This is where it counts. Great design is all very well but it's not much use if the clever ideas don't translate into day-to-day durability. When Citroen's C4 Picasso was launched in five-seat and 'Grand' seven-seat forms, rivals had to admit that it was very clever. Opinion was divided however on whether the car would stand up to rigorous family day-in day-out use as well as some of its rivals, particularly the pricier ones.

Determined to prove the doubters wrong, Citroen offered us one for our long term test fleet to be put under the microscope by the most determined testers of all: my family. I should introduce them at this point: my wife, Katie, has to cope with Caris (9), Ellie (6) and baby Amy (2). All three kids are well capable of reducing a spotless car to a playroom mess in no more time than it takes to visit the local shopping centre. On arrival, the setback trays will have been pulled out of their sockets, muddy boots will have decorated the carpets with a liberal coating of slime and a decorative frosting of crunched-out crisps will have been frosted around the rear passenger compartment. Ah, the joys of parenthood.

Of course, this is exactly the kind of use Citroen's designers had in mind when they designed the C4 Picasso, the successor to the Xsara Picasso which for quite a long time was the UK market's best selling mini-MPV. It only offered five seats, which in today's compact people carrying market would be seen as something of a limiting factor. These days, it's not good enough just to launch one mini-MPV: you have to launch two. Hence cars like Renault's Scenic and Grand Scenic and, in this case, the model we're looking at here, the Citroen C4 Picasso, the five-seater stablemate to the French maker's Grand C4 Picasso.

We opted for the five-seat version on the basis that Citroen expect to sell rather more of them here in the UK - though apparently, there's no much in it. Had I had a free choice, I'd have paid the small increment extra to have the extra seats for those times when my mother wants to accompany us to the garden centre or the kids want to bring friends home from school.

With a choice of a 127bhp 1.8-litre or 143bhp 2.0-litre petrol engines or 110bhp 1.6 or 138bhp 2.0-litre HDi diesel units, C4 Picasso drivers won't be wanting for decent powerplants. We went for the 2.0-litre diesel, but the 110bhp 1.6-litre diesel would have been just as acceptable. Either way, you really want a diesel if you're going for a car of this kind: I can't really see any argument for buying a petrol unit aside from the price premium being charged up front for the diesel option. Whether you can justify this comes down to a simple issue of how many miles you're likely to cover. If you're simply using the car to go to the shops and back, then yes, petrol is probably your best bet. Otherwise, opt for the HDi every time.

"My wife isn't usually intrigued by family cars but she was interested by this one.."

My wife isn't usually intrigued by family cars but she was interested by this one. Like most people new to the C4 Picasso, her initial attention was immediately drawn to the clever wide-angle panoramic windscreen that rises up and over the front seat occupants, doubling vertical visibility in the front to seventy degrees compared to 35 degrees in a standard MPV. This might sound a little pointless but it actually makes a surprising amount of difference to the ambience inside the cabin. And if you're a mother with three screaming children to keep quiet on the school run, then that really matters.

By slimming down the windscreen pillars, the effect of airiness and front visibility is increased still further. It's not just a styling effect either, the added field of view making it easier to spot motorbikes, cycles and pedestrians coming while preventing the usual craned neck when negotiating small roundabouts.

Not having driven the Citroen C4 hatchback before, Katie was also interested by the Picasso's steering wheel, which features the same clever arrangement where the wheel turns around a fixed centre hub on which are mounted all the main controls. Why has no one thought of such a simple, eye-catching and clever idea before, she wanted to know? I couldn't answer that one.

Citroens have always specialised in clever ideas of this type - but they haven't always been as impressive when it comes to the longevity of fit and finish. To date, the C4 Picasso is proving impressive in this respect. There are no major squeaks and rattle, plus, despite the children's best efforts, nothing has been prised away from its mountings. The car's a mess of course - but then it's difficult to do much about that. At least all the surfaces are easy to wipe clean of the inevitable sticky fingermarks and muddy bootprints.

The driving experience is, as was its predecessor, geared towards comfort and safety rather than outright handling prowess. But then if you're buying a car of this kind, then on-the-limit handling is not likely to be high on your list of ultimate priorities. Katie always snorts when I mention it in connection with any family-orientated car. I can see her point.

I'm not sure if someone at Citroen has been getting a backhander from a glass manufacturer because the C4 Picasso also features the biggest sunroof in its class, the extensive side windows too help edge it towards having the largest glazed area of any mini MPV. All of this glass means that the vehicle needs a seriously punchy air-conditioning system to prevent it become a mobile propagator. The C4 Picasso utilises its available space very well. That wheel at each corner stance doesn't just look good, it also maximises space for the all important passenger cell. The boot has a 500-litre capacity which is about par for the course for a five-seater vehicle. Fold the rear seats down and there's a massive 1.734 litres of available space.

Rivals to this car include models like the Volkswagen Golf Plus and Touran, the Ford C-MAX and the Renault Scenic - in other words, the quality offerings in the mini-MPV sector. As such it'll need more than just a pretty face to succeed. Automatic and sequential manual gearboxes are offered to free up floorspace and at prices around £500 cheaper than the Grand C4 Picasso, it looks solid if not spectacular value.

But that's no problem as long as Citroen really have got the quality to match the design flair that's so evident on this car. All the early signs based on this test suggest that they have. In the meantime, does anyone know a good car valeter....

TOP 5 C4 PICASSO DEALS

The results below show the top C4 PICASSO deals on buyacar

	Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6HDi 16V Exclusive 5dr EGS [5 Seat] People Carrier
	ETR	Mthly £271	Saving £5,275	Price £14,881
	Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6HDi 16V SX 5dr [5 Seat] People Carrier
	ETR	Mthly £223	Saving £4,601	Price £12,520
	Citroen C4 Picasso 2.0HDi 16V Exclusive 5dr EGS [5 Seat] People Carrier
	ETR	Mthly £277	Saving £5,991	Price £15,242
	Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6HDi 16V VTR Plus 5dr [5 Seat] People Carrier
	ETR	Mthly £237	Saving £4,598	Price £13,209
	Citroen C4 Picasso 1.6HDi 16V VTR Plus 5dr EGS [5 Seat] People Carrier
	ETR	Mthly £245	Saving £4,739	Price £13,557

typical 12.24% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000