Citroen Grand C4 Picasso (2014 – 2018) Review

The Citroen C4 Grand Picasso is one of a rare breed. It’s a seven-seater that manages to still offer a degree of style, and it looks genuinely different to the boxy van-like image of traditional MPVs. The seven-seat MPV is a bit of a rarity in itself these days, with buyers tempted away into SUVs like the Skoda Kodiaq and Peugeot 5008, but there are still traditional rivals to the Grand C4 Picasso, like the Renault Grand Scenic, SEAT Alhambra and Ford S-MAX. The Grand C4 Picasso was on sale from 2014-2018, with the latest model now going by the Grand C4 SpaceTourer name.

The biggest people carrier in Citroen’s range, the Grand C4 Picasso, looks genuinely different from traditional boxy family-movers.

Thankfully the designers didn’t forget about practicality. The Grand C4 Picasso is extremely spacious, with mountains of front and rear legroom. After a few minutes of familiarisation, all the mechanisms for shuffling and folding the seats are straightforward and don’t require much effort.

There’s also a third row of two seats, which fold out from the floor easily and can seat a small adult at a push. They’re better suited to children though.

There is generous boot space with the third row folded flat and the load volume can be expanded by sliding the middle row forward. It grows to a colossal 2181 litres with the middle row folded flat and if you have a long object carry the front passenger seat also folds on top spec versions, making it possible to stow loads of nine feet in length.

It might be practical, but the Grand C4 Picasso isn’t without its flaws – some of the interior plastics feel cheap and the glovebox is all but useless because the fuse box hasn’t been relocated for right hand drive. That said there are plenty of cubby holes, plus neat features like a removable torch in the boot and flip-up picnic tables in the seat backs.

Generally speaking the quality of materials is good. It’s not quite as solid as a Volkswagen but it’s by no means bad.

There’s a good mixture of soft touch plastic and metal on the dashboard and door tops, but lower down some of the plastics are a little scratchy and feel a bit cheap. The upholstery feels a bit rough on lower trim levels, but at least it should stand the test of time.

There are plenty of nice touches to add to the appeal of the Grand C4 Picasso, including massaging seats and high-tech functions like automatic parking. There are also wipe down rubber floor mats – handy if you have passengers with muddy boots. Additionally, there's a touchscreen infotainment system which controls most functions, including air conditioning and radio.

The engine range is straightforward, with a petrol and three diesels. They're all very good, so you can't really go wrong, but if you regularly carry a fully-laden car then the extra torque of a diesel will come in handy.

The Grand C4 Picasso is at its best with the smooth EAT6 auto transmission too, which is only available paired to a diesel engine. 

The Ford S-MAX is a more enjoyable car to drive, but if you're more concerned with comfort than surprising B-road dynamics you can't go too far wrong with the Grand C4 Picasso. It's huge, family-friendly and relaxing, plus it comes with a good level of equipment even in the basic Touch trim level. It's even competitive on price, so it's very easy to recommend. 

If you’re buying an MPV then a dynamic drive is unlikely to be top of your priorities – you’d probably prefer a comfortable and quiet car that soaks up the miles. That’s exactly what you’ll get with the C4 Grand Picasso, which is impressively relaxed and easy to drive, yet manages to avoid feeling unstable and wobbly through corners.

The steering is very light, but it’s precise and responds fairly quickly. It’s not exactly communicative, but this is a seven-seater not a sports car.

If you’re caught out by an unexpected tight bend the Citroen copes well thanks to strong brakes and plenty of front-end grip.

Visibility is good too. The C4 Grand Picasso has the largest glazed area of any car in its class and it really shows. On all but basic Touch models the windscreen is a huge, panoramic affair which lets in lots of light and gives excellent forward vision. Additionally, the windscreen pillars are split to maximise visibility at junctions or roundabouts.

Citroen originally offered 1.6-litre petrols and a choice of three diesels, but from 2016 the engine range was completely overhauled - and for the better. Even the 130PS PureTech petrol engine works well with the Grand Picasso, despite being a tiny 1.2.

