{"id":2325,"date":"2017-06-08T20:34:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T20:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/?p=2325"},"modified":"2022-09-23T09:30:40","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T09:30:40","slug":"citroen-grand-c4-picasso-perfect-just-as-you-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/?p=2325","title":{"rendered":"Citroen Grand C4 Picasso – perfect just as you are"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In 1999 i was working for a Citroen dealer and I remember eagerly awaiting the arrival of our first Xsara Picasso. Honestly it was an acquired taste with marmite styling but was well priced and was a good drive.<\/span><\/p>\n

18 years later and Citroen\u2019s current offerings in the compact MPV segment is the Citro\u00ebn C4 Picasso and Grand C4 Picasso. We\u2019ve had the current Grand C4 Picasso for a week and It\u2019s amazing to see the progress between the first Picasso and this one. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of our first impressions was how well built it is. It feels very good, high quality materials inside and out with a very high standard of fit and finish. <\/span><\/p>\n

As soon as it was delivered the kids piled in. Inside, you feel immediately at home. It\u2019s very modern and elegant with acres of room. Seats are roomy and very comfortable and the whole experience is very pleasant indeed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ours test car was very well specified with just about every toy you could think of. The Grand C4 Picasso has a host of safety features to protect you with everything from Vision 360 (parking sensors and cameras all around) to Parking Assist (parks itself), Adaptive Cruise Control, Active Lane Departure Warning, Active Safety Brake, Driver Attention Alert and Active Blind Spot Monitoring, Emergency Collision Alert and so much more. If you want to feel safe, this car firmly ticks that box. You won\u2019t be surprised to hear that this car has a 5 star Euro NCAP rating.<\/span><\/p>\n

The inside is fabulous. It\u2019s glamorous, spacious and really cool. It\u2019s the right amount of quirky to be a true Citroen but isn\u2019t being daft. For example, the gear selector in our automatic is on the steering column, on the right. It\u2019s reminiscent of a \u201850\u2019s american car but is also perfectly placed and means the space between the front seats is clear. Instead, Citroen have added some storage, perfect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our car had the \u2018Dune Beige\u2019 Ambience trim level which the brochure says is for \u2018customers who place a premium on well-being and comfort.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n

It comes with the Relax Pack as an optional extra and incorporates extra-support headrest at the front of the car and a front passenger seat with an electric powered leg rest. The Dune Beige design scheme comprises Yatago Grey cloth, special protective mats and an ambient fragrance dispenser. It is also available with two-tone black and amber full Nappa Leather upholstery. So there!<\/span><\/p>\n

It even had fully customisable ambient lighting throughout the cabin and massaging front seats. I\u2019m not joking, it was absolutely lovely. <\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s only half of the story though. So, we know the Grand C4 Picasso is very pretty on the outside, luxurious and spacious on the inside, but how does it drive?<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, i\u2019m a fan of French cars generally, particularly when it comes to ride quality. Having said that, i have a pet hate that drives me crazy. Lots of cars that have MacPherson strut front suspension (the Grand C4 Picasso has) have a common trait. When riding over a speed bump or reasonably significant bump in the road that causes the suspension to compress, then extend quickly as you come of the speed bump, there\u2019s a knock at the end of the suspension travel. It drives me mad because it\u2019s unnecessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Citroen Grand C4 Picasso ride quality is outstanding. It is honestly one of the nicest riding cars I have driven in a long time and was a genuine pleasure to drive. It literally floats over the road surface, shielding you from the horror of our poorly maintained roads. Citro\u00ebn say it\u2019s because of the Advanced Comfort\u00ae programme, which is at the forefront of each new vehicle design and aims to enhance the comfort of each and every current Citro\u00ebn vehicle. They\u2019re not lying. <\/span><\/p>\n

The 1.6L diesel engine is both economical and powerful, benefitting from direct high-pressure injection and a new-generation high-yield turbo, it offers a remarkable driving experience right from low engine speeds, with 95% of torque available from just 1,500rpm.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our test car had one of the best automatic gearboxes i have ever used. The gearbox is the latest generation EAT6, 7 speed automatic and is simply fantastic. It\u2019s incredibly smooth, doesn\u2019t jump around, hunting for gears like some automatics do. You can\u2019t feel it change gear, it\u2019s so smooth, the transition is seamless.<\/span><\/p>\n

The gearbox is actually very clever. It has a double epicyclic gear train with 2 brakes and 3 clutches. It\u2019s controlled by it\u2019s own ECU and has been specifically designed for reduced maintenance, improved performance and durability. In simple terms, what this means is that the gearbox is very clever but don\u2019t worry because it\u2019s strong and designed for reduced maintenance.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s is much more to tell you but we don\u2019t have space and you\u2019ll just get bored. I haven\u2019t told you about the 3D Citro\u00ebn Connect Nav system, which is combined with an updated 7-inch touchscreen. \u00a0This new system also enhances the functionality of the 12-inch HD screen on the upper part of the dashboard for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our advice is simple, go and book a test drive, you won\u2019t be disappointed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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In 1999 i was working for a Citroen dealer and I remember eagerly awaiting the arrival of our first Xsara<\/p>\n

Continue readingCitroen Grand C4 Picasso – perfect just as you are<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[53],"tags":[74,450,451],"class_list":["post-2325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-cars","tag-citroen","tag-citroen-grand-c4-picasso","tag-grand-c4-picasso"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Grand-C4-Picasso-8.png?fit=1627%2C1084&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Qro7-Bv","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2325"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4230,"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2325\/revisions\/4230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blacktopmedia.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}