Citroen Picasso

A four-seater MPV sounds like a contradiction in terms – but that’s exactly what Citroen is planning with its C4 Picasso Lounge.

First seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the new range-topper will be the company’s poshest-ever MPV and feature a host of gadgets. How­ever, perhaps the biggest surprise is the four-seat layout.

Unlike the standard car – which has three compact seats in the rear – the Lounge gets two leather trimmed captain’s chairs, with lots of shoulder room on either side. A high-spec DVD entertainment system, sat-nav and piano-black glossy trim panels are all expected to appear on the spec list, along with Citroen’s clever ‘mood lighting’ system and a panoramic windscreen. The moves comes as the firm alters its European production to meet demand for its mid-sized MPV. The C4 Picasso is comfortably Citroen’s most popular car in the UK and is currently outselling Ford’s S-MAX. Although the company has yet to confirm a launch date or prices for the Lounge, it’s set to hit Britain in spring, costing around £23,000.