The roomier variant of Citroen’s new C4 Picasso MPV, the C4 Grand Picasso, has just received its official pricing information for the UK. It starts at £19,200 and rises to £27,855, promising prospective owners a “best-in-class combination of versatility, cabin space & accessibility.”
Built on the same new EMP2 platform that also underpins the smaller Picasso and the all-new Peugeot 308, it too is significantly lighter than its predecessor – the manufacturer claims the number is 110 kg (240 lbs), but that’s probably at one end of the extreme with none of the extra weight-adding gadgets specified.
Despite being a fairly big car, it promises excellent maneuverability in town thanks to the shortest overhangs in its class. At the front, it’s 11.6 cm (4.6 in) shorter than before, yet sports a wheelbase extended by roughly the same margin.
Unique features over the five-seater model include a very different side profile, altered front fascia and 3D effect rear lights and a different-design wrap-around tailgate. The integrated roof rails are a nice touch too.
The cabin comes with the exact same uncluttered design that looks modern and promises to be functional too – we’ve heard that the touchscreen unit they fit to higher-spec models is not the most responsive in the world, but that will probably be improved in time.
Access to the rearmost row is said to be best in class and each individual chair can be folded into the floor – with both it and the second row folded there are 2,181 liters of usable space that can be accessed through the widest-opening boot in its class, says Citroen.
Engines are carried over from the smaller Picasso. Now, despite the lower weight of the model, I think the e-HDI 90 variant is not the one to go for, even if its claimed economy figure when coupled to the automated manual (ETG6) gearbox is 74.3 mpg. The more potent e-HDI 115 returns a 70.6 mpg, but you’ll much more likely to get closer to it as you won’t be continuously shifting gears to access the (still) narrow torque band of the aging fixed-vane turbo 1.6-liter HDi diesel, an engine that chokes on its own particulate filter anyway…
Petrol-powered models are also available and the VTi 120 with a manual gearbox makes up the bottom of the range. Check out the full list of prices and gallery below.
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