Test drive Citroen Xsara Picasso 1999 - 2004 Minivan

Citroen, Picasso and Diesel: In the company of originals

Have you ever seen the works of the famous artist Pablo Picasso? Strange, sometimes simply incomprehensible, amazing paintings, in which even a banal naked model looks unusual ...
To say that the minivan CITROEN XSARA, which is also named after the artist, is extremely original ... No, the car is like a car. It can be seen that French. It can be seen that Citroen. But it is also noticeable that this single -coatman does not apply to direct relatives of the legendary HM model. The term a picassit, that is, did not have to work in an unusual style of maestro: the flight of their fantasies was noticeably limited. A good -natured fat man, almost the same both in front and behind, is beautiful and pleasant, but he is far from the level of the puffy classic Citrooen models. Nothing super -epathetic, nothing causing - pure beauty, naturalness. This is what he attracts the attention of others. Slightly snub, without a shadow of aggression, as if smiling, Xsara Picasso simply captivates with its appearance.
The interior in this regard is more Citroenovsky: here the designers have abused. The gearbox lever moved to the tide of the central console, the front panel itself became multi -level. The instrument shield was injured even more, as it was placed in the center of the panel, almost under the most windshield. Analog devices are replaced by digital, the speed is shown in large numbers, and the fuel consumption indicators, coolant temperatures and other little things demonstrate, as our Russian colleagues called, in ... quasi -aalogical form. At first, I also did not understand what kind of form it was, but everything turned out to be very simple: columns with colored divisions. The tidy itself is divided into two parts: on the left, all information regarding the car control, and on the right, the clock, display the operating modes of the audio system, warning the inscriptions, etc. The brightness of the backlight is regulated - when you turn on the near light, the tidy reduces the intensity of the glow. For long trips, the night mode is provided: only the speedometer readings remain, and the rest of the information disappears from the display.
Landing the driver is vertical, the steering wheel below, near the knees, and you yourself sit almost like on a stool. But at the same time, sitting is convenient. The Citroenovites were a little wise with the location of the handles of adjusting the driver's seat, but having figured out, you quickly find the optimal position. Review is at a height, in the literal sense of the word. High landing allows you to control the flow for five to seven cars forward. But in the parking lot, this does not help, since the distance of more than a meter is more than a meter to the lower edge of the windshield! And generally speaking, Picasso is some very huge from the inside - the front history is not visible, the car seems very wide. Mirrors partly save the situation, but not so much that you can calmly climb the stream. Nevertheless, this is exactly what we did. For the most time allotted for the dough, Xsara Picasso spun along the city streets. Narrow streets of the old city, wide central avenues, calm nooks of sleeping areas - this was enough to understand the main thing. Understand that even a minivan can be comfortable in the city crowding, it is easy to unfold on a narrow street, easily maneuver at a close parking lot. The diameter of the turn is 12 meters, but sitting behind the wheel of a large look of Picasso you are surprised at how dashing it is twisted on a turn. The most interesting thing is that at the same time he does not fall to one side, like cars with a high center of gravity. This is thanks to the reptile stability stabilizers installed in the front and rear suspensions. In general, the smoothness of the XSARA Picasso stroke is very specific: it directly depends on which wheel you fall into the hole. If the front, then the car will seem soft to you. If the rear, then on the contrary, the feed will be sensitive. Secret in various types of suspensions. In front are MacPherson racks with springs, and at the back - a stiffer torsion suspension. The smoothness of the course was slightly affected, but the advantage in the carrying capacity and endurance appeared, since the torsiones are less sensitive to the loads.
