What is it?
One of countless compact MPVs available to expanding families, the Grand C4 Picasso is the seven-seat relative of the egg-shaped C4 Picasso five-seater. Although in a category that's described as 'compact' the Grand C4 Picasso is anything but, feeling not too far away from those family haulers in the 'full-sized' band - think Citroen's own C8 and the Ford Galaxy. That's great if you need all the space it offers, but not if you're trying to find a parking space. Citroen helps out those nervous parkers with an optional parking detection pack, which we'd recommend.
One great thing about the Grand C4 Picasso is the feeling of light inside. Citroen makes a big deal about the fact that this car has one of the biggest glass areas in its class, and that helps make the cabin feel very light and airy. The French firm has also gone a long way to make the C4's interior as neat as possible, placing most of the controls on the centre hub of the steering wheel. Like its C4 hatchback relative, the hub is fixed in position, the rim itself rotating around it. It competes against rivals such as Renault's Grand Scenic, the Mazda5, Volkswagen Touran and numerous other seven-seaters. If style is your thing then the C4 is a real contender, and Citroen also tends to be pretty generous when it comes to pricing.
Is it any good?
At its core function it's a good car. The five regular seats are comfortable for adults and children alike, and the rearmost pair useful for when your kids want to bring friends, or there's just one designated driver on a night to the pub. Petrol Grand C4 Picassos are offered, but you really wouldn't want anything but the torque-rich turbodiesels, these being better suited to the C4's bulk and purpose. However, the 2.0-litre HDI with 138bhp is only offered with Citroen's six-speed electronic gearbox, which is shifted either fully automatically or via paddles behind the steering wheel. Neither is particularly satisfactory, it sometimes shifting with all the finesse of a day one leaner driver in hobnail boots.
That's a shame as otherwise the driving experience has a lot to commend. The steering is accurate, if a touch light, and the suspension does a decent job at resisting body roll. There's some trade off in ride comfort over sharp ridges as a result, but it's worth it for the control. The interior is very functional, with plenty of oddment storage. However, the shear number of controls around the steering wheel hub is bewildering, and they are too easy to be accidentally hit when turning the wheel. The central instrumentation can be tricky to see quickly too, being rather far away from you. With the rearmost seats under the floor the boot is huge, and with all seats down the C4 Grand is builder's-van-rivalling for carrying capacity.
Should I call the bank manager?
If you do call the bank there's a good chance you can tell it you'll be able to give it a good-sized chunk of his cash back early. Why? Citroen is forever giving tempting cashback deals on its new cars. The Grand C4 Picasso is no different, and that's significant, as depending on what offer is currently running the C4 offers significant savings over its rivals. It doesn't look cheap either, the Grand C4 being a very nicely styled MPV, certainly more classy than some of the rather dowdy competition. We'd be tempted to go for the 1.6-litre HDI turbodiesel, which although gives up 28bhp to the larger 2.0-litre, is available with a conventional five-speed manual transmission. It's unlikely that you'll notice the 0.2 second drop in performance to 62mph that the smaller engine delivers - 12.7 seconds compared to 12.5 seconds. It's cheaper too, so the bank manager will prefer it.
Summary
Citroen's C4 Grand Picasso appeals on a number of levels. It's a good looking machine for a start, and offers a light and spacious interior that's flexible enough to suit even the fussiest of families. We'd avoid the frustrating electronic paddle-shift transmission as it does nothing to improve the driving experience, the smaller 1.6-litre turbodiesel and the manual being a far more desirable, and cheaper, proposition. It's also marginally better in the economy stakes, returning 47.9mpg compared to 46.3mpg for the 2.0-litre. Indeed, value is where the Citroen scores, its regular cashback offers making it conspicuous value against its rivals. Little wonder then that it's such a big seller.
More news and reviews from Citroen
Buying Guide : All models Citroen
New & Used Car : all offers Citroen
Picture Gallery Citroen
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