Citroen C4 Picasso - Dreadful car!
Discussion
I just spent four days in France with a C4 Picasso hire car. I approached it with an open mind, telling myself I was too set in my ways and that I should be ready to appreciate the virtues of this kind of car.
I knew it was going to be an ugly lump, because it's a car you see around. Indeed a neighbour has one. The interior is roomy. The dash is a mixed bag, with a decent central screen showing speed, navigation, infotainment information and other useful data. There is another, smaller touchscreen below it that deals with most secondary controls. It's not as quick to adjust on the move as the German systems, but it is reasonably intuitive and it works. Less good is the lack of adjustment for the steering wheel, the column-mounted automatic gearchange stalk (I hate these on any car) and the standard French soft seats.
None of this would matter if the car was good to drive, but it is not. It is simply dreadful. There is terrible body roll, but the worst aspect is the gearbox. The changes are unbelievably slow and bog the car down almost every time. Coming off roundabouts, it invariably decides to change down, just as you try to accelerate, resulting in the car seeming to stand still for a couple of seconds, wheel it swaps the cogs. This, of course, turns overtaking into a major challenge, as the same pause results when you use kickdown. The engine is a perfectly adequate diesel that would be fine with a better gearbox. The brakes were adequate, but lacked feel. The steering felt as if it was connected to the wheels by a stretchy rubber band. It did not inspire confidence. The headlights were poor in dipped mode.
On the plus side, it doesn't use much fuel.
There is a gulf in dynamic ability between this car and a BMW, Mercedes or VW at anything close to its price level, so I decided to check reviews, thinking they must highlight the car's manifest shortcomings, but they don't. It gets four or five stars in most. I see plenty of posts on PH from people who like to refer to German cars as "appliance cars", with the message that they are uninspiring, but a BMW 116, another car I have had as a hire car recently, is a car that, while not at all quick, still drives in a way that shows it has a connection with a car like an M5. The C4 Picasso isn't just uninspiring; I actively hated driving it.
I knew it was going to be an ugly lump, because it's a car you see around. Indeed a neighbour has one. The interior is roomy. The dash is a mixed bag, with a decent central screen showing speed, navigation, infotainment information and other useful data. There is another, smaller touchscreen below it that deals with most secondary controls. It's not as quick to adjust on the move as the German systems, but it is reasonably intuitive and it works. Less good is the lack of adjustment for the steering wheel, the column-mounted automatic gearchange stalk (I hate these on any car) and the standard French soft seats.
None of this would matter if the car was good to drive, but it is not. It is simply dreadful. There is terrible body roll, but the worst aspect is the gearbox. The changes are unbelievably slow and bog the car down almost every time. Coming off roundabouts, it invariably decides to change down, just as you try to accelerate, resulting in the car seeming to stand still for a couple of seconds, wheel it swaps the cogs. This, of course, turns overtaking into a major challenge, as the same pause results when you use kickdown. The engine is a perfectly adequate diesel that would be fine with a better gearbox. The brakes were adequate, but lacked feel. The steering felt as if it was connected to the wheels by a stretchy rubber band. It did not inspire confidence. The headlights were poor in dipped mode.
On the plus side, it doesn't use much fuel.
There is a gulf in dynamic ability between this car and a BMW, Mercedes or VW at anything close to its price level, so I decided to check reviews, thinking they must highlight the car's manifest shortcomings, but they don't. It gets four or five stars in most. I see plenty of posts on PH from people who like to refer to German cars as "appliance cars", with the message that they are uninspiring, but a BMW 116, another car I have had as a hire car recently, is a car that, while not at all quick, still drives in a way that shows it has a connection with a car like an M5. The C4 Picasso isn't just uninspiring; I actively hated driving it.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
I rented an Auris Icon Tourer in the UK last week, with the 100bhp VVT-i engine.
Honestly one of the worst cars Ive ever driven. Zero redeeming features and an appalling engine.
List price is £20k!!
You would have to be certifiable. I cant believe Toyota get away with selling that as an alternative to a Golf or Audi A3. They should be ashamed.