According to the creators of Citrooen Xsara Picasso, this is not a street fighter and not even a thunderstorm of autobahns. This is a balanced family car with habits inherent in this category of vehicles. Accordingly, all the running qualities of this model were sharpened under the steppe and monotonous movement along the highway, as well as for travel to work and vice versa. A diesel with turbocharged for these purposes is suitable as possible. He does not devour fuel, as the gasoline versions proportionate power do. On a long trip, the car does not require a constant binding to gas stations, because with such an efficiency of a 60-liter gas tank, almost a thousand kilometers are enough. Picasso has a large motor resource, less often requires maintenance. And in general, a turbodiesel is exactly what is needed for Minivan. The only question is how good this or that turbodiesel engine installed under the hood of a single -volume car. The one who is busily rumbling under the hood of Citrooen Xsara Picasso is definitely good! A four-cylinder 2.0-liter HDI turbodiesel with a direct fuel injection system of the Sommon Rail fuel, which develops a power of 90 hp. - This is exactly what is needed. Of course, an extra dozen horses would not have prevented, but this is just the option when an extremely many car is offered for relatively little money. And at the same time, he is still very good.
To begin with, the turbodiesel Xsara Picasso does not advertise the type of motor at all, which is installed under the hood. At a cold launch, the engine rumbles, but no longer puts it like all its brothers. Vibrations are present, but nothing more. There is a small trembling on the steering wheel, a little gives down the pedals, but in general - the turbodiesel is simply amazing. Especially when you consider that with such a layout it is located almost in the cabin - just under a massive front panel.
Turning in a cramped courtyard of the dealer center, where we took the car, I note that for a slow start, gas can not be touched. You just click from the first gear to the back and smoothly play with a clutch - the maneuvers pass without excessive bitterings. We go out into the street, catch the gap in the stream, gas and ... and Picasso again surprises: in response to the light pressing of the pedal, he left almost with the slipping of the front wheels. In second gear, the effect is almost the same, with the exception of one thing: now the car is not trying to slip, but simply accelerates somehow unnaturally quickly. What is the chip? In the moment. I mean, in the torque. His peak, and these are solid 205 Nm, is reached at 1900 rpm - a very convenient curve. As soon as he started off, and the engine is already in the moment. At the slightest press on the pedal, you use the entire potential of the motor, and do not promote it to optimal speed. In fact, this is expressed as follows. In each gear, you can only slightly add speeds, and then immediately switch to the next. And so - to the highest. There is no need to rape the engine, forcing the car to accelerate flush with cars. She does it already, and with much less effort. With its 14.5 from acceleration from a place to a hundred, the turbodiesel Xsara Picasso can easily argue with gasoline models. Especially in the city. The presence of a huge supply of torque on the bottom helps it accelerate instantly. But this is only first, and after 40-50 km/h, the vengeful driver of a gasoline car will surely overtake you. And due to the fact that you will twist the engine to a speed limiter, it will not become better. After about 3500 rpm (by ear), the motor fades. The traction stock is no longer so impressive, the motor is no longer noisy than accelerating. We return to the initial: the speed lower, the transmission is higher. And the turbodiesel rode again: pleasant pickles are provided in each gear.
It is only a pity that there is no tachometer. On such an original tidy, it could easily be made in the form of LED threads above the main devices. It is needed not so much so as not to twist the engine, but in order to twist it. And then after all, it turns out that with a spinning moment for 2000 rpm Picasso, it is completely lazy at lower. If you miss the moment and give the engine to fall below this limit, then the machine will only accelerate only in lower gear.
However, on the highway, dropping engine speeds can only be dropped if in the fifth gear it stretches at a speed of 60 km/h. In normal modes, that is, at a speed of 90-120 km/h, the motor just works in optimal mode. It does not make noise, does not roar, but at the same time you can not cross the fourth gear: there is enough traction. The higher speed will not deliver, the motor begins to crush with its sound. Eh, here would be the sixth program. But you should not get carried away, because the car is still family. Do you imagine the father of the family rushing along the highway at speed for one and a half hundred, while his wife and children pray quietly?
