Diesel engine for mostly city driving?

Kruganomics

Hi all,

We are expecting our third child soon and need to change our car to accommodate 3 car seats.

We really like the Citroen C4 Picasso for its individual seats and large boot space. We are looking at a 2014 5 seater, Airdream spec. The problem is that a 1.6l petrol engine is an extremely rare find so we are pushed towards the 1.6l diesel option instead.

We will mostly be driving in the city with playschool drop offs and pick ups via motorway c.45km each day Mon to Fri. Also, a couple of trips to see the grandparents each month (c. 170km round trip).

What I'm wondering is if this will be enough regular driving for a diesel engine? Any insights or experience would be appreciated. We have only ever had petrol cars in the past.

We really like this car but we are open to other 5 seater MPV options if anyone might have suggestions? Ideally we want to fit 3 isofix car seats across the back bench.

Thanks in advance

colm_mcm

You should be grand.

lolliedog

Have the older model grand Picasso 1.6 diesel for years never had a problem and do similar driving. Moving to s 9 seater for more space.

knockers84

Don’t get the 1.6 ltr petrol anyway, Ull be non stop filling it.

Your definitely in diesel territory.

dubrov

I don't understand why you were looking for a petrol version in the first place

colm_mcm

dubrov wrote: »

I don't understand why you were looking for a petrol version in the first place

Because of the fear of clogging up the DPF I’d imagine.

Ferris

I had a similar thread here - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057978805

Couldn't find a nice spec petrol in budget (certainly in Ireland) so bought a 2014 2.0hdi C4 Grand Picasso. I was warned off buying a 2nd hand 1.6hdi unless it had impeccable service history which is a rare thing in ireland. Also, for me, the 2L grand for power to move what is a big car but I think the 1.6hdi would be underpowered.

Its very nice for what it is, although I cant see the rational for the normal Picasso - the Grand Picasso looks better, has a bigger boot and you'll almost certainly have to transport relatives / kids friends etc. at some point so 7 seats is a plus.

Shefwedfan

If nothing wrong with current car why change? You could install Multimac

Do you want a newer car or just upgrading the the extra seats?

Car99

Ferris wrote: »

I had a similar thread here - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057978805

Couldn't find a nice spec petrol in budget (certainly in Ireland) so bought a 2014 2.0hdi C4 Grand Picasso. I was warned off buying a 2nd hand 1.6hdi unless it had impeccable service history which is a rare thing in ireland. Also, for me, the 2L grand for power to move what is a big car but I think the 1.6hdi would be underpowered.

Its very nice for what it is, although I cant see the rational for the normal Picasso - the Grand Picasso looks better, has a bigger boot and you'll almost certainly have to transport relatives / kids friends etc. at some point so 7 seats is a plus.

In that case 7 seats would be a negative after a while

Shefwedfan

Ferris wrote: »

I had a similar thread here - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057978805

Couldn't find a nice spec petrol in budget (certainly in Ireland) so bought a 2014 2.0hdi C4 Grand Picasso. I was warned off buying a 2nd hand 1.6hdi unless it had impeccable service history which is a rare thing in ireland. Also, for me, the 2L grand for power to move what is a big car but I think the 1.6hdi would be underpowered.

Its very nice for what it is, although I cant see the rational for the normal Picasso - the Grand Picasso looks better, has a bigger boot and you'll almost certainly have to transport relatives / kids friends etc. at some point so 7 seats is a plus.

Normal size is small and lighter so better fuel economy

Kruganomics

Ferris wrote: »

I had a similar thread here - https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057978805

Couldn't find a nice spec petrol in budget (certainly in Ireland) so bought a 2014 2.0hdi C4 Grand Picasso. I was warned off buying a 2nd hand 1.6hdi unless it had impeccable service history which is a rare thing in ireland. Also, for me, the 2L grand for power to move what is a big car but I think the 1.6hdi would be underpowered.

Its very nice for what it is, although I cant see the rational for the normal Picasso - the Grand Picasso looks better, has a bigger boot and you'll almost certainly have to transport relatives / kids friends etc. at some point so 7 seats is a plus.

Thanks for your reply. I don't think we'll need the extra 2 seats very often if at all so I'd be reluctant to be driving around extra weight unnecessarily.

Why were you warned off buying a 2nd hand 1.6hdi without full service history? What are the issues? Cheers

Kruganomics

Shefwedfan wrote: »

If nothing wrong with current car why change? You could install Multimac

Do you want a newer car or just upgrading the the extra seats?

My current car is much too small for three kids, buggy, etc. Was grand for 2 as I don't need a buggy now but with three I'll definitely need bigger boot space and bigger interior for comfort.

The Multimac isn't for me. I'd need to get rid of the two car seats I have now plus buy a compatible baby seat too so it'd cost just as much in the long run as it would to trade to an MPV. I appreciate the recommendation though.

Ferris

I suppose a good service history is required for any engine, regardless of fuel etc. but apparently the 1.6hdi unit is very sensitive to incorrect oil being used or to overdue services. This seems to manefest in gunked up turbo oil feeds and pickup which leads to a busted turbo (which can also blow an engine). Often people replace the turbo and not the lines and the turbo goes again. There are other issues but the 1.6hdi (injector blowby or something?), while a good engine when new, has earned a reputation as being a bit of a liability secondhand. The mechanic across the road from me called it a 'handgrenade'. So you either buy a new one or one which has been very well looked after.

The 2.0hdi is an older design engine and only outputs maybe 30hp more than the 1.6 and as such is not as marginal - thats my theory anyway - we shall see!

Ferris

Kruganomics wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I don't think we'll need the extra 2 seats very often if at all so I'd be reluctant to be driving around extra weight unnecessarily.

Just to be clear, the two extra seats fold into the boot floor most of the time leaving a massive boot. I got a 29" mountain bike in there (sans wheels) last night. I doubt the extra size/weight mean much in the way of economy anyway, seems that both cars emit the same amount of co2 (105g/km) so the tax would be the same, theres maybe a small difference in real world consumption.

Shefwedfan

Ferris wrote: »

Just to be clear, the two extra seats fold into the boot floor most of the time leaving a massive boot. I got a 29" mountain bike in there (sans wheels) last night. I doubt the extra size/weight mean much in the way of economy anyway, seems that both cars emit the same amount of co2 (105g/km) so the tax would be the same, theres maybe a small difference in real world consumption.

We moved from SMAX to Galaxy, not a huge jump in size but the MPG dropped dramatically......tax was the same, the amount of fuel used was a big change