Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
Seven-Seat 2.0 HDi Exclusive review
by David Finlay (5 November 2007)
Although it has several features which make me want to bang my head against the nearest wall, there's no doubt that the C4 Picasso is in many ways an absolutely brilliant compact SUV which puts the efforts of rival manufacturers firmly into the shade.
The Picasso comes in both five- and seven-seat forms, and although the five-seater is very impressive in its own right - as well as being the prettiest car in the class by some way - you'll need to go for the larger model if you want access to the maximum practicality that Citroen offers.
It has a maximum load capacity of 1951 litres (nearly 200 more than its smaller sibling), and the ease with which it's possible to fold down the second and third rows of seats to achieve this is the result of some quite brilliant design work. At the UK launch of this car I saw Citroen's head of PR go through the process with just one hand, while using the other to eat an apple; it wasn't a planned demonstration - he was peckish and I'd interrupted his lunch - but it was nevertheless one of the most memorable things I've ever seen on a press event.
The top position in the C4 Picasso seven-seat range is held by the 2.0 HDi Exclusive tested here. Its 138bhp turbo diesel engine is familiar from many other Citroens and Peugeots, and it's a reasonable enough choice, though the 1.6-litre HDi available elsewhere in the range provides nearly the same performance along with much better fuel economy.
The Exclusive is, of course, the best-equipped of all Picassos. Among other things, it comes as standard with an interior lighting pack (optional on other models) which creates a tremendous ambience and makes the Picasso seem of far higher quality than is actually the case.
A recent development in C4 Picassoland is the introduction of an automatic gearbox on selected models, including this one. It costs £700 and has surprisingly little effect on the performance, though it does knock 7.5mpg off the standard car's 55.4mpg combined fuel economy figure.
I haven't driven an automatic yet, but I have no reason to doubt that it will be more restful than the Electronic Gearbox System (EGS) which is the only alternative on the 2.0 HDi. I've written so much already about EGS that I won't devote any more space here to saying what a loathsome and detestable device I believe it to be.
Just one thing, though: I entirely take the point, made by a Picasso-owning reader in response to my road test of the five-seat 1.6 HDi VTR+, that if you live with EGS every day you get used to it eventually, but I've always wished that Citroen provided some other gearbox which you don't have to get used to. And now the day has come. Huzzah!
As with EGS, the other concerns I have about the C4 Picasso have been discussed at length elsewhere in the magazine, so here's just a quick round-up. The footrest is far too high, the ride over uneven surfaces is terrible, the button for the electronic handbrake is mounted too far away for the driver to reach without bending forward, and other buttons surrounding the central digital display are so distant that the driver either has to undo the seatbelt or ask the front passenger to operate them instead.
All of this is clumsy design and I can't see how any of it could have been allowed to get past the prototype stage. At the same time, though, there are many delights, in addition to the easy seat-folding mentioned earlier.
There is, for example, the ride quality on good surfaces. Take the C4 Picasso over a poorly-surfaced road, or a more than averagely undulating one, and it isn't happy at all. Nor are the digestive systems of anyone on board. But on high-quality tarmac something clicks into place, and the Picasso is transformed from a venomous thing into a real delight.
Also worthy of praise is the visibility, which is absolutely outstanding. The fact that the windscreen extends nearly overhead isn't my favourite aspect - it makes me feel vulnerable so I tend to cover that bit with the sunvisor - but the huge front side windows and the cleverly-angled pillars which separate them from the doors are absolutely inspired; Citroen has expertly avoided the huge blind spots which blight so many regular passenger cars as well as most compact MPVs.
On top of that, the C4 Picasso has proper rear side windows, not the dangerously tiny, form-over-function affairs which have become so fashionable in the last few years. Once again, the blind spots are minimised, and Citroen deserves congratulations for this contribution to road safety.
That's not an aspect of safety which is included in the Euro NCAP crash test programme, but the C4 Picasso has done well there too, scoring a maximum five stars for adult occupant protection. So many cars achieve this nowadays that it's worth pointing out Euro NCAP's slight reservation about possible lower leg injuries against the dashboard, though there is no specific evidence to suggest that this is really a problem.
Euro NCAP criticised the Picasso for an issue with child occupant protection - a rearward-facing child restraint containing a dummy representing an 18-month old baby tipped forward during a frontal impact - and was not impressed by the part of the bonnet which might be struck by the head of an errant adult pedestrian. Overall, though, the car achieved a decent result which can only add to its overall appeal, and perhaps also take your mind off the silly bits.
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