That is why the program mandatory for each test on the site in Borovaya in this case is irrelevant. We intentionally omit the story about all sorts of controlled and uncontrollable drifts, slides, etc. Just because we know: they don’t drive such cars. Although this does not mean at all that Picasso is completely not ready for active driving. The machine is controlled reliably and predictably, without any surprises. It is not inclined to drifts, it does not suddenly break into an uncontrolled sliding and, in general, for a car of this type, has an amazing margin of adhesion. But to talk about some kind of drive during the turbodiesel Citrooen Xsara Picasso turbodiesel is simply incorrect. The wrong type, not the image. The wrong goals were set before its developers.
REFERENCE
The platform on which the Xsara Picasso was created was borrowed from Citrooen Xsara and Peugeot 306. It was slightly stretched and changed, but in general the design is quite similar. The pendants are identical: in front of the MacPherson racks, and a compact torsion suspension behind. Full -wheel drive versions, as well as six -cylinder, are not provided in the range, although the French could try about the modification of 4x4. After all, the main competitor to Renault Scenic is produced in the form of a light parquet - an all -wheel drive version of the RX4. Which, by the way, is quite popular in many markets in the world. Including with us.
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REFERENCE
In the crash tests, EURONCAP Citrooen Xsara Picasso received four stars and twenty -seven points - one of the best results in the classroom. Eleven points (69%protection) are accrued for frontal crash tests. The driver and the front passenger have every chance to survive in the frontal clash. In brown (satisfactory protection), only the chest and knees of the driver, as well as the left leg of the front passenger, are noted. And we seem to know where this problem came from with the knees of the driver: when landing behind the wheel, a tall driver almost rests on the front panel (see photo).
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REFERENCE
Despite the fact that the manufacturer of Xsara Picasso is positioned primarily as a family model, there are people who see the inclinations of a real car in this car. An unusual car that you see in the photo is called SBARRO Picasso WRX. It was created, as you might guess from the name, a well -known adventurer (in the good sense of the word) Franco Schbarro. However, in the case of this Picasso, nothing can not even be explained - the very fact is that someone wanted to make a sports car out of the single -ram. However, Picasso did not lose many of his qualities, since it can still be traveled in the whole family, but provided that you are no more than four. For each, a separate bucket with a four -point seat belt is provided, and a real frame of safety from steel pipes is integrated into the salon. The doors open, as in a central-engine supercar, having the so-called seagull wing, and the entire trunk occupies a 19-inch reserve. True, the abbreviation of WRX in this case does not carry a semantic load - this is just like that, for a red word. If only because the engine here is from Peugeot 306, a 16-valve 2.0-liter. The author himself stated that a turbocharged turbocharged will also be installed on a single -volume WRX, which would allow the motor to develop a capacity of about 250 hp, but it was not on this copy. In addition, the car remained front -wheel drive ...
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The opinion of the driver
Svetlana (driving experience - 3 years):
The car is clearly for women - modest dimensions, the design is interesting. In addition, the trunk in the trunk ... but about its suitability for a large family or travel, I would argue. The rear seats are convenient only for passengers of medium height. But it was very convenient to sit behind the wheel: high, everything around is clearly visible. It is difficult for me to judge the running qualities, but it seemed that the diesel engine was noisy in some modes.
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Opinion Ag
Not a car, not a minibus yet. The five -seater Xsara Picasso is a collectively convenient in all respects, a universal car. A modest price is another reason to think about acquisition.
+ Spacious salon with thoughtful ergonomics
The tracted turbodiesel
Compact external sizes
- Hard back suspension
Fuzzy inclusion of gears
Comments on photographs
A car for his wife: in the trunk, on the left side, there is a folding trolley on wheels for shopping for shops panel and the central console in Xsara Picasso is as unusual as the car itself. But not to the detriment of ergonomics.
The electronic tidy with a digital speedometer has not only stepped brightness adjustment, but also the night mode, when only the speedometer readings are displayed.
The HDI turbodiesel pleased with quiet work, efficiency and excellent thrust.
Ergonomics quirks: it sits down and released conveniently, but at the same time the driver even has a medium -sized knee, with a certain adjustment of the body position, almost rests on the panel and the ignition key.

Source: Auto -Gazeta / N 3 (395) dated 29.01.03