Test Drive Citroen Xsara Picasso since 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 just incomprehensible, amazing paintings, on which even a banal nude simulator looks unusual ...To say that Minivan Citroien Xsara, who is also named Picasso in honor of the artist, is extremely original ... Yes 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 dispatch does not apply to direct relatives of the legendary model Hmm. The term pick up, that is, working in the unusual style of the maestro, the designers did not have to: the flight of their fantasy was noticeably limited. A good-natured fat man, almost the same both in front and behind, beautiful and pleasant, but to the level of sickly classic models Citroen him far. There is nothing superpature, nothing causing - clean beauty, naturalness. By this, he attracts the attention of others. Slightly drunken, without the shadow of aggression, as if smiling, Xsara Picasso simply fascinates his appearance.
The interior in this regard is more Citroenovsky: here is the designers of vita ridden. The KPP lever moved to the tide of the central console, the front panel itself became a multi-level. The instrument shield suffered even more, as it was placed in the center of the panel, almost under the most windshield. Analog devices are replaced with digital, speed is shown by large numbers, and fuel consumption pointers, coolant temperatures and other little things demosuded, as our Russian colleagues called, in ... quasi-allegory form. I, too, first did not understand what this form is this, 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 directly controlling the car, and on the right - the clock, the display of the operating modes of the audio system, warning inscriptions, etc. The backlight brightness is adjustable - when you turn on the dipped light, the tidy reduces the luminescence intensity. For long-distance trips, there is no night mode: only the speedometer readings remain, and all other information disappears from the display.
Landing the driver is vertical, the steering wheel below, near the knees, and you are sitting almost like on a stool. But at the same time sit comfortable. Citroenovtsy have a little nimblerized with the location of the arm of the driver's seat adjustment, but understanding whether you quickly find an optimal position. Review - at the height, in the literal sense of the word. High landing allows you to control the flow of five to seven machines forward. But in the parking lot, it does not even help, because to the lower edge of the windshield, the distance is more than a meter! And generally speaking, Picasso is some very huge from the inside - not visible the front swab, the car seems very wide. Mirrors are partly saved by the position, but not so much so that it can be calmly climb in the stream. Nevertheless, we were doing this. The larger half of the time reserved for the dough, Xsara Picasso spinning around the city streets. Narrow streets of the Old Town, wide central avenues, calm shocking areas - this was enough to understand the main thing. It is understood that even minivan can be comfortable in urban time, easy to unfold on a narrow street, easily maneuver on a close parking. The diameter of the reversal is 12 meters, but sitting behind the wheel of a large look Picasso wonder how the famously it is spinning on turn. The most interesting thing is that at the same time it does not fall side as cars with a high center of gravity. This is due to transverse stability stabilizers installed in the front and rear suspensions. In general, the smoothness of the course of XSARA Picasso is very specific: it directly depends on what wheel you please in the pit. If the front, then the car will seem soft to you. If rear, then on the contrary - the feed will be sensitive. Secret in various types of suspension. Front facing MacPherson racks with springs, and the back is a more rigid torsion suspension. The smoothness of the course has suffered a little, but an advantage in the carrying capacity and endurance appeared, since torsions are less sensitive to the loads.
According to the creators of Citroit Xsara Picasso, this is not a street fighter and not even a thunderstorm of autobahns. This is a balanced family car, with characteristic vehicles characteristic of this category. Accordingly, all the undercoming qualities of this model were stacked under the power and monotonous movement along the highway, as well as for trips to work and back. Diesel with turbocharged for these purposes is suitable as it is impossible. It does not devour fuel, as the gasoline versions are made according to power. In a long trip, the car does not require constant binding to the gas station, because with such an efficiency of the 60-liter gas tank grabs almost a thousand kilometers of the way. Picasso has a big engine weight, less often requires maintenance. And in general, Turbodiesel is exactly what is needed for minivan. The only question is how good one or another turbodiel motor installed under the hood of the one-sharing vehicle. The one who is delulito urchit under the hood Citroen XSara Picasso is definitely good! Four-cylinder 2.0-liter HDI turbodiesel with direct fuel injection system Common Rail, developing power 90 hp - This is exactly what you need. Of course, an extra dozen horses would not hurt, but this is exactly the option when for relatively small money is offered an extremely much car. And at the same time, he still takes a lot.
Let's start with the fact that the Turbodiesel Xsara Picasso does not advertise the type of motor, which is installed under the hood. With a cold start, the engine urchits, but no longer places like all his counterparts. Vibrations are present, but no more. There is a small shiver on the steering wheel, slightly gives on pedals, but in general - Turbodiesel just amazes. Especially if you consider that with such a layout it is located almost in the cabin - just under the massive front panel.
Deploying in the close courtyard of the dealer center, where we took the car, note that for a slow start, the gas can not be touched. Just click from the first transfer to the back and smoothly play a clutch - maneuvers pass without unnecessary passages. We leave for the street, we catch a slot in the stream, gas and ... and Picasso again surprises: In response to a slight pressing of the pedal, he left almost with a slip of the front wheels. On the second gear, the effect is almost the same, with the exception of one: now the car does not try to buck, but simply accelerates somehow unnaturally quickly. What is the chip? In the moment. In a sense, in the torque. His peak, and these are solid 205 nm, is achieved at 1900 rpm - a very comfortable curve. Barely drove off, and the engine is already in the moment. With the slightest pressed on the pedal, you use the entire potential of the motor, and do not spin it to optimal revolutions. In fact, this is expressed as follows. On each transmission, you can only slightly add speeds, and then immediately switch to the next one. And so - to the highest. No need to rape a motor, forcing the car to accelerate in a lounge with cars. She does it, and with much less effort. With its 14.5 with overclocking from a place to hundreds of Turbodiesel XSara Picasso, it may easily argue with gasoline models. Especially in the city. The presence of a huge reserve of torque on the bottom helps it accelerate instantly. But it is only at first, and after 40-50 km / h, a vengeful driver of a gasoline passenger car will certainly overtake you. And because you will unscrew the motor to the revolt limiter, it will not be better. Approximately after 3500 rpm (for hearing) the motor fades. The reserve of traction is no longer so impressive, the motor is more noise than it is accelerated. We return to the original: turnover downward, the transmission is higher. And Turbodiesel went again: pleasant pickups are provided on each transmission.