But the diesel engines, in 100PS, 120PS and 150PS forms, are a better fit for the car's relaxed and comfortable character, especially when paired to the EAT6 automatic transmission.

It's only available on the more powerful of the three engines, and is smooth but responsive. It frees up some extra cabin storage, thanks to a slim, steering-column mounted gear selector.

It’s been a while since the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso (or to be more precise the five-seater C4 Picasso) was crash tested by Euro NCAP, but it mustered a five-star score when it was assessed in 2013.

The tests have got a fair bit stricter since then, but the levels of safety systems on the car should provide some reassurance nonetheless.

Blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with an auto stop function, a driver alert system, active safety brake and an emergency collision system were all available. Few of them were available as standard, though, so it’s worth checking whether the used model you’re looking at has that kit on it or not.

The middle row consists of three separate seats that can be slid forward and backwards independently on all but base models, each easily capable of seating an adult comfortably since there’s plenty of leg and headroom.

The rear two seats will probably spend most of their time folded into the boot floor, but they’re not too tricky to flip out once you’ve familiarised yourself with the way they work.

They’re not quite as big as those in the middle row but you could, at a push, fit adults in for short trips. Access is good too, thanks to the clever layout of the middle row of seats – the seat bottoms flip up so the whole seat unit can be moved further forward, making for a bigger gap to get into the back row.

The materials in the Citroen’s cabin are mixed. Higher up there is a good selection of soft-touch plastics and metal on the dashboard and the tops of the doors, but lower down it is less luxurious. The plastics there feel a little scratchy and cheap.

The upholstery on the lower trim levels feels a little rugged and rough but, most importantly, they feel like they should stand the test of family life.

There's a touchscreen infotainment system that controls most of the interior functions. Annoyingly, as well as the radio and navigation etc, this also includes air conditioning. It’s a huge system on the higher trim levels, with a 12-inch central HD screen up top and a smaller seven-inch touchscreen lower down.

Sadly it’s not the best system around– some of the functions are hard to find and it’s a bit slow to react. Luckily the screen itself is clear, as are the dials in the LCD instrument binnacle. This can be reconfigured and laid out in different graphical styles, which is a neat touch. You can even set your own wallpaper image.

It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, with a USB slot tucked away lower down in the central console, so you can default to a more familiar setup should you wish.

When it launched in 2014, the Grand C4 Picasso pricing started at £19,200, heading up to just below £28,000. This evolved over the years it was on sale and it ended up with a top price just under £30,000. At the 2016 facelift the range went from £21,935 to £29,360.

The replacement, the Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer (which is essentially the same car with a different name,) starts at £27,000 and goes up to just under £36,000.

There were just three models of Grand C4 Picasso, called Touch Edition, Feel and Flair. The step up in price from Touch Edition to Feel was £1,300, while it cost £2360 to upgrade from Feel to Flair. 

Big Citroens don’t have the best reputation for holding their value, but the Grand C4 Picasso is not too bad when it comes to holding onto its worth. A three-year-old model will have lost around half its original price, regardless of which trim you go for.

The most economical versions in the range are the lower-powered diesels – the 100PS and 120PS models, which both officially average 74.3mpg.

One good thing is that this figure is the same for the manual and the automatic versions, so there is no penalty for choosing one gearbox over another.

Honest John Real MPG figures suggest that, on average, you should be able to get around 71% of the official mpg ratings, so around 50mpg or just over should be a realistic figure.

In terms of reliability, the Grand C4 Picasso rated below average in the Honest John MoT files, with most failures down to lights, reflectors and electrical equipment.

The entry-level Touch Edition gets a decent amount of kit with 16-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, speed limiter, two-zone climate control, reversing sensors, engine start button, auto lights, auto wipers, Bluetooth, USB and AUX connections. 

Feel adds emergency brake assistance, rear electric windows, row two air vents, additional 12V outputs for rear passengers, front parking sensors and the massive panoramic windscreen.

Flair adds blind spot monitor, velour mats, third row air conditioning, electric tailgate, park assist, integrated rear window blinds, driver and passenger massage function, fold flat front passenger seat (for loading), electric front passenger foot rest.