What car?

[Mully79]

A bit of a vague two-part question, but here goes...

1) We have a 07 Citroen Picasso 1.6 16V, bought from new, was great at first but now the mpg is woeful and ever-worsening, no-one seems to know what's wrong with it. We get 250 miles to a full tank. Is this typical of a Picasso, surely not?!!

2) Anyway due to insane petrol costs, we want rid of it. Anyone have any recommendations for reliable cars with good mpg? Not as big as a Picasso, but we have a 2 year old daughter so a car that could accommodate a full child seat in the back with room for her legs to wiggle about, and enough space in the boot for a chunky buggy or a week's worth of holiday luggage!

If you got this far, sorry for boring you! I hope someone has a good recommendation.

[Beetledewz]

To be honest with you, if it's an '07 plate and the Mpg has dramatically changed, then you should take it back to the dealer to have it checked. 250miles is a very small range, but many factors affect this. It's a small engine size in not that small a car. I don't know the fuel tank capacity. Of course it depends how you drive it too. My sporty hatch only does 350 miles to a tank and that costs �50 a refill. Shudder. It's all relative, but I totally understand with a young child you'd rather spend your money on other things rather than fuel.


I cannot really suggest a model of car for you. The Picasso is rather favourably looked upon these days.

Best start is to check out the car magazines - What Car, AutoExpress and Auto Car. I think What car has a yearly magazine out at the moment too detailing the best buys in all categories.

Or you can look here too.

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/
You can search from the main page for the best MPV's and family cars. Plus you can read owner reviews too. Perhaps you could write one about your Picasso? Get some feedback if other owners have suffered the same fate.

The Picasso gets a four out of five on the What Car Site. It's a good car. Look into getting it corrected before you act rashly. It's a lot of money to lose. I actually fancied the Grand Picasso myself. Maybe not now.

Sorry I've not been more help. I also hope you wouldn't just listen to the first random person who answers your question online and recommends a car that ends up being woefully inadequate for you. You need to put in the research.

Good Luck

[Beetledewz]

Btw for relieable cars with good mileage, think about a diesel ford. Mondeo or Focus.

[Mully79]

Hi thanks for your replies, and I'll check out that website, too. I was on Parkers guide and some other websites but it's hard to do a comparison and figure out what's best.

We've had it back to the garage a couple of times now. They *apparently* can find nothing wrong with it. It used to get at least 400 miles on a full tank if I remember rightly, so clearly there is a problem. It costs us about �45-50 for a full refill.

We've had a couple of other problems with it too, which has been frustrating. We don't really need that big a car now, and no longer use it for commuting (I've got a very economical moped, my husband goes on the train). Just for daily local trips and longer distance weekend trips.

Beetledewz, we almost bought a petrol Mondeo before we settled on the Picasso, it's a very nice ride, spacious car, huge boot space, my husband loved it. The diesel was a bit out of our price range but I think our next car will have to be diesel, even if it costs a little extra.

[Beetledewz]

Hi again Mully.

Diesels are usually more expensive but make up their value in the amount of fuel they save. So they may be �1000 more but depending on how long you keep the car can be a big saving.

I checked the back of What car mag btw and a Picasso should be getting around 460 miles to a tank. There's definitely something wrong with your car. Call up another dealership, sweet talk them and ask for help. Guarantee the pride factor/getting one over competitiors will help.

Don't put up with as it is. You just need a decent dealer to help. And at that age of car if they still won't help, threaten to get an AA inspection done. This will usually make them sit up. An inspection costs from �122 pounds but it's very thorough and will usually unveil any serious problems with your car such as woeful fuel economy and for the price of two tanks of fuel might be a saving you can't afford not to take. You can always call and ask them if it will help. The AA is on the motorists side.

I don't envy you. A car not right can be an expensive thing to fix. But your vehicle is well under warranty. Chase them up. You shouldn't shoulder the bills.