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How shit are Picassos?


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Posted

I can confirm you can get 3 full-sized child seats over the back seats of a Meriva.

 

No seats in the boot though, but you do get a big boot. Missus manages to get about 400 miles to a tank, and likes it alot. Best part of £280 to tax for a year, £130 for 6 months.

 

Personally, I HATE it, it's driving position, the way it handles, the way the steering feels disconnected from the wheels with zero feedback, that the windows are one touch shit, and the complete lack of blind spot visibility over the front a-pillars.

 

Plus points - ours was bought with no service history had has been faultless so far. Oil every 5-6k, new cheap exhaust, tyres and brake pads are all I've done to it in the year we have had it so far. You can get a smashed up double shed in the back to take to the tip.

Posted

SWMBO has a 1.8 C-Max and I think it drives very nicely for an MPV. Like the Mazda5 it sits on a Focus MK2 chassis and holds the road very well.

Posted

yep - SWMBO upgraded from a 55 plate CMax to a 09 Smax earlier last year because we needed to get the reverse facing baby seat on the rear row alongside the two toddler seats. I don't think you'll get three toddler seats across the back of a cmax, and the boots a bit small. Other than that, we owned it four years - four mots without a whimper from the MOT man, four basic services and a set of front tyres was all it cost us. We had the 1.6 petrol which you could get to 38mpg (from the computer) over a run, but that was it.

 

Handled well and comfy to drive.

Posted

Surely a Zafira has five proper seats and two smaller ones? Even the ones in the boot are a good size from memory.

Posted

I used to drive these Picassos quite a lot back in the day when they were common as hire cars, I liked em. OK they didn’t excel at any one thing but they were comfortable and pleasant to drive, reasonably spritely and that and I quite like the baked potato shape they’ve got. I’d have a 2.0 HDi one and would not entertain a petrol one for more than a second. Plus they were knocking them out non-stop for about 10 years were they not? They must have got the hang of nailing them together properly with that much practice. WOULD.

Posted

We had a Mk1 Scenic for years and it was a difficult car to justify getting rid of, even after it had actually died. I thought it was a well built car. Nothing went wrong on it at all, despite my best efforts to kill it by deliberate neglect. Did about 42mpg on a run and about 35 round town (2 litre petrol). Brake pads used to last about 30k miles. Took cheap oil.

 

Ours was an auto, which I'd avoid, because it's a sealed box that you can't service so it will inevitably die at some point. It started playing up at 97k miles and finally became too bad to live with at 137k miles. You wouldn't have that problem with a manual.

 

By then I was convinced it was going to die so I'd run a few 20k sessions on £3.99 oil thinking that might be it, but it refused to die. The only other fault on the car was the central locking stopped working on the boot about 6 months before I scrapped it.

 

I hear the Mk2 was a bit unreliable in comparison which is a shame, because the Mk1 felt quite sturdy, it was quiet and was not a bad place to be.

Posted
  Mr_Bo11ox said:
baked potato shape.

:lol:

Posted

I sell cheap cars for a living and have had quite a lot of Picasso's in the last year. I would say the 1.6 petrol is the best one to go for as they have the nice simple old 306 type engine , seen quite a lot of early 2.0 hdi stuff with funny head gasket problems. A head gasket on a hdi is about £600+ as I think you have to take the engine out. There not always that easy to spot as had one that kept cool and only lost a little water past the cap but had it check out by the mechanic I use and it was the start of head gasket failure. So had to put it in the auction and take a loss on it. Ok the 1.6 head gaskets leak oil out of the front left corner but there only about £200 to replace. The Scenic is not a bad car is its manual, had a one owner 03 plate 1.6 that had 155k on it still drove very well and they had not looked after it that well really.

Posted

Had one as a hire car in Frogland once and thought that it was OK to drive, not a bad car as some paint it. Fuel economy (diesel) was OK and not any different to most of the other hire cars I've driven. A family member has a Mark one Scenic which I've not driven but as a passenger it's far more pleasant ride than many large cars I've been in - ride is light years ahead of a recent Golf and better than most Benzs for instance and the seats are soft and comfy. Both cars are quite spacious given their relatively small external dimensions by modern standards.

Posted

I go to work in one half the week. (mate's car).

 

It's excellent at blasting 28oC hot air at your head while your feet are freezing.

