Mini People Mover 2015 Comparison

But a nuclear family won't outgrow these cars on test – BMW 218i Active Tourer, Citroen C4 Picasso Exclusive and Mercedes-Benz B 200.

Functionality is the dominant consideration with these three; they're simple to operate, and their compact exterior dimensions and small turning circles allow them to squeeze in and out of tight spots. All three cars tested are under 4.5 metres in length and only the Citroen exceeds 1.8 metres in width (barely).

Each car seats five, although four passengers would be more comfortable on longer journeys. Luggage space exceeds 450 litres, and east/west front-wheel drive matched to a high roof and upright seating promise to match traditional, Aussie-built six-cylinder sedan packaging.

Familial, but not so familiar
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class has been around for a while, but this model on test – a B 200 – is a facelift of the second generation (W246). Its rivals from BMW and Citroen are new to the market, the BMW arriving in November and the Citroen lobbing two months ago.

Prices range from $40,900 for an entry-level B-Class, right through to $54,900 for the 2 Series Active Tourer with all the bells and whistles. We selected three turbocharged petrol models for this test, all three featuring self-shifting transmissions.

While the Benz and the BMW are protected by a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, the Citroen puts them both to shame with double the coverage: six-year/unlimited-kilometre. Further reason to settle for the Citroen comes in the form of capped-price servicing.

Safety, which should certainly top buying criteria for these cars, favours the Citroen and the Benz over the BMW. ANCAP recently awarded the Active Tourer just four stars for crash safety. Why remains a mystery, when the BMW is considered by Euro NCAP to be a five-star car also.

The wrapping
These three cars reflect the corporate outlook of the companies that built them. Punters can argue incessantly about the styling, so here are a few (subjective) opinions to fuel the argument:

The Mercedes-Benz brings to market the company's known approach to functionality, safety and driveability. Conservative elegance is the aim of the recent facelift, and this particular car – finished in metallic grey –appeals to a broad base of prospective buyers... male drivers included.

Still a rare sight on local roads, the 2 Series Active Tourer features a BMW corporate nose tacked on the front, but owes little else, stylistically to other models in the range. Inside it's cosy enough and builds on traditional BMW interior ergonomic design. The dash layout may help long-standing BMW customers feel more at ease behind the wheel of a car that in every other aspect is nothing like any previous BMW they have owned.

A straw poll suggests a majority of punters consider the C4 Picasso to be the best looking car in this comparison. The Citroen shares much, in styling terms, with its seven-seat sibling, the Grand C4 Picasso. Both models take Citroen's design language in a futuristic new direction. There's no design legacy apparent, but there's plenty of brand legacy on display – Citroen being known for innovation.

Pushing the envelope to make a box
As a package, the Benz is the narrowest of the three cars on test. The Citroen is larger than the other two and, width aside, the BMW is the smallest. This has ramifications for interior space, including luggage capacity.

For a bloke of average height, all three vehicles are easy to enter and leave, thanks to a generous H (hip) point and relatively large doors. However, for people of smaller stature (kids and smaller adults) or perhaps a bit more rotund, the Citroen is easily the leader of the pack. Its H point is higher than the two German cars', and its cab-forward design is more pronounced, for wider door apertures. Even the seats are at just the right height.

The C4 Picasso's seat comfort is superior in all positions. Optional leather-trimmed sport seats in the 218i are better than the standard fittings, but still can't match the Citroen's for comfort. They add $1692 to the price of the car, which is already well above the Citroen's asking price. The standard 218i seats sampled previously are on par with the B 200's for comfort.

Slid all the way back, the B 200's front seats leave little rear legroom, but quite literally free-up enough legroom up front for old-fashioned seven-footers. The other two cars on test don't offer anywhere near that much seat travel.

Headroom in the rear of the Benz was ahead of the BMW's, and roughly equivalent to the Citroen's. All three meet the needs of adults of average height. Only the B 200 makes do with a conventional 60:40 split-fold for the rear seat. The other two cars come with triple-split folding rear seats.

