Citroen Grand C4 Picasso Review

Citroen C4 Picasso Review

Apparently, one in ten of all cars sold in the UK, is an MPV of some description and Citroen intends that the new C4 Picasso will follow in the tyre prints of the popular Xsara Picasso and lodge itself in the top ten.

The 5-seat Xsara Picasso is set to continue alongside the 5-seat C4 and Grand (7-seat) C4 Picasso's, which offer a host of goodies and innovative design touches.

Like its coupe and hatch counterparts, the latest Picasso is ‘alive with technology’. Even at the base (LX) level, there’s a full complement of safety systems along with cruise control with speed limiter, halogen headlamps, electronically controlled and heated door mirrors. However, at this level the available options are limited. The next one up, the SX, is a little better in this regard but it’s not until the VTR+ that the options list becomes interesting and the top-of-the-range Exclusive has it all…almost.

There are two main items that are standard across the range but which make the Picasso stand out from the crowd. The first and most obvious is the huge expanse of windscreen, which is said to be the biggest and part of the largest glazed area in its class. And that’s without the vast sunroof, which is also the largest in this segment.

The panoramic windscreen rises in a gentle arc, finishing well above the driver and front passenger. To give you some idea, in a conventional compact MPV, the vertical visibility angle is around 35 degrees, while in the C4 it is 70 degrees. It certainly makes a lot of difference to the interior ambience and all-round visibility, especially with the help of the thin A-pillars, which are split at the base to allow for the large front quarter-lights. In most MPV's, the A-pillars are so chunky that they are capable of hiding a bus, let alone a motorcyclist.

Even without the sunroof, having so much glazing reaching back, almost above your head creates a very strange sensation of openness. Add the sunroof and it feels like open-top motoring but without the wind in your hair. However, with this much fenestration, the sun can be a problem so, at the front, the C4 is fitted with sliding sun visors that flip down in the normal manner but have a further sliding extension that shades the eyes at a more conventional level and the Exclusive models have a heat-reflective windscreen. At this trim level there also integrated sunblind's for the rest of the cabin, including the tailgate.

The second major innovation has been carried over from the hatch and coupe C4 versions and that is the clever steering wheel that takes multi-functionality to a new level. It has a central control panel on the steering wheel boss, on what appears to be two levels, which remains static as the wheel is turned. In this area are controls for audio, cruise control, the voice-activated Bluetooth telephone system along with the information panel selection and Parking-Space Measurement System, where fitted.