Citroen's largest MPV wants to combine pizzazz with polished and practical family travel - does it?
The award-winning Citroen Grand C4 Picasso and its successor, the equally celebrated but barely changed Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer, may seem like dinosaurs in a market moving to electric cars, but families still need to travel, and with household budgets squeezed, these practical people-movers make a great buy.The earliest are now 10 years old but the newest only two, so there’s a seven-seat C4 to suit most pockets. Impressively, from launch in 2014, the 2.0 BlueHDi 150 diesel engine was Euro 6-compliant; lower-powered engines became so within a year. It means there’s a wide choice of cleaner oil burners at a range of prices.That’s good because most Grand C4 Picassos are diesel, while Spacetourers are split equally between diesel and petrol.The root of the big C4’s appeal is its platform, which has a longer wheelbase – at the launch, Citroën claimed it was the longest in the class – and a wider track than its predecessor. Both features contribute to significantly increased interior space, which Citroën’s designers, being an innovative lot, exploited to the full.Certainly, middle-row passengers occupying the individual split-fold seats will have little to complain about, while, even with the admittedly cramped third row in use, the boot is still reasonably large. Folding both rows down and sliding the middle one forwards creates 2181 litres of load space. On top-spec versions, the front passenger seat folds down, so loads of up to nine feet long can be carried. Before we get too carried away, though, it’s worth pointing out that the Ford Galaxy, Seat Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan are bigger – but more expensive.The Grand C4 Picasso’s engine line-up is dominated by diesels: a couple of 1.6-litres and a 2.0-litre, with the more powerful 1.6 and the 2.0 available with a choice of six-speed manual or automatic gearbox.We reckon the 2.0 BlueHDi 150 is the engine best matched to the car, and the auto is preferred over the manual. If the 2.0-litre is out of your price range, the next best engine is the 1.6 BlueHDi 120. The sole petrol is the 1.2 Puretech 130, which is smooth and punchy – although you may have to travel far to find one.With the arrival of the Spacetourer, the 2.0 BlueHDi 150 diesel became the 160, while the 1.6 diesel engines were soon replaced by the 1.5 BlueHDi 130. Both engines were offered with eight-speed auto ’boxes, the 2.0-litre as standard but the 1.5 as an option.Again, the 2.0-litre is best matched to the car, but used examples are extremely scarce. That leaves the 1.5, but it’s by no means a poor choice, being smooth, economical and well capable of hauling a full car. The 1.2 petrol remains the best choice for town drivers.The stylish look of the Grand C4 Picasso and Spacetourer is mirrored inside, where soft-touch plastics and satin finishes abound. Lower down, material quality is not so great, but the seats and trim appear to hold up well. Storage space is plentiful and includes two large, lidded areas in the dashboard; top-spec versions get picnic tables.The range was mildly facelifted in 2016, and with the Spacetourer in 2018 came more equipment and safety technology. With its 12in driver display, sat-nav and parking sensors, Feel, or Sense as it became on Spacetourers from 2020, is the best trim.