The 218i has the best rear-seat legroom of the three, and much more wriggle room for toes under the front seats. Rear-seat passengers won't bash or scrape shins in the BMW, but the Benz and the Citroen are a little less forgiving.

Of the three cars, only the Citroen's centre seat position is acceptably comfortable for adults – once the headrest has been raised so it doesn't poke the occupant in the back between the shoulder blades.

Across the board, the Citroen has been cleverly designed for families with offspring. Like the 218i, the Citroen has tray-tables mounted behind the front seats, but only the C4 Picasso comes with a separate mirror to monitor the kids. The Citroen's floor in the rear sits higher than the BMW's and the Benz's, but also provides additional storage underneath the floor mats.

A further point of difference for the Citroen is its rear face-level vents located in the B pillars; they're situated at the rear of the centre console in the two German cars.

One minor niggle in the Citroen is the way the rear seats fold flat. The action is abrupt and the seats are harder and heavier to unlatch or raise from the flat position than the two German cars. Both the BMW – with finger pulls in the luggage compartment, and the Benz with conventional hand-pulls in the top of the squabs – are more user-friendly.

Slide adjustment for all three seating positions in the rear mean more flexible goods carrying and passenger accommodation in the 218i and the C4 Picasso. The deep boot of the B 200 leaves an uneven load floor with the rear seats folded down. Larger, bulky payloads will not sit flat in the rear of the B 200 as a consequence.

Boot space is longer in the Citroen, but deeper in the Benz and BMW. Like the 218i, the C4 Picasso has lights located in the sides of the luggage compartment. These can be blinding at night. While the Benz's dome light sits overhead, the cargo blind in the Benz doesn't lift with the tailgate, so the B 200's light won't illuminate the compartment unless the cargo blind is retracted in its pelmet.

The tailgate of the B 200 was not powered, unlike the BMW's, but it was significantly lighter to lift than the Citroen's.

All three cars feature useful nooks and crannies for storage in the front section of the cabin, but the Citroen and the BMW boast large, deep bins in the centre console – with the French car edging out the BMW for volume.

The C4 Picasso has an auxiliary (12-volt) power outlet in the rear of the centre console and the B 200 has one situated in the luggage compartment. But the 218i goes one better, with power outlets in both places.

While all three cars were built to a quality standard, the B 200's doors close without the same level of vault-like solidity as the doors of the Citroen and the BMW.

The Citroen provides an extremely good field of vision all round – particularly obliquely to the front, around and through the A pillars. Backing is made much easier by excellent side mirrors, the 'over-the-shoulder' view past B pillars, and the all-round cameras. In contrast, the 218i's forward field of vision – obliquely past the A pillars – is no match. The B 200 falls somewhere in between.

Finally, there was no spare wheel in the boot of the Benz or the BMW, and the Citroen's was a conventional steel wheel (i.e. not a space-saver) that didn't match the standard alloy wheel and tyre combination fitted.

Box on the run
The B-Class impresses with its refinement and sporty engine. A combination of peak power lower in the rev range, the best torque of the three, and the only dual-clutch transmission results in satisfying straight-line performance from the Benz.

It takes a little while learning how to extract the best from the B 200 however; engine output is not easily accessible. It's not just that the B-Class is slower than the other two cars up to 60km/h – although it is – but also there's so much hesitation before the Benz actually moves away from a standing start.

The long-travel accelerator is to blame for the B 200's lethargic feel on a light throttle. Add to that the high brake pedal, turbo lag and dual-clutch transmission hesitancy, and the B 200 feels 'doughy' rather than 'toey'.

Both the C4 Picasso and the 218i were livelier from launch than the B 200, but the Mercedes lifted its game once speed passed 60km/h. It pegged back the Citroen by the 100km/h mark and was quicker than both rivals in the overtaking range from 80-100km/h.

