Citroen C4 Picasso (2007-) Review

On the road

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The windscreen is high, the waistline is low, the pillars are unusually thin and the result is a remarkable view out. On a sunny day the light pouring in at the top of the windscreen can get a bit much, but there's a sunblind.

The dashboard is uncluttered, with many minor controls concentrated in the fixed hub in the centre of the steering wheel - as in the C4 hatchback - and the daylight-backlit digital display (including speedo) in the centre of the dashboard is easy to read. However, in certain lights, the chrome rings around the dash-top storage compartments can reflect on to the windscreen.

There's an electric parking brake in all models, with a switch in the middle of the dashboard if you need to override the automatic operation. Combine that with the auto transmission and driving the C4 Picasso is simplicity itself.

The five-seater is more enjoyable than the seven-seater. It feels better balanced and more composed, whereas the bigger car is often reluctant to settle down when you exit a roundabout or after a poorly surfaced stretch of road. The steering can feel vague on the 2.0-litre petrol car; the heavier 2.0 diesel engine seems to suit both models better. There's more body roll in the corners than you'd get from a family hatchback and no C4 Picasso is exactly a keen driver's delight, but they grip well and the brakes are smooth, progressive and snatch-free.

The manual gear change is far more satisfying than the EGS (electronic gearbox system), an automated manual set-up that can be left in auto model or shifted using paddles. In gentle around-town driving automatic mode is easy enough to live with, but on the open road there's often an annoying delay between requesting and getting the new ratio, whether you're making the changes yourself through the paddles or letting the software choose your moment for you. Paddle changes are smoother if you blip the throttle like you would in a three-pedal manual.

The 2.0-litre petrol feels less willing than the gutsy diesels even though it powers the quickest Picasso (121mph and 0-62mph in 11.5 seconds for both bodies), so you have to work it quite hard to get it going. You can't forget that it's a 1,500kg car, even though Citroen has made clever use of aluminium, plastic panels and magnesium seat frames.

The 1.6 HDi manages 112mph and reaches 62mph in 12.7 seconds, but it achieves this leisurely pace with such a good nature that you don't mind. The Picasso of choice, though, is the 2.0 HDi, which matches the petrol 2.0's top speed, and takes an on-paper unimpressive 12.5 seconds to nudge 62mph, but does it all with an easy torquiness which makes for very relaxed progress. There's more engine noise, but that's a small price well worth paying. (Optional 18" alloy wheels contribute some road noise to the mix; stick to the standard 16-inchers.)