The Citroen Grand C4 Picasso is a class C front-wheel drive seven-seater minivan, built on a common platform with the Citroen C4. The car debuted in September 2006 at the Paris Motor Show. The main competitors are Kia Carnival, Mazda5 and Ford S-MAX. The car looks more balanced and even solid than the five-seat fellow. The front is interesting, especially beautiful lighting. The traditional grille for the new Citroen with an inscribed emblem has been preserved.
There are some other nuances that distinguish it from just the C4 Picasso. To begin with - the front bumper, which due to a more conservative style looks much more advantageous. Although there is a blockage in the rear pillar, it is not as significant as in the five-seater version, which makes it possible to place large-sized cargo in the car. Grand C4 Picasso in this regard is much more practical. Another interesting point of the exterior, which is not immediately evident, is a huge, just a giant windshield that goes far onto the roof.
The vertical angle from the driver's seat - as much as 70 degrees. A best-in-class review ahead — thanks to slim windscreen pillars. Add here a glass roof and the total area of the transparent surface of the car becomes the largest in the class - 6.4 m².
The impressive dimensions of the Grand C4 Picasso - 4.59 m length, 1.83 m width and 1.66 m height, allow you to comfortably accommodate seven people. Thanks to the rational layout, the minivan has the most spacious cabin in its class and a huge trunk. Seven full-fledged seats are arranged in three rows, the two rear ones can be folded without removing the head restraints, and then a cargo compartment of 1951 liters is formed against 576 liters before this operation. To get to the rear row of seats, just press the button, and the electric drive will fold the backrests and move the middle seats close to the front seats. The third row of seats does not betray its presence.
Opening the trunk, in front of your eyes will appear safety belts on the rear racks and a completely flat floor. But it is from under this flat floor by simple manipulations that two more seats are obtained. The interior is made in the style of hatchbacks C4.
The electronic tachometer has moved to the center of the front panel - on a large monitor, where the readings of the remaining instruments, as well as the map of the navigation system are displayed. There is no central console - the gearbox control (automatic or 6-speed robotic is offered) has moved to the steering wheel. There is no parking brake lever between the seats - it is electric for the Grand C4 Picasso, it is controlled by a button. Designers have spent a lot of effort for the comfort of passengers. Two independent air conditioning systems for front passengers and rear passengers can be installed in the cabin.
Air conditioning remotes with illuminated yellow LCD displays are located on both sides of the front panel - convenient for both the driver and passenger. The front panel has four capacious boxes, one of which is cooled and holds a 1.5 liter bottle, or two 0.5 l each. The ventilation system has a sensor to control harmful impurities and an integrated air freshener. The four-zone climate system delivers a stream of air individually to each passenger.
Side windows - soundproof, laminated. Citroen minivan boasts a sophisticated interior lighting system. In addition to the lamps in the lower part of the front panel, in the doors and on the ceiling, spreading a soft, diffused light for the comfort of passengers, some other “chips” were invented. Passengers can use reading lights built into the backs of the front seats. If you need to find something in the door pockets - no problem, they are automatically highlighted when opened. The finishing touch is a flashlight in the trunk, which is automatically recharged while driving.
Passengers are promised exceptional comfort. First of all, due to the pneumatic suspension, which provides a smooth ride and stability when cornering, regardless of the workload of the car, and to facilitate the loading of heavy things allows you to put the car on the belly. Among technological innovations, it is worth noting an electronic parking brake combined with a starting system on the rise, as well as an advanced “parking sensor”, which independently determines the size of the proposed parking space. Eight high-quality audio speakers are spread throughout the cabin. In the backs of the front seats are built-in screens with headphones and a DVD-player.
Basic equipment: Airbag driver, Airbag passenger, Airbag side, anti-lock braking system (ABS), brake force distribution system (EBD), directional stability (ESP, DSC), emergency braking system (Brake Assist), adjustable steering column, central locking, electric front windows, fog lights, headlight washers, cruise control, heated front seats, electric mirrors, heated mirrors. As the main driving force for the C4 Picasso, a 143-horsepower two-liter gasoline engine is proposed, or a diesel engine with a capacity of 110 or 138 hp. The official premiere of the second-generation Citroen Grand C4 Picasso was held at the September 2013 Frankfurt-am-Main Auto Show.
Seven-seat compact, which, as before, is not alien to family values, it became easier, more spacious, more technologically and economically. The model is built on a new modular platform EMP2 group PSA Peugeot Citroen. The wheelbase is 2.84 meters, which is 11 centimeters more compared to its predecessor. In this case, the overall length and width of the model remained unchanged and is equal to 4.59 m and 1.83 m, respectively. The decrease in total height (up to 1.63 m) is partially compensated by a lower floor (-20 mm).
"Big Picasso" is now more rational use of its impressive dimensions. So the trunk has increased by 69 liters. With the third row of seats folded, the cargo hold volume is equal to 645 liters. If the second row is moved forward to the maximum possible distance, then the usable space will increase to 700 liters. The flexible architecture made it possible to reduce the mass of the model by as much as 100 kg and significantly lower its center of mass (in particular, the motor is now set 50 mm lower than before) - this should have a beneficial effect on the handling.
To improve the car's behavior on the road, widened tracks (at 82 mm in front and 31 mm at the back) and vertically mounted shock absorbers are also called for. Externally, the Grand undoubtedly echoes the C4 five-seater, but there are unique details: the front end is slightly different, the rear optics look different, and the practical roof railing is also a design element, merging with the front and rear pillars. Complement the picture 18-inch wheels and a panoramic roof. True, both are available only as an option. But inside, the seven-seater Citroen repeats its “younger brother” completely, which means a rich finish with glossy black and chrome parts.
The minivan is equipped with an original folding seat design that allows you to easily and quickly transform the cabin to accommodate seven passengers. The second row seats fold with one hand movement, and the third row seats fold into special floor niches without removing the head restraints, forming a common plane with the luggage compartment. To improve the visibility of third-row passengers, the second row is lower than the third. The front seats can be equipped with massagers and retractable footrests, and the rear separate seats with adjustable backrest can be moved back and forth. For third-row passengers, individual air deflectors are available.
Technically, the second generation Grand C4 Picasso is literally crammed with smart solutions and high technology. The car received two displays - a seven-inch touchscreen on the center console and 12-inch above it, which can transmit, for example, navigation system data or photos in HD-quality from external media connected via USB-port. The first monitor, in turn, is responsible for managing most functions. In particular, it can be used to regulate the temperature in the cabin or control the audio system. According to Citroen, the novelty has also become extremely environmentally friendly.
One of the engines that will be available for the Grand C4 Picasso is the 150 hp BlueHDI diesel engine with a volume of 2 liters - according to the developers' calculations, it ejects only 110 g of CO2 per kilometer. Besides him, the list includes two more diesel engines with a capacity of 90 and 115 hp. All diesel engines are equipped with a stop-start system by default. In addition to the 6-speed manual gearbox, an improved version of the ETG6 “robot” is available to customers, allowing them to choose between manual and automatic gear shifting.
