Thread: Modern Citroen C3

Citroen doesn't want you think of its C3 Picasso as retro but at a glance it is tempting to refer to the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Volkswagen Microbus. Perhaps it is because it presents old fashioned practical values like an upright driving position and maximum space inside a light and airy cabin. The third model to carry the famous artist's name is based on the new Citroen C3 hatchback and therefore has the same underpinnings as the Peugeot 207. But while Peugeot went for a conventional SW estate, its compatriot Citroen has chosen a tall mini MPV, like a box with rounded corners.



We wanted to do something innovative - and different," said Citroen design chief Jean-Pierre Ploue. "The alternatives were a mini version of the C4 Picasso and, at the other extreme, something like the Nissan Cube." Family resemblance isn't important to Ploue, so, apart from the prominent chevron badge, the C3 Picasso doesn't look like anything else in the range. It does however have the deep three part wrap-round windscreen similar to the C4 Picasso and offers a full length panoramic glass roof. Citroen leads the compact MPV market in Europe with Xsara and C4 Picassos, and antici¬pates production of the C3 Picasso.