Used Citroën C4 Picasso MPV 2007 - 2013 review

The original Citroen Xsara Picasso became the UK's best-selling MPV, so the C4 Picasso has some big shoes to fill. Good job, then, that it's won our MPV of the Year twice in a row. Not only does it have enough space for all the family, but its innovative design and practicality make it great to live with.

The C4 Picasso is substantially the same as its slightly bigger brother, the Grand Picasso, but it's shorter, the rear end is styled differently, and it does without the extra row of seats in the back. The standard Picasso seats five with ease, and you can slide the rear seats forwards and back to maximise legroom or extend the boot space. For an MPV, it's good to drive, with a soft ride that copes well with bumps. It does lean a little through corners, and the steering could do with more feel. The large windows give good visibility, but generate a fair amount of wind noise.

The Picasso will cost more to service than rivals such as the Ford S-Max, but you should be able to cut your bills if you shop around dealers for the best prices. Because the C4 Picasso is only a few years old, some cars are still under Citroen's warranty.

The diesels are much more fuel-efficient, giving between 46mpg and 49mpg, with both petrol engines giving an average of 35mpg. Insurance bills shouldn't worry you, with the entry-level cars starting at group 6, and the range rising to group 9. Depreciation is usually a sticking point with Citroens, but because the Picasso is an MPV, it should fare better than other models. However, it only has five seats, so it won't hold its value as well as the Grand Picasso. It's too early to tell just how reliable the C4 Picasso will be. Initial reports look good, though, with owners mainly complaining about the interior build quality and the EGS gearbox.

The diesels make the most sense in a car of this size, due to their economy and pulling power.

The 108bhp 1.6-litre diesel performs well, and suits the car. Consider the 138bhp 2.0 unit only if the price is right - don't pay too much, because it's not vastly better. If you want a petrol C4 Picasso, then choose between the 1.8- and 2.0-litre engines. We'd go for the first, because it's not much slower than the second. Stretch your budget, if possible, so that you can avoid the entry-level LX model. It's sparsely equipped and doesn't even have air-con. The SX is a much better bet, but the VTR+ gets alloy wheels and rear electric windows, and the Exclusive has climate control and parking sensors. Both 2.0-litre models are only available in these last two trims. The manual gearbox is clunky and vague, so we'd go for the EGS option, a semi-manual gearbox which changes gear at the tug of a steering wheel-mounted paddle. It can take a while to get used to the way the gearbox works, and there's a knack to getting the smoothest changes.