Key Facts
Model tested: Citroen Grand C4 Picasso Exclusive+ BlueHDi 150 manual
Pricing: £27,110 standard; £31,130 as tested
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body style: seven-seat MPV
CO2 emissions: 113g/km
Combined economy: 65.7mpg
Top speed: 130mph
0-62mph: 9.8 seconds
Power: 150hp at 4,000rpm
Torque: 370Nm at 2,000rpm
Our view:
Considering Citroen's stylists were working with the time-honoured box-on-wheels shape, you've got to hand it to them when it comes to the superb appearance of the Grand C4 Picasso. Turning what is, let's face it, a car for the mundane realities of life, into something this attractive is brilliant work. The details are what make it so successful, such as the contrasting colour side line that runs from the A-pillar all the way along the roofline before sweeping down and forwards on the D-pillar, the narrow LED daytime running lamps at the front and the claw-shape, 3D light clusters at the rear. It's hard to find anything about it that could be improved, considering the form-follows-function design brief it must adhere to.
The Citroen therefore looks fantastic from the kerb, which is a theme that carries over inside, where the seats are comfortable and attractive in two-tone leather, while the fit and finish of everything appears almost Germanic. It also uses the central touchscreen in the dashboard that keeps things free of clutter, although as with the same set-up in the Peugeot 308, just one or two shortcut buttons wouldn't go amiss. And while the console is sparsely populated by switchgear, the steering wheel sure isn't. There are four rotary dials and 12 other controls in front of you, all of which can obviously twirl about as the steering wheel moves this way and that. Also, if Citroen must persist with the central speedo/information display that sits on top of the dash, perhaps a heads-up panel projected onto the windscreen in front of the driver might help, to prevent them taking their eyes clearly off the road just to see how fast they're going.
Still, the interior generally hits the spot for us and of course it doesn't just please the eye but crucially is cleverly designed, with five rear seats that fold up and down individually, with adjustment of each of the middle row possible too. Cubby holes and storage can be found everywhere, the massive windscreen and panoramic roof add to the 'inspired by a loft' ethos and there's one of those tiny-people-in-the-rear checking mirrors mounted above the main rear-view item. As a parent of a large brood, you couldn't really ask for more, short of the entire cabin being clothed in hose-down surfaces.
Thankfully, the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso continues with its impressive performance once it is on the move. While at no point does it ever assume the mantle of a wolf in sheep's clothing and set your pants on fire (and why should it, as a diesel MPV?), as a big, serene, comfy vessel that can insulate you from the world outside, it's impossible to fault. The ride is sublime, cushioning all occupants from the road surface adeptly yet not losing control of the sizeable body, while wind noise is well subdued on something so tall. The diesel engine doesn't intrude, either.
And on that score, the 2.0-litre BlueHDi is a peach. OK, there are smaller units in the range that go for the headline-grabbing CO2 emissions figures and the attendant promise of zero road tax, but the 150hp is surely the one to go for if you're planning to load the Grand C4 Picasso up with lots of people and kit as intended. It blesses the Citroen with excellent performance, thanks to a rudely healthy 370Nm at just 2,000rpm, while it can easily achieve over 50mpg in day-to-day driving conditions; yes, that's some way short of the official economy figure, but we think you know what you can do with NEDC figures by now. Hint: ignore them.
There's a lightness of touch to the major controls that makes piloting the Grand Picasso a breeze, with direct steering, a slick six-speed manual gearbox with well-spaced ratios and brakes that are nicely judged in terms of modulation. All of these are designed to make the Citroen easy to use for harassed mums and dads, something that is also true of the Park Assist Pack 360o (£450). It can display a plan-view all-around-the-car image on the central screen, as well as reverse parallel park itself into a space, extricate itself back out of such a space and also park itself in a perpendicular fashion... although, when we tried this latter function the first time, it singularly failed to spot an old-model Peugeot 108 in the bay it was attempting to occupy. A reshuffle and re-application of the system saw it do a decent job second time around.
As the Exclusive+, it comes with pretty much everything fitted as standard, over and above a normal Exclusive model, which is already well-specified. Plus-specific items are active cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, dual-zone climate control in the rear row of seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, an automatic rear tailgate, the panoramic glass front and above, and more besides. There's still the potential to ramp up the list price, though, with options on our car - aside from the aforementioned Park Assist Pack - amounting to metallic paint (£520), Xenon lights (£750), the Serenity Pack (lane departure warning and intelligent beam headlights for £300) and the two-tone leather (£2,000, although 'lesser' leather is standard on the Plus). At £31,130 as tested, it remains competitively priced for something so large and well-equipped.
Ingenious, handsome, capacious, comfortable, airy and refined, there's very little to dislike about the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso. As seven-seat (or 5+2) MPVs go, there's also very little we can think of to recommend ahead of it. Pick a manual 150hp diesel like this and load it up to the hilt, and it's a sure-fire way of at least making journeys with screaming brats in the back somewhat bearable. For that, it deserves the highest praise going.
Alternatives:
Ford Grand C-Max: just been facelifted and always handsome, always good to drive. Not as clever or spacious inside as the Grand C4 Picasso, however.
Peugeot 5008: the sister car to the Citroen but somehow not as appealing, primarily due to dowdier looks inside and out.
Renault Grand Scenic: another French MPV that's clever yet not as striking as the Grand C4 Picasso. It's an older car than the Citroen, too.
