Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Citroen has come up trumps. The C4 Picasso is a massive step forward and shoots straight to the top of the MPV sector.

Auto Express Car Reviews

Rating:
On the road price: £19,495 - £25,145
For : Airy cabin, seat layout, relaxing ride, safety kit, refinement, smooth diesels
Against : Sluggish semi-auto gearbox, some flimsy trim, complex controls take some learning

Driving:
A relaxed driving experience characterises the C4 Picasso. There are few thrills to be had, but it's safe and reassuring on the road. While lacking the sharpness and feel of more dynamic rivals, it still turns into corners with confidence, and despite more body movement, always remains composed. The ride is also accomplished - it soaks up bumps with ease and is supple enough to isolate imperfections from the cabin. The 1.6-litre HDi diesel is likely to sell well, and boasts smooth power delivery with enough pace in most situations. While manual gearboxes feature, the company is also keen to promote its EGS semi-auto, complete with column-mounted shifter, which is standard on higher-spec diesels. It has a slightly jerky shift, but is easy to use.

Marketplace:
It's clear Citroen has rediscovered its flair for design and innovation. The C4 Picasso is a good-looking compact MPV, with well proportioned dimensions and modern, clean lines, while the huge curving windscreen dominates the front-end styling. Once inside, the sheer amount of glass, combined with narrow A-pillars and large quarter light windows, offers class-leading visibility. It's based on the C4 hatch and is packed with the same technology, but has unique features too - such as optional self-levelling hydraulic rear suspension. Two 1.6-litre diesels, plus 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre petrol engines, form the line-up, with trims including LX, SX, VTR+ and Exclusive lines.

Owning:
The cabin feels very spacious, as there's nothing but storage trays between the front seats - although they are rather shallow. It's well laid out, with the now-trademark fixed-hub steering wheel. And the driving position is fine, with the seat proving comfortable and supportive on long trips. In the middle row, there are three separate sliding chairs, each with Isofix child seat mountings. Legroom is good in the furthest back position and there's decent shoulder space, while the middle occupant benefits from a flat floor. Best of all is the seat operating mechanism - just pull a handle on the back and the base flips up. The chair then slides forward to give excellent access to the fairly roomy third row. However, luggage space with all chairs in use is a bit tight. Excellent noise insulation makes the Picasso refined on the motorway, while a large, cooled storage box between the front seats of some models is, like the electric parking brake, a neat touch. However, build quality could be an issue. Although reasonable on the whole, the driver's armrest on the test car had worked loose and the rear blinds often jammed when retracted. Standard kit is generous, though, and fuel economy is good. Interestingly, models with the EGS semi-auto are more economical than those using the standard manual.

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6 Comments

Citroen may decide to delete your VIN too

I have a Citroen C4 Grand Picasso. I have had it for about 18 months. Now Citroen have decided to scrap the VIN number and I have to scrap my car despite doing nothing wrong. Think seriously about buying a second hand Citroen!!

By dansnd on 8 May, 2011, 9:37pm

Hugh Osborne

I have the updated 8v Grand C4 Picasso egs 16hdi (march 1st 2011 ) but its been with the dealers for 3 weeks in total inside the last month .
The problem is when l take off in a hurry in busy traffic the car when changing from 1st gear to 2nd the car reves the full 5500rev es as if its in neutral before engaging 2nd gear this will also happen in third but it will always happen if you try to speed off meaning you will have to make sure there's enough of a gap at road ends roundabouts etc. otherwise the uncomming traffic will be up your a** with flashing lights and rude hand gestures
Peugeot had the same problem with the 3008 egs but they fixed the problem with altering the fuel injection system have any other Grand C4 picasso owners had this problem with the new 8v engine ( its the one with led daytime running lights

By ossie13 on 1 June, 2011, 7:21pm

We have the Grand C4 Picasso egs 16hdi.
It has to be the worst car we have ever driven.
It can't make up its mind what gear it needs to be in, as for putting your foot down or over taking....forget it!
It is jerky when pulling away and bounces around corners.
As for comfort...what comfort? No back support in the drivers seat.
We would never buy another, buyers beware!

By claireb on 12 June, 2011, 3:49pm

I have had my citroen c4 for about 6months it has had a few problems but overall as been greet it is roomy and quite. I would tell any one it is a good car cheap to own and run I love mine and when I come to change mine I am thinking of buying a brand new one

By Philipdun on 3 December, 2011, 1:08pm

I have now have had my Picasso for a bit more than a year and it is the worst car that I have ever driven!
The ride is very shaky and I feel sea-sick driving it. The car swerves after going on a bump/hump and it feels like someone has rammed into the back!
The 1.6 HDi is very sluggish and noisy; it is also very greedy on motorway runs when you drive to about 75 mph (you can actually do that as the speedo is out by about 2mph!!!).
I thought about the legendary Citroen comfort (a friend of mine let me drive his collector DS 19 and that was fantastic) but once again I am very disappointed with this as the ride is far too soft, with a lot of rolling even on a straight road.The front seats offer no support at all, causing my back and legs to hurt after about 1h30 of driving!
Now we come to clutch which seems to be about to die but I have just been told that if it needed replacing, it would not be under warranty even if the car is 2 years old and has done 30000 miles, SHOCKING!
To sum up, potential buyers BEWARE! This is my first and last Citroen, never again.

By ChrisPSG on 6 January, 2012, 1:57pm

A fine car

I can't understand what the fuss is about above. Maybe it's because our C4 GP has the rear air suspension, but it is a very pleasant drive, a little lifeless on the steering, but well composed and very comfortable for all. No problems with travel sickness or bouncing around for us.

The 1.6 HDI engine is a gem, revving freely and being very smooth too. It's a pleasure to drive and returns decent fuel economy, which is the whole point, of course.

We also have the seemingly much hated EGS gearbox, but we love it. Drive slowly and progressively and it's very smooth in auto mode. Switch to manual mode and give it some welly and it performs very well as long as you're careful to back off from the throttle on the gear change, just as you would in a traditional manual...

Works for us.

Add to this the fact that in Exclusive trim it's very well equipped and beautifully laid out, there's really nothing more to ask for. Our only gripe is the Economy Mode cuts in too soon and interior lights don't stay on for long enough, otherwise we can't fault it.

By Oilburner on 30 January, 2012, 10:31am

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Citroen Grand C4 Picasso