Plenty here for St Pat’s fans

SUPPORTERS of St Patrick’s Athletic would probably like this week’s test car that is a white coloured Citroen C3 Picasso with red alloys.

The C3 Picasso was first unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show; it has recently got a mid-life facelift and the new version, which will go on sale early next year, was shown at last month’s Paris Show.

The white and red look was the first thing that struck me about the car. The second was the high driving position, which provides a brilliant view of the road and landscape. There is plenty of glass in your line of vision and there is even more glass at the side of the windscreen, near the A pillars.

The Picasso has a funky, boxy look to it. The rear-end reminded me of the Nissan Note and I suppose you could also make comparisons with the Skoda Yeti. I was once told by a motoring PR person never to compare one car against another, unless it was like for like, but sure we compare items every day of the week. Consumer columnists live by comparisons.

Externally the Picasso looks good, thanks to the usual French styling at the front. It’s not as high as a jeep to climb into, but the view is certainly impressive from the front or back. Two roof rails add to the MPV look.

Inside the first thing that grabs your attention is the digital speedometer on the dash. It should help you avoid picking up penalty points as you can easily see what speed you are doing without taking your eyes off the road. Then if you are on the open road the cruise control button is literally at your left fingertips, while the audio controls for the radio/cd can be adjusted with the fingers of your right hand. So it can truly be said that the controls are at your fingertips.

There is plenty of leg and headroom for five adults. The boot is a decent for a car of this size and the back seats can be left down in a few seconds if you want more luggage space. Nowadays you can leave down the back row of seats in most modern cars, but I think the Picasso would win if you had a race to see which back row you could flatten first. The back door opens very wide and the floor is low if you are loading heavy items.

The artist Picasso was once asked why he never had any of his own paintings hanging on his walls.

“I can’t afford them,

? he said. But with prices starting at

?¬21,250, you should be able to afford a C3 Picasso, a car that is really comfortable to travel in and extremely flexible. Only one engine available in Ireland a 1.6 diesel.

Of course the C3 Picasso is available in a range of different colours, ranging from black to lemon. But the white version with the cherry red alloys will certainly grab your attention.