Minivan produced in Porto Real (RJ) was a success at the time and had a very peculiar series of special editions, ranging from movies to politicians
The Citroën brand was responsible for bringing many innovations to the world of cars: monocoque body combined with front-wheel drive, rack and pinion steering, hydropneumatic suspension and hatchback body. In Brazil, the brand began national production with the Xsara Picasso minivan, launched 25 years ago.
At the time, minivans were the fashionable cars, just as SUVs are today. Citroën followed in the footsteps of compatriot Renault and started production in Brazil with a car in this segment, to later gain volume with compact hatches.
SEE ALSO:
The national Xsara Picasso debuted in 2001 with some changes to survive Brazil and please the local public. The interior with darker tones, slightly raised suspension, gearbox with shorter ratios and on-board computer all in Portuguese.
But the most interesting technical change was in the air conditioning: the Brazilian model had a supplementary cooling system. As a result, the time to lower the cabin temperature from 55°C to 23°C dropped from 20 minutes to just 4 minutes. The brand spent US$ 25 million at the time to develop the system. Another change to our climate was a faster speed on the windshield wiper to withstand the tropical rains.
A genius feature of the minivan was the good use of interior space. Its measurements of 4.28 m long and 1.75 m wide are similar to those of current compact SUVs, but the wheelbase is a generous 2.76 m.
The cabin had five individual seats and a flat floor. This means that in the rear seat the accommodations were the same for all occupants, there was no narrow center seat and tunnel to get in the way. To top it off, the trunk has a capacity of 550 liters.
At launch, the Citroën Xsara came only with a 2.0 16v engine and a five-speed manual transmission. Later came the 1.6 16v as an entry option and the infamous AL4 automatic gearbox for the stronger engine.
The production of the Xsara Picasso in Brazil lasted from 2001 to 2012, with a face-lift in 2007. Just over 100 thousand units of the minivan were produced in Brazil.
During this career she had several special editions. Some, like Avatar and Movie, brought a DVD mounted on the roof for those in the back seat. Others brought leather seats and more standard equipment for an inviting price.
But the most peculiar special edition of Xsara Picasso was Etoile. It was launched in December 2002 to indirectly honor the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president of the republic.
The name “Etoile” means “star” in French, an allusion to the symbol of Lula’s party. The slogan of the advertising campaign says “take ownership of yours” and the text of the ad begins with “Finally, the socialization of comfort and beauty”.
The model had additional items such as a CD-player, leather seats, alloy wheels and a reverse sensor, called at the time an obstacle detector. With the political polarization we see today, this is a type of edition that will be repeated so soon.
Citroën ended production of the Xsara Picasso in 2011 to make room for the compact C3 Picasso. The successor to the medium minivan was the imported C4 Picasso, which brought many innovative solutions in the cabin.
