Name: Citroen C3 Picasso
Brand: Citroen

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The Citroen C3 Picasso is a distinctly styled family car with a practical boot that rivals the Nissan Note, Ford B-Max and Kia Soul.

Buy or lease the Citroen C3 Picasso at a price you’ll love

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RRP £13,190 - £19,250

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Used: £5,495

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wowscore

4/10

This score is awarded by our team of expert reviewers after extensive testing of the car

What's good

Funky styling
Masses of practicality
Cheap running costs

What's not so good

Expensive
Petrol engine is slow
Base models lack safety kit

Find out more about the Citroen C3 Picasso

Is the Citroen C3 Picasso a good car?

Step inside and the unusual forms will take your attention from the iffy build quality and the multitude of buttons festooned on the dashboard. Space for passengers is around class average and the boot is big and practical enough for family needs.

In terms of engines, you get a duo of fairly small and underpowered units so expect middling performance and fuel economy. The pick of the range is the 100hp diesel, but it’s still fairly slow next to rivals.

You won’t need much performance anyway because the C3 Picasso rolls too much in corners to be enjoyable. At least at slow speeds the ride is cosseting and there’s hardly any road noise entering the cabin at speed.

Equipment levels are a bit old school so you get air-conditioning and cruise control as standard, but an infotainment system is a £800 option even on the top-spec model.

It's a good family car if you simply detest compact SUV crossovers

Mat Watson

carwow expert

If you need the versatility of a small MPV but want to stand out in the crowd and look stylish then the Citroen C3 Picasso is hard to beat.

How much is the Citroen C3 Picasso?

The Citroen C3 Picasso has a RRP range of £13,190 to £19,250. The price of a used Citroen C3 Picasso on carwow starts at £5,495.

What's it like to drive?

Citroens are famous for having soft suspension and the little Picasso keeps up with tradition.

The C3 Picasso is not for the keen driver

Mat Watson

carwow expert

Performance and Economy

The are just two engines on offer with one being immensely better suited to the character of the car than the other.

It isn’t the petrol that is a 1.2-litre three-cylinder making 110hp which is far from powerful considering the size of the car. The 0-62mph acceleration is predictably pedestrian at 11.8 seconds but few buyers will actually care about that. What everyone will care about is the poor fuel economy, especially when the C3 Picasso is loaded to the brim, or in other words, used as intended. With five up and their luggage, the quoted fuel economy figure of 56mpg will just be a wishful dream. Expect high 30s.

Still pretty underpowered with 100hp, the diesel alternative is much better suited for its strong pick-up at low speeds and the more bearable fuel consumption. It’s a 1.6-litre and the extra capacity over the 1.2-litre petrol translates into more confident overtakes and it’s easier to get close to the official fuel consumption figure of 72, but still pretty optimistic.

Driving

In town, the steering is light, which makes parking and going round mini-roundabouts a piece of cake. Once you’re at higher speeds it weights up to give you more confidence.

While it’s comfy over rough areas, it means the nose dives down and rises up every time you’re aggressive with the throttle. It also means a lot of body roll in the corners.

Tyre and wind noise are also nice and quiet which makes the little Citroen good on motorway journeys.

Anyone can get comfy behind the wheel thanks to a wide range of adjustments in the seat and steering wheel. Once in place, you have great visibility out of the front since the cleverly designed A-pillars are very thin and you have a pair of big quarter lights on each side.