Manufacturer Citroën | Production 2006–present | |
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Also called Citroën Grand C4 Picasso (only seven seater) | ||
The Citroën C4 Picasso is a compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), available as a five-seater and a seven-seater version, called the Grand C4 Picasso, produced by French manufacturer Citroën. The seven-seat Grand C4 Picasso made its debut first, at the Paris Motor Show in September 2006, with the five-seat version following in January 2007.
Contents
The C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso were designed by Donato Coco for the French manufacturer Citroën and share the same platform and engines with the Citroën C4 and the Peugeot 307.
Both the C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso are produced at the Vigo PSA Factory in Spain.
First generation (2006–2013)
The first generation Grand C4 Picasso, a seven-seater, was launched in November 2006 and produced until 2013, when the second generation took over. The vehicle shares the same platform and range of engines as the Citroën C4 I and Peugeot 307.
The five-seater C4 Picasso was officially unveiled early in January 2007, launched in February, and was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
Both vehicles feature a large panoramic windscreen and thin door pillars to enhance the driver's field of vision, eliminate blind spots, and increase the amount of light inside the front cabin. In addition to the front sun visors both vehicles have two blinds attached to further reduce glare and unwelcome lights for the driver and front passenger.
The Grand C4 Picasso is slightly larger than its nearest seven-seat MPV competitors like the Mazda5 and Opel/Vauxhall Zafira Tourer, and larger than earlier large MPVs such as the Citroën Evasion and Opel Sintra.
The vehicle has 500-litres of boot capacity and 1,951-litres with all rear seats down.
Rear parking sensors are available only on the Exclusive trim.
A pneumatic rear suspension is available as an option which make the ride smoother and can lower the sill. In some markets this option is only available on higher trim levels.
Safety
The first generation C4 Picasso to be tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) was a Left-hand drive 2006 model. It received an overall five star rating due to the design and range of default safety features, including: front airbags for the driver and passenger, a driver's knee airbag, side body airbags, and side head airbags. The vehicle was penalised in the crash tests for the risk of leg injuries caused by the dashboard, and for chest injuries to the driver in a side impact. In the front impact test the child restraint in the back seat tipped forward, striking the dummy infant's head on the driver's seat, and lost all head protection points for the dummy.
Reliability
Scoring 111 points on the UK Reliability index, the C4 Picasso is considered unreliable when compared to the average vehicle score of 100, while a very reliable vehicle scores 60 or below. The average age and repair cost of the tested C4 Picassos was 40 months and £325. 58.62% of the repair costs were attributed to the axles and suspension, while air conditioning and transmission repairs were rare and featured at the bottom of the list at 0% each.
Between October 2010 and September 2011 the MOT test pass rate for the C4 Picasso was 71.2%, compared to the 56.8% average for all Citroën vehicles. Service intervals are every 12,500–20,000 miles (depending on engine) or 2 years, whichever happens first.
Second generation (2013–present)
The second generation C4 Picasso was unveiled in March 2013 as the Citroën Technospace concept at the Geneva Motor Show.
The new C4 Picasso is built on the PSA EMP2 platform, which it shares with other PSA vehicles, including the Peugeot 308, successor to the Peugeot 307. Since the EMP2 platform is considerably lighter than the First generation's PF2, the C4 Picasso boasts a lower weight than the smaller Citroën C3 Picasso MPV.
The second generation of the C4 Picasso has a 537-litre boot capacity, increasing to 630-litres with the three rear seats downright. The passenger front seat also folds flat, enabling the vehicle to transport objects up to 2.5 metres in length.
Depending on country, the available features and equipment vary accordingly, Daytime Running Lamps (DRLs) above the headlamps are standard in all EU markets. The vehicle also boasts a wide array of features including: Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Emergency Braking Assistance (EBA), Intelligent Traction Control (ITC), and Electronic Stability Control (ESC). Further, the vehicle also has an upgraded lane departure warning system (LDWS) over the previous generation, utilising digital imaging and line recognition to vibrate the front seatbelts in Exclusive+ models and warn of a lane change at low speed. This gives the possibility to wake or alert a sleeping or distracted driver. The C4 Picasso gained a back-up rear view camera, and an optional 360 degree panoramic vision system which consists of four wide angle cameras fitted in the front, the rear door, and the side mirrors to eliminate blind spots and aid parking. A parking assistance system is also optional on the Picasso, which with the help of mounted ultrasonic sensors can determine a suitable parking space for a semi-automatic parking experience. This same bumper-mounted radar system is utilised for the Active Cruise Control (ACC) feature on the Exclusive+ trim. The radar is able to detect the distance and speed of vehicles and slow the vehicle or brake if necessary to avoid a collision. The dashboard user interface was also upgraded, now featuring a 12-inch panoramic color display which allows for the display of navigation, and other road assistance tools, with a degree of customization. The car also received a touch sensitive 7" tablet to control the navigation system, carkit, multimedia system and other infotainment features. The audio system features an 8 speaker JBL system powered by a dedicated custom designed amplifier, unlike most other Citroen cars that feature a Denon audio system.
Reviewers overall were impressed with the large five-metre squared space inside the vehicle, surrounded by large windows and thin door pillars. RACCars.co.uk were critical of the ETG6 gearbox, echoing previous criticisms from other reviewers, but praised the new platform for absorbing road imperfections easily and improving the driving experience.
Safety
The second generation C4 Picasso has six airbags by default, with adjustable pressures; two airbags for the front, two lateral for the passengers, and two side curtain airbags to prevent head injuries.
Transmissions
Initially the C4 Picasso models featured Citroën's new 6-speed automated manual gearbox, called "Efficient Tronic Gearbox 6-speed" (ETG6). It allows the driver to switch, at any time, between manual and automatic modes. Some reviews have been critical of the ETG6 gearbox: Auto Trader's review called it "jerky" and slow to react to a gear change, while CitroenOwnersClub.co.uk called it "poor".
In late 2015, with the introduction of the BlueHDi engine range, Citroën replaced the ETG6 transmission with an Aisin-sourced 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission, known as EAT6.
The four-speed automatic, six-speed ETG and six-speed automatic transmissions have two shifting options chosen by a column mounted mode selector: either the paddle-shifted manual mode or the fully automated/automatic mode with manual override with Formula One styled paddles. The ETG/automatic gearbox also brings with it an optional air conditioned storage compartment (fridge) including can holders, between the driver's and the front passenger's seat, where the manual transmission lever would usually be.
The 2-litre,1.6-litre e-HDi/BlueHDi, and post-2015 petrol engines feature a start-stop system based on the Valeo i-StARS reversible starter/alternator, and termed e-HDi for diesel models and e-VTi for petrol models. Two "ultracapacitors" are charged during braking, and the energy stored in them is used to turn the i-StARS when engine restart is required. According to PSA, the system is able to restart the engine in as little as 400ms, and while the vehicle is still moving at between 8–20 km/h, which a conventional starter is unable to do. The i-StARS is rated for up to 600,000 restart cycles, and PSA claims up to 15% fuel savings. Modifications to prevent engine wear during the shut-off phase and from constant restarts include an improved turbocharger lubrication system as well as reinforcements to the injection pump, crankshaft bearings, and dual-mass flywheel.