 

Pulling out at junctions and roundabouts no matter who's approching from the right and how far they are away.

 

etc. etc.

 

On the plus side you can sit across the back seats and the tables are handy in the back too at lunchtime.

Posted

I quite liked our cheap mark 1 Megane Scenic although we neglected it the only problem it had in service was a crankshaft motion sensor. However it had quite a lot of rot underneath, that and the need for a clutch and a suspected blown headgasket meant it was time to say goodbye. I managed to sell it on e-bay despite its problems and I believe the new owner is getting it back on the road.

 

It was quite nice to drive to be honest and very comfortable. It did suffer from a lot of bodyroll but being a R14 driver that was no problem. It seemed reasonably economical, it was the 8 valve 1600cc model.

Posted

Mrs thestag bought a new 51 plate 1.8 pez.

 

Plus points

Never went rong

Nothing broke other than picnic trays on back of front seats

Although boot is a funny shape it was big enough for luggage for 5 of us in france for 2 weeks every year

Comfy driving position / seats

Not bad on the inside, just avoid catching your reflection in shop windows, and then if you do be satisfied that you didnt get the multipla.

Cheap as chips

On a run with a lead booted hooligan it seemed to regularly return 33mpg

3 full sized car seats across the back

3 proper 3 point seat belts across the back

 

Bad points

Freefall depreciation

Handles like a frightened cat on wet lino

Looks like a baked potato

 

I would have another, in fact mrs thestag who is currently reducing a c4 grand picasso to component parts may well have no facking choice in the matter.

Posted

Ont hat note, has anyone ever seen a Picasso or Scenic with 3 working brake lights? I refuse to believe such a thing exists

Posted
  Negative Creep said:
Ont hat note, has anyone ever seen a Picasso or Scenic with 3 working brake lights? I refuse to believe such a thing exists

 

My parents had a V reg Scénic up until autumn 2010. Dad kept it in tip top condition so I'm quite confident that all brake lights were working. :D If a bulb blew then he would have replaced it asap.

 

This Scenic was a 1.6 16v Sport (A/C) version in metallic green with a non-matching (but pleasant) burgandy interior. Dispite my dislike for mini MPVs, I actually liked that Scenic, very comfortable seats.

 

It was traded in for an 05 reg Focus C-Max 1.6 TDCi which I don't like as much. I mostly hate the interior as there are big expanses of cheap black plastics on the dash and door cars, which cheapen it. Acceptable in a 1980s Ford but not in a 2000s one, imo. Not sure if 3 child seats can fit in the back.

Posted

What about a Nissan Alzheimer's Tino as a jap engineered option ?

 

Imported Toyota Enema ( skinny Previa )

 

Honda Stream

 

Hyundai Matrix ( CDX has leather )

 

Toyota Picnic

 

Kia Carens

Posted
  ProgRocker said:

My parents had a V reg Scénic up until autumn 2010. Dad kept it in tip top condition so I'm quite confident that all brake lights were working. :D If a bulb blew then he would have replaced it asap. /quote]

 

That's a bit strong innit? I know modern Renaults are crap, but I'd not bin one just for the bulb! :lol:

Posted

Never had a problem with any brake lights on my Pic, the monkeys at Longleat did chew the rear washer jet off though!

Posted
  tontops said:
Babies, buggys, children and car seats mean I have resigned myself to the idea of an MPV :(

 

Nah, man. You have given up with life, despite there is no reason for it whatsoever.

All you have to do is brainwash yourself out of whatever brainwashed you into this nonsense.

Posted
  Junkman said:
  tontops said:
Babies, buggys, children and car seats mean I have resigned myself to the idea of an MPV :(

 

Nah, man. You have given up with life, despite there is no reason for it whatsoever.

All you have to do is brainwash yourself out of whatever brainwashed you into this nonsense.

 

Read the second line :wink:

 

  tontops said:
Babies, buggys, children and car seats mean I have resigned myself to the idea of an MPV :(

It would be the Misusses mainly and do about 8k a year.

 

I still have a collection of other crap in various states of dismantlement and sorns :D

Posted

Just sell the kids into slavery, and buy a TVR or something equally less sensible!

 

If the wife doesn't wall to sell the kids, divorce her, buy TVR and use it as chick magnet.

 

Problems solved!

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