

So if you have a young or teenage family, i would deffinately recommend this car, its great!

Summary: A reliable, cheap to run spacious family vehicle.

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