Today, 09 January 2014, saw the official Irish launch of the new Citroen Grand C4 Picasso. The new Grand C4 Picasso has been available to test drive in Ireland since January 2 2014 and with the success of the C4 Picasso (Irish Car of the Year 2014) there are great expectations for the Grand C4 Picasso.
Inside
This will certainly be a contender for those of you with large families and who need that extra space. This car can facilitate for seven people – the extra two seats in the back are definitely not for adults but getting 5 adults and two kids into this bus wouldn’t be a problem.
Before I go into all of the details about this car I have to say that one of the first things I noticed in this car is that everything has a function. The seats can be massagers or bum warmers, underneath the front passenger seat is a legrest. The back windows have pull up blinds to block out the sun if it starts getting in the kids eyes, the car can park itself (if you get it as an option), the seats in the rear (all of them) can be folded flat to effectively turn this MPV into a van with a completely flat boot, the back of the seats have tables, and there is certainly no lack of storage. This car is very functional in many ways.
The C4 Grand Picasso, like the C4 Picasso comes with a 7” touch screen as well as a 12” Panoramic HD Screen. Other features include ‘360° vision’ which effectively lets you look down on the car and surrounding areas and for those of you who are willing to cough-up a bit more cash you can also contemplate “Park Assist” – this is a feature I liked in the C4 Picasso which will park the car for you in those tight spaces.
Five of the seven seats offers “relax headrests” and even row three of the vehicle has dedicated air vents.
In terms of space this vehicle is certainly not lacking offering the widest boot in its class with a vast amount of space when row three is put away and if you put row two down you will get a staggering 2,181 litres of space. The seats themselves are very easily collapsible to make for this extra space if needed.
Design & CO2 emissions
In terms of design this car is sleeker than its predecessor and more dynamic. The front has been changed and the front bumper and chrome chevrons are neatly wrapped around the LED lighting and the rear seems more detailed than before.
The new Grand C4 Picasso is a lighter vehicle than its predecessor and on account of this, and improved aerodynamics, the Picasso burns a very low CO2 figure (98g/km) and offers wonderful fuel economy (3.8l/100km or 74.3 mpg). It’s 11cm longer than before and stands wider and lower than the outgoing model. All of this extra size means that the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso offers 5.7m2 of glass surface.
All of these vehicles come with a Stop & Start system which of course aids fuel efficiency. To reduce pollutants which can be released into the atmosphere all of their diesel engines contain a special filter which removes particulate pollution from exhaust fumes. Here’s a quick video on how that works.
Drive, Trims & Price
In terms of Drive this vehicle throws up no major surprises other than the fact that it is very pleasant. Steering is what you would expect from a vehicle of this size and the suspension offers the usual comfort you would expect from Citroen.
Trims available are VTR, VTR+, Exclusive and Exclusive+. These vehicles come with a range of different engines, all of which are outlined below as well as their corresponding prices.
The CBG.ie verdict
This is a very comfortable vehicle. As with the Citroen C4 this car is brilliantly functional and if people are willing to spend the cash this could prove to be a very popular vehicle. According to Frédéric Soulier (Managing Director of Citroen Ireland) Citroen expect that 70% of C4 Picasso vehicles sold this year will be Grand C4 Picassos whereas 30% will be C4 Picassos. They expect the most popular model will be the eHDi 115 Airdream Manual.
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