05 Sep 06
One clever option is a device to measure a potential parking space and advise whether it's worth attempting the berth the C4 Picasso. You drive alongside the space, indicator flashing, and sensors take a reading. It's graded, in French, 'possible', 'difficile' (worth a go if you're feeling up to it) and 'non conseille' (don't even try). There are front and rear parking sensors in the system too.
Laminated side windows, as in the C4 hatch part of whose underpinnings this Picasso unsurprisingly shares, help keep the cabin quiet. There's a remarkable air of luxury, too, especially in the Exclusive that tops the three trim levels: chrome accents and soft-touch, nicely-grained surfaces abound, with a kind of metallised rubber finish on some of the non-padded parts, and the screen pillars are fabric-covered. The Exclusive gets a four-zone air con system too, plus an air-quality sensor to activate air recirculation when you're behind a smelly bus or truck, and a scented air freshener cartridge in usual C4 fashion. Tables on the back of the front seats can drop down to reveal DVD screens if you buy the right options this is almost a full-size MPV in miniature.
And the technicalities? The front half of the platform is shared with the C4 hatch and the Peugeot 307, the rear is unique to this car and gives it a longer wheelbase. Air rear suspension with self-levelling is fitted to the Exclusive, as are hefty 18" wheels, and all C4 Picassos have inclined springs and dampers (or air units) to give a wide and low load floor. An aluminium bonnet and plastic front wings save weight, as to the tune of 80-100kg do the magnesium seat frames. Even the lightest C4 Picasso weighs around 1500kg though.
Engines are the usual PSA mix of a 127bhp, 1.8-litre or a 143bhp, 2.0-litre petrol engine and a choice of turbodiesels, a 1.6 with 110bhp and a 138bhp 2.0. The optional clutchless version of the six-speed gearbox (not offered with the 1.8) is said to reduce fuel consumption by up to 5% and CO2 emissions by 5g/km, but that says as much about the driving style used in the EU official tests as it does about the real fuel savings.
Prices aren't finalised yet, but will no doubt be competitive even if Citroen UK manages, this time, to avoid residual-value-damaging cashback offers. UK sales of this tech-laden, roomy and interestingly innovative compact MPV it's built in Vigo, Spain, incidentally, like its predecessor start next January.
