2014 Citroen Grand C4’s Masterful Picasso

2014 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 7 Seater

However, things are now starting to look up, with a $4 billion injection of capital, closure of an assembly plant outside of Paris, and new models promised. The first from Citroën is the Grand C4 Picasso, a handsome and versatile seven-seat family vehicle propelled by a four-pot Blue HDi turbo diesel.

This model debuts a new flexible platform that will underpin half of all future vehicles. Costing $870 million to develop, the EMP2 structure features a fixed front end, but a plug-and-play rear assembly, allowing styling freedom and a range of body variants. Through the use of lightweight steels, aluminum and composites, each vehicle using EMP2 will weigh around 70kg less, and 100kg in the case of the Grand C4 Picasso.

Citroen Grand C4 Picasso interior

This year the local Citroën distributor, Sime Darby, hopes to sell 450 vehicles, 50 per cent ahead of last year’s performance. Around 100 of those are expected to be the C4 GP. The family wagon is a hit in Europe with the factory currently holding around 70,000 orders.

Here, it is now available in two variants, Seduction costing $42,990 and Intensive selling for $49,990. They share a 2.0-litre turbo diesel, which generates 110kW at 4000rpm, and 370Nm of torque from 2000-2500rpm. That’s sufficient to hustle it to 100km/h from zero in a claimed 9.7 sec, but of more interest is its combined quoted fuel use figure of just 4.5L/100km (Intensive, 4.6). No petrol power will be offered here, and the transmission is a next-generation Aisin six-speed auto.

If you’re after a green family machine, this has the credentials. It features idle-stop, and the engine meets EU6 emissions legislation by virtue of its Ad Blue system. This rids the exhaust gases of around 90 per cent of their oxides of nitrogen. Carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbons are also eliminated. The Ad Blue 17L container needs refilling every 20,000km. The price of this refill is still T.B.A.

2014 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso Side View

Compared with the previous model, the GP’s wheelbase stretches by 110mm to 2.84m, though length is unchanged at 4.6m. The interior features three rows of seats, with seven individually adjustable pews, six of which fold flat. With the rear row packed away in the floor, a one-touch job each side, there’s 645L of luggage space, and 1.17m of clear space between the rear wheel arches. For added gear space, the centre console can be removed, and there are under floor cubbies as well.

Standard items include a 7-inch colour touch screen, an 6B Jukebox, satellite navigation and dual zone climate air. Both models feature triple door seals for added hush, an electronic parking brake, tyre pressure monitoring, cruise and speed limiter, rear park sensors and reversing camera (360° on Intensive), and 12v outlets in all rows. The base model gets 17-inch wheels and the Intensive 18-inchers. Pick the latter by its grey roof rails, gloss door handles, and partial leather trim. It also gets self-parking and blind spot monitoring.

Later this year, in the fourth quarter, expect the next innovative model from Citroën, the Cactus, to alight. Its calling cards are stylish exterior design (naturally, it’s a Citroën), lightweight, ergonomic simplicity, and competitive pricing.