It is a pity that there is no tachometer. On such an original tidy, it could easily be made in the form of a LED thread above the main appliances. It is not needed so much in order not to twist the engine as in order to do it. And then it turns out that with a Lomatic torque on 2000 rpm Picasso is completely lazy to lower. If you lose the moment and give the engine turnover to fall below this limit, then the machine will normally accelerate only at a lower transmission.
However, on the track, it is possible to drop the engine speed on the highway if there are 60 km / h on the fifth gear. In the normal modes, that is, at a speed of 90-120 km / h, the engine just works in optimal mode. It's not noise, it does not roar, but at the same time for overtaking on the fourth gear you can not move: the traction is enough. The higher speed of pleasure will not be delivered, the motor begins to put pressure on his sound. Eh, here would be sixth gear. But it is not necessary to get involved, because the car is still family. Do you imagine a family of a family that is carrying on the highway at speed for a half hundreds, while his wife and children quietly pray?
That is why the program mandatory for each test on the platform in the borovy in this case is irrelevant. We intentionally lower the story about all sorts of managed and uncontrollable drifts, slip, etc. Just because we know: it does not go on such cars. Although this does not mean that Picasso is absolutely not ready for active driving. The machine is managed reliably and predictably, without any surprises. It is not inclined to drift, suddenly suddenly in an uncontrolled glide and in general for a car of this type has a stunning margin of coupling properties. But it is simply incorrecty during the test of the turbo code Citroyn XSARA Picasso. Not that type, not that image. There were no objectives before its developers.
REFERENCE
The platform on which XSARA Picasso was created is borrowed from Citroen XSARA and Peugeot 306. It was a little stretched and changed, but in general the design is quite similar. The suspension is identical: in front of Macpherson racks, and behind the compact torsion suspension. All-wheel drive versions, as well as six-cylinder, are not provided in the gamma, although the French modifications can also try. After all, the main competitor RENAULT SCENIC is produced in the form of a light bulktail - all-wheel drive version RX4. Which, by the way, is quite popular in many world markets. Including with us.
* * *
REFERENCE
In the crash tests of Euroncap Citroyn Xsara Picasso received four stars and twenty-seven points - one of the best results in the classroom. Eleven points (69% protection) are accrued for the front crash test. The driver and front passenger have every chance of survive with a frontal collision. Brown color (satisfactory protection) marked only the chest and driver's knees, as well as the left foot of the front passenger. And we seem to know where this problem came from whence with the drivers' knees: when landing behind the wheel, the tall driver almost resumes them into the front panel (see photo).
* * *
REFERENCE
Despite the fact that the XSARA Picasso manufacturer itself is positioned primarily as a family model, there are people who see in this car a real car deposit. The unusual car you see in the photo is called Sbarro Picasso WRX. It was created, as can be guessing from the name, a well-known adventurer (in the good sense of the word) Franco Barro. However, in the case of this Picasso, you can not even explain anything - the very fact is that someone wanted to make a sports car from a single compliment. However, many of their qualities Picasso did not lose, since it still can travel with the whole family, but provided that you are not more than four. For each, a separate bucket with a four-point seat belt is provided, and a real safety frame of steel pipes is integrated into the salon. The doors open, as in the central engineer supercar, having a so-called seagull wing, and the entire trunk is occupied by a 19-inch outlet. True, the WRX abbreviation in this case does not bear the semantic load - it is just like that for a red sense. If only because the engine is here - from peugeot 306, 16-valve 2.0-liter. The author himself it was stated that the Turbocaddv will also be installed on the WRX single-compound, which will allow the motor to develop the power of about 250 hp, but it did not turn it on this instance. In addition, the car remained the front-wheel drive ...
* * *
Opinion of the driver
Svetlana (driving experience - 3 years):
The car is clearly for women - modest dimensions, an interesting design. In addition, the trolley in the trunk ... But about her suitability for a large family or travel, I would argue. The rear armchairs are convenient only for medium height passengers. But it was very convenient to sit at the wheel: high, clearly seen everything around. It is difficult to judge about the driving qualities, but it seemed that the diesel engine was noisy in some modes.
* * *
Opinion AG
No longer a car, not a minibus. A five-seater XSARA Picasso is a collective way convenient in all respects, a universal car. The modest price is another reason to think about the acquisition.
+ Spacious salon with thoughtful ergonomics
True Turbodiesel
Compact external dimensions
- Hard rear suspension
Fuzzy turning on the gear
Comments to photos
The car for the wife: in the trunk, on the left side, there is a folding trolley on wheels for shopping hikes. The instrument panel and the center console in Xsara Picasso are just as unusual as the car itself. But not to the detriment of ergonomics.
An electronic tidy with a digital speedometer has not only stepwise brightness adjustment, but also the night mode when only the speedometer readings are displayed.
The HDI turbodiesel pleased with quiet work, efficiency and excellent burden.
Follows of ergonomics: it sits down and go conveniently, but at the same time the driver even the average growth of the knees, with a certain adjustment of the body position, almost rest in the panel and the ignition key.
