Citroen C3 Picasso 1.6 HDi 90 VTR+ review

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Citroën C3 Picasso 1.6 HDi 16v 90 VTR+ Road Test

Test date 15 April 2009 Price as tested £14,895

For Attractive, interesting styling, neat interior packaging, comfortable ride

Against Dull to drive, compromised driving position

You have only to look at Citroën’s DS concept car to suspect the marque is undergoing a wholesale brand overhaul – and this new C3 Picasso confirms it. Steady and staid are out, as cool and quirky make a welcome return.

And if looks were the only factor, it would seem that Citroën has remembered the formula that made it great all those years ago, not just with the original DS but also with cars like the 2CV, Traction Avant and, more recently the GS and CX. All showed that a car didn’t need to look practical to be practical, that space and chic were not mutually exclusive, that a car could brim with character yet still understand the needs of the family motorist.

On paper, this fourth member of the Picasso family appears to have enough of these attributes to claim to be the first compact MPV you’d own more through choice rather than circumstance. The question is whether there is enough substance behind the style for it to cut it, not just in the showroom but in the real world.

We’re testing what is likely to be the best-selling model: the 1.6 HDi VTR+.