Once the Benz engine's on the boil, the transmission shifts smoothly enough, although it does slur the changes more than usual for dual-clutch boxes. Yet with a bit more throttle the Benz works its way through the close-ratio steps with frequent peaks and troughs of torque and noise – sort of an anti-CVT, but smooth all the same.

The B 200 is a surprisingly capable steer for a front-wheel drive box. It responds quickly to the tiller and corners flatly with reasonable reserves of grip. Eventually it will understeer with power applied, but it's quite neat entering corners on a trailing throttle. Away from a standing start – and with enough load on the pedal from the right foot – there is considerable axle tramp once a drive wheel begins to spin. But torque steer is absent, to its credit.

The B 200's ride is a touch fidgety over sharp bumps at low speeds but is composed over lumpy bitumen once at highway speeds, and the body control is unexpectedly good. Braking is dependable, but the pedal feels a little over-assisted.

Throaty induction noise at low revs is a hallmark of the Citroen's port-injected turbo four, although less so than in the case of the 218i. The Citroen is quiet in normal operation, but not quite as refined at higher revs as the B 200. Its conventional automatic transmission doesn't provide the same degree of engine braking as the Benz DCT or even the 218i. Sequential shifting (changing down) isn't as responsive as in the B 200 or 218i either, but the C4 Picasso is smooth and easy to drive.

Steering is as light as that of the Mercedes. The Citroen's thin rim and relatively large diameter of steering wheel make the steering seem lighter still. That's bound to be welcome by target buyers, but the 218i feels sharper and more sports-focused, if that's preferred. The C4 Picasso is more prone to understeer than either the B 200 or the 218i, but still exhibits high levels of grip and boasts communicative steering.

Ride quality seems slightly firmer than the Benz's, but that may be due to the OE tyres fitted. The Citroen produced the best braking result from 60km/h, with the BMW taking the wooden spoon.

As the sportiest of the trio, the BMW is also the most raucous when its three-cylinder engine is working harder and higher in the rev range. At lower engine speeds the 218i burbles away happily. Acceleration is linear, but power tails off in the last 500rpm up to the redline (6500rpm). Abundant torque makes the 218i easy to drive, for all its sporty character.

Some credit for ease of use and driveability should go to the BMW's six-speed automatic, which has been beautifully calibrated to work with the engine. Gear changes are crisp but smooth; and the only objection to this transmission is that at higher speeds it could do with the extra ratio the B 200 has on offer.

Without a doubt the BMW is the most satisfying to drive, but as a family hauler it brings some compromises with it. The suspension is significantly less compliant than the B 200's or the Citroen's, and it can feel downright jittery too, over rippled bitumen frequently encountered on urban roads.

But aside from evident torque steer, the 218i is dynamically engaging, if you drive for the sake of it – and not just to drop little Timmy off at footy practice or ferry young Candace to an audition for the local performance of West Side Story.

Fuel consumption during our brief test was highest for the B 200, followed by the 218i and lowest for the C4 Picasso. Our V-Box also indicated the B 200 is the noisiest of the three cars at 80km/h, and the Citroen is the quietest.

Pick a box
This was one of those outcomes seen from afar and very early. What could be the winner other than the C4 Picasso?

Additional to the points listed above (good and bad), the Citroen was let down by dimmer headlights at night and the centrally-located instrument binnacle, which is not only an acquired taste, but is difficult to read at times – night time especially.

But those are minor issues set against the car's virtues.

Everyone who sat in the C4 Picasso came away impressed. As passengers they appreciated the Citroen's blend of style, comfort and ease of use. It's not as cut-and-dried from the driver's seat – where the 218i Active Tourer remains a favourite – but these cars aim to give the passengers equal time, after all.

And as a car for the whole family the C4 Picasso comes out on top.

2015 Citroen C4 Picasso Exclusive

Performance figures (as tested):