Meet the Citroen Technospace Concept, which was officially introduced in Geneva this week. The minivan study essentially previews the next generation of the firm’s popular C4 Picasso, as in a similar manner to the Honda CivicWagon Concept, it is the production-ready version of the car, with a few flashy bolt-on bits to make it stand out.

The Technospace measures 4.43 meters in length and is 1.61 meters tall. This means it’s ever so slightly more compact than the outgoing model – a good thing, in an age when all new cars, regardless of size, have a tendency to get bigger and bigger with each new generation.

Citroen’s people carrier sits on a new modular platform called EMP2, which has been specifically designed to underpin a variety of models of varying sizes, for both Peugeot and Citroen.

On the outside, it adopts a Nissan Juke-esque (or a 2014 Jeep Cherokee…) approach to its front fascia, and with the high-set and narrow grille, it looks somewhat awkward to our eyes.

It also retains the trademark thin dual A-pillars found on their current crop of Picasso-badged models, which ensures excellent frontal visibility of almost panoramic proportions. This is also helped by the large, steeply-raked windscreen and large windows all-round.

Moving to the back of the Technospace, the bold styling of the front is not mirrored or mimicked in any way, and aside from the funky-looking lights, it looks somewhat plain. Nevertheless, as a complete design package, the MPV is well-proportioned and easy on the eye.

Expect the production version of this concept, the C4 Picasso, to go on sale in Europe by the end of the year, with a complete range of PSA petrol and diesel engines. First to go on sale will be the five-seater version (before the end of 2013), while the seven-seater Grand Picasso will follow some time later.

By Andrei Nedelea

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