Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 2018 Review

The 2018 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso is the French manufacturer’s largest passenger vehicle, the compact seven-seater forming a family with the C3, C3 Aircross and C4 Cactus.

Being the king of its own stable aside, the Grand C4 Picasso lives in the ‘bigger-than-you-may-have-imagined’ People Mover under $60k segment, with strong rivals who bring larger platforms and more conventional styling; which has its pros and cons…

In 2017 it was the Kia Carnival that dominated the market with 5878 units sold (46.7 per cent share) – making the Honda Odyssey’s 2712 and Volkswagen Multivan’s 1076 sales meagre by comparison. Then there’s the Grand C4 Picasso’s total of 138…

After a week living with the Grand C4 Picasso, I’ve got to confess that it’s hard to reconcile these numbers.

People Movers, otherwise referred to as the universal nemesis of style, are a necessary evil as growing families transition through that delicate life stage where you have more kids than sense and the traditional five-seater just won’t cut it. The Grand C4 Picasso helps you to forget the compromise at hand.

The moment you settle behind the wheel of the Grand C4 Picasso you’re enveloped in glass – the steep rake of the front windscreen and the retracting front sun-blinds leaving me feeling strangely exposed. It’s a little bit people-mover meets Pope-mobile. A combination I find myself strangely drawn to by the week’s end.

A welcome change up in people mover styling, you’ll find a solid serving of French design quirk, with a side of questionable ergonomics. However, the Grand C4 Picasso is the kind of car you quickly settle into with a little bit of time and patience.

The spacious cabin is dominated by a dual screen arrangement (12.0 and 7.0-inch) which is great for the visually challenged, the two large screens being home to your infotainment and in car conveniences including satellite navigation, 360-degree camera, dual-zone climate control and media connectivity such Bluetooth settings and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto phone mirroring.

It has more than the basics covered in a modern and intuitive format. That’s not to say you shouldn’t (and won’t) spend a little time learning your way.

The truth is that this car has character beyond any of its people-mover rivals. It’s a win for buyers who are after something different.  Maybe not so much where resale is concerned, redbook.com.au suggesting up to 47 per cent depreciation on a three-year-old Grand C4 Picasso compared with 31 per cent for a Kia Carnival.

Powered by a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine, the Grand C4 Picasso delivers a spritely 121kW/240Nm and is claimed to hit 100km/h in 10.2sec – the exact time it takes my children to declare their love for the Grand C4 Picasso.

Behind the wheel it feels much more car-like than people-mover-ish – a combination of its size and ease of handling. It also sits lower to the ground than many rivals, which means ingress and egress is easy for both young and not-so-young.

The Grand C4 Picasso’s column shift might free-up space in the centre console, but it feels flimsy in hand. There’s good oddment storage, a conveniently located USB/12-volt/auxiliary outlets beneath the centre stack, two cup holders and a good-sized console with retractable cover.

The wrap-around style head restraints were an annoyance for me – especially when I had my hair in a ponytail – and the paddle shifts were seldom used. Left to its own devices, the Grand C4 Picasso delivers smooth gear changes and off-the-mark pace fitting of a seven-seat family vehicle.

With a mass of glass to speak of, front and rear parking sensors, and a 360-degree camera to help, visibility is great and manoeuvrability easy.

It’s fair to say the engagement at the wheel of the Grand C4 Picasso far outweighed my expectations. Far more than an A-to-B car, this family-mover never felt boring or tedious.

The Grand C4 Picasso’s TARDIS-like styling gives buyers the chance to benefit from seven-seat flexibility in an envelope that is neither as long (4602mm) or wide (1826mm) as a new Toyota Camry. With a 10.8m turning circle, it turns better than Toyota’s family sedan, too.

The downside to this size equation is that your third row is compromised, and really is best suited to the occasional occupant. But there’s plenty of flexibility nonetheless.

The second row’s three seating positions slide and recline independently and all feature ISOFIX and top-tether child-seat anchor points.

You’ll find a 12-volt outlet, seat back pockets and two directional air vents positioned in the B-pillar with their own fan speed, and two in floor storage compartments. Back of seat tray tables have their own light and an elastic strap for securing items. Clever.

Entering the third row via the flip-and-slide seat mechanism is pretty easy, but it’s a little tight getting in… at least for adults. Positioned in the third row, there’s limited knee-room and zero foot-room. You do get dedicated roof-mounted air vents, two lights and a token cup-holder on the right side.

While it may be cramped, the seats themselves are well padded and visibility is actually quite good. I’ve got to say, however, that the potential for losing ‘stuff’ in the large gaps to the side of these seats (ultimately under these seats) is fraught with disaster.

Boot space is good (632-793 litres depending on second-row position) with five occupants on board, but severely limited (165 litres) with a full load of seven. On the upside, the boot has a removable torch and you can neatly stow the cargo cover behind the third row of seating (handy for when unexpected passengers present) – but that leaves little room for anything else.

Priced from $38,490 (plus ORCs) the new Grand C4 Picasso easily undercuts its most direct rivals – around $4k when compared to the base model Kia Carnival, stretching to $14k for the similarly specified Carnival SLi.

But price isn’t really the headline for the C4 Picasso... It’s flexibility. Sorry, character. I stand corrected; it’s fuel efficiency (6.4L/100km). Wait, it’s the practicality…

The Grand C4 Picasso comes with a recently revised five-year (previously six)/unlimited-kilometre warranty and roadside assist plan. Service intervals are 12 months/20,000km. Citroen’s Confidence Service Price Program outlines scheduled service items and calculates that you’ll pay around $2802 for the first five years or 100,000km (at participating dealers).

The Grand C4 Picasso has a five-star ANCAP safety rating and features the usual inclusions such as anti-lock brakes, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, and blind-spot monitoring. To benefit from Citroen’s autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and active cruise control technology however, you’ve got to buy the diesel-powered variant.

A closet snob and unashamed fashionista at heart, I’d proudly drive the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso through my leafy German-car saturated suburb. At the end of my week of testing I had actually grown very fond of the C4, as had my entire family – husband and kids. Even their friends loved it!

The Grand C4 Picasso warrants the praise that it receives for flexibility, design and driveability. It’s a most car-like people mover with character unsurpassed. For my occasional third-row needs, I could live with the compromise at hand in return for increased practicality.

The fact is however, if you’re actually carting seven people, comfort and safety need to be your priority – and the Grand C4 Picasso on test falls short in this regard.

Add to this Citroen’s still relatively left-field identity Down Under and those dismal sales figures sadly make sense.

How much does the 2018 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso cost?
Price: $38,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 121kW/240Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 149g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2014)