2005 Citroen Picasso HDi Desire 2.0 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great value and cheap to run

Faults:

No problems so far at all.

General Comments:

Very comfortable and economical workhorse. Used to tow my Swift Challenger Caravan back and forth to Europe, it struggles a little on steep hills, but returning 35mpg when towing, and 47mpg in normal use, it's great!

The seats are extremely comfortable (arm chair style), and internal luggage space is second to none for a car of this size.

I fitted an "add on" engine management system to improve performance of the 90BHP engine, and now returns approx 110BHP, which gives it good overall acceleration. Also fitted spring assisters for towing, which raises the rear substantially, allowing slightly more weight to be carried.

VERY please with my buy.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd October, 2010

16th May 2011, 14:33

Hello I have a Picasso Desire LTR. I also tow a caravan and I am interested in fitting rear assisters but I don't know where to purchase them and have they got a makers name?

Hope you can help.

Stan.

2005 Citroen Picasso 2.0 BVA 16v petrol from Malaysia

Summary:

Citroen is pioneer for front-wheel drive, disc brake, all-steel body, hydropneumatic suspension...

Faults:

Rear tail gate handle broke with only a small force applied while closing the tail gate. The plastic looks cheap. Others are having the same case.

Claimed under warranty.

General Comments:

Already 373 km when first acquired. It must be the traveling for the dealer to bring the car to my town. Not many Malaysians prefer French cars. Mostly go for Malaysian, Korean and Japanese cars.

The car has a great power with a comfortable ride. Fun while overtaking, climbing hills and accelerating.

Hard cornering feels a bit risky, but what to compare with my Mitsubishi Galant... MPV vs. CAR.

Suspension is good, but not excellent. I am expecting more fun riding through pot holes from a Citroen. I was not even impressed during the test drive, but my wife and I decided to buy it for its safety features.

Tiptronic transmission technology from Porsche feels great.

Interior feels roomy and spacious. A lot of useful compartments.

Safety is terrific. Equipped with (ESP) Electronics Stability Programme, ABS, Driver's and Side Passenger's Airbag with both having side airbag. Three-point seat belt for all three rear passengers.

Braking is fun with the newly developed ABS technology. Not using the widely used ABS.

Comes with a 3-year warranty / or 100,000 km - whichever comes first.

Comes with a single CD player. Have no idea whether it could be upgraded to CD Changers or DVD Changers. Dealer said to leave it be as the electrical wiring is "somewhat" different from a Japanese car. No idea whether it is true.

RARE specialty - No RPM meter! Could only guess during running in.

BUT of its entire specialty, I personally am not confident with all the electronics gadgets to last after the warranty expires.

Possibilities of electronics failures or problems - ESP, ABS, CD Player, Airbags, Automatic Lighting, Automatic Wiping, Auto-locking, Engine's ECU, Tiptronic Transmission, Sensors (Fuel Gauge, Engine Temperature, Battery Charging)... so far that I could think of.

Original Reviewer.

The car has clocked 6,500++ KM now, with no problems at all. Fuel consumption is excellent for a 2.0 cc engine.

Under mixed traffic condition, the car recorded around 8.0 liter/100 km @ about 12.5 km per liter of petrol.

Max petrol tank is 55 liters (14.5 gallons).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th September, 2008

3rd Jun 2009, 21:28

(Original Reviewer)

@ 60,000 km:

1- Replaced engine coolant

Service center asked to replace timing belt, but I challenged them as in the manual is says 60,000 miles NOT kilometers.

After a few days, water pump gave abnormal sound during accelerating under gear 1 and 2!

Went back to service center and was told that I should replace timing belt.

Didn't comply, drove the car anyway until the sound became worst and went back to service center. They still insist to replace timing belt, and I concurred.

BUT, the abnormal sound remained even after replacing timing belt Set (complete with tensioner).

THEN the service center told me that the car needed top overhaul!..and I responded "RIDICULOUS". Drove the car without complying to their solution.

Went back next week and asked them to replace water pump instead. To their surprise!... I was right! Abnormal sound GONE!!!

FINDINGS: Service center might NOT follow correct procedure. Engine coolant might have been replaced while the engine was still hot... ie water pump also still hot and that could trigger some abnormal behaviour to the water pump.

EXPERIMENT: Not replacing engine coolant... only top up lost coolant. Also to mark how many kilometers can water pump really stands.

RESULTS:

Water pump still is running normally and reaching 100,000 kilometers. (marked from 66,000 km until now- 165,000)

17th Mar 2011, 20:38

(Original Reviewer)

Reached 5 years of ownership. Loving it everyday.

@~240,000 km - replaced two (2) front brake rotor discs.

@~250,000 km - Car suddenly lost power and jerking. Ignition coil needed replacement. Cost RM700+

Historical Note:

I was told that water pump needs to be replaced, together with timing belt replacement. I did not comply as my used 1982 Mitsubishi Galant could stand up to 200,000 km!

Last water pump replacement was done @ 66,000 km. Now clocking 262,000km.

8th Nov 2011, 01:40

(Original Reviewer)

6 years-old on Oct 2011.

Clocking 265,000 kms. Paint on roof fading away.

Still good and steady.

31st Jan 2012, 05:37

(Original Reviewer)

Passing 270,000 kms... still good and steady.

5th Apr 2012, 18:35

(Original Reviewer)

@273,000 kms - the car is revving itself. Revving high in traffic jams. Revving in gear (on its own) while I am braking to enter a junction or stopping at traffic light... DANGEROUS!!! Sometimes registering engine fault!

Went to the service center, and they did a computer check, but nothing found. They simply reset the fault register.

Figured that I should replace the fuel filter (some call it the petrol filter)... IT WORKS!

Before this I've been replacing the fuel filter every 35,000 kms, but now I know whenever it revs itself, it is time to change, 35,000 km or not. It's not worth gambling with my life...

No more revving... now clocking 280,000 kms.

2005 Citroen Picasso Desire 1.6 HDI 110hp from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Surprisingly good

Faults:

Nothing yet.

General Comments:

Too new to assess reliability, but very impressed with the value of the package.

Got £3,500 off list price, roof bars and solid black paint thrown in and a very generous part exchange on my 3 year old Espace.

Dealer very polite and helpful and has followed up sale with a Christmas card, a phone call to check that all is okay and a welcome/thankyou letter.

Everything works as advertised so far and build quality feels good throughout. Old complaints of lumbar support and windscreen reflections have been rectified by Citroen.

MPG fantastic, even though not yet run in. Computer encourages light footwork though.

1.6 HDi 110 hp is flexible, responsive and lively - almost impossible to tell it's a diesel apart from the characteristic tickover rattle.

Road tax £110, my insurance went down from group 14 to group 8, yet power to weight better than my 2.2 CDi Espace!

My first impressions are very positive and would anticipate buying another in 3 years time if all continues to go as well as it has so far.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th January, 2006

24th Apr 2006, 06:52

Four months and 4,000 miles on, still no real complaints. Gives the impression of reliability, although there was an airbag fault flagged up by the computer - sorted straight away by main dealer. Fuel consumption is becoming a game with trying to drive in a manner that squeezes out the figures. A 50 mile journey returned 63 mpg last month!