I seem to remember Toyota giving them away on leases at '0%', 0 upfront. Wonder why Honestly one of the worst cars Ive ever driven. Zero redeeming features and an appalling engine.
List price is £20k!!
You would have to be certifiable. I cant believe Toyota get away with selling that as an alternative to a Golf or Audi A3. They should be ashamed.
I use hire cars very often, if I am offered anything from Citroen it is refused, they pack them full of electronic gadgets that you struggle to understand or switch off like lane change warning which tugs the seatbelt, I thought the previous hirer had left a small child behind. The Bluetooth couldn't find its arse with a torch, the satnav seems to suffer from acrophobia and the extended windscreen makes the thing look like it has a receding hairline. The cabin is airy, much like a greenhouse is airy and it handles like one too, the damn thing is enormous. Awful cars and so sad to see what Citroen produce now compared to what they used to build
Pauper.Umm, ok.
I have a 2014 C4 Grand Picasso, and yes, it can be an unweildy lump, BUT, and it is a but, it is fantastic at it's job, which is to move my family of 5 (me, wife, and 3 kids, plus all assorted detritus) around with surprising ease.
All models have the flappy paddle gearbox, and you can use those to trick the gearbox into being in a gear lower when you need it, hence overtaking and junctions can be handled without much problem. It also cruises on the Mway with relative ease, and is a relaxing place to be.
It's unfair to compare to a BMW at the same price, as you would get so much less space in a 1 series, and the horrific 2 series MPV thing is awful AND expensive AND small AND crap to drive.
The C4 is not a car I look forward to driving, but it's not really aimed at me, and never will be.
I have a 2014 C4 Grand Picasso, and yes, it can be an unweildy lump, BUT, and it is a but, it is fantastic at it's job, which is to move my family of 5 (me, wife, and 3 kids, plus all assorted detritus) around with surprising ease.
All models have the flappy paddle gearbox, and you can use those to trick the gearbox into being in a gear lower when you need it, hence overtaking and junctions can be handled without much problem. It also cruises on the Mway with relative ease, and is a relaxing place to be.
It's unfair to compare to a BMW at the same price, as you would get so much less space in a 1 series, and the horrific 2 series MPV thing is awful AND expensive AND small AND crap to drive.
The C4 is not a car I look forward to driving, but it's not really aimed at me, and never will be.
You are absolutely spot on about the reviews failing to highlight how terrible it is. I've noticed that car reviews are getting more and more detached from the actual reality of the cars on test. For example drive a 3 series BMW and Audi A4 back to back and then try and find a SINGLE review that highlights the absolute gulf in competence between how the two drive. You won't.
If you actually believed the tired, lazy s
t that they trot out endlessly in car reviews you'd believe that all the cars from the manufacturers with big marketing budgets are all within a gnats wing of each other. Oddly they seem quicker to criticize and nit pick with cars from smaller manufacturers without the same sort of budget. Strange that.
If you actually believed the tired, lazy s
t that they trot out endlessly in car reviews you'd believe that all the cars from the manufacturers with big marketing budgets are all within a gnats wing of each other. Oddly they seem quicker to criticize and nit pick with cars from smaller manufacturers without the same sort of budget. Strange that.Have to say I had one as a hire car for a couple of days several weeks ago and I thought it was fine. Not exactly the sharpest steer and the on board systems are a bit proddy but it rode well, steering was decently weighted, it had plenty of space, was an airy place to sit and generally did a perfectly good job of being an MPV. The only issue I had was that it did have a tendency to bog when pulling away, even with a manual gearbox (which was fine too) but it wasn't terrible.
In complete contrast to the Ford C-Max we had last week, it drove nicely but was appallingly packaged, the rear seats were ridiculously uncomfortable and the infotainment system was virtually unusable.
For the job of shifting people about I'd take the Citroen every day, and I say that as a general Ford fan.
I should point out that I have experienced an AMT on a 3008 which was beyond terrible. I'd never have any vehicle with that gearbox.
In complete contrast to the Ford C-Max we had last week, it drove nicely but was appallingly packaged, the rear seats were ridiculously uncomfortable and the infotainment system was virtually unusable.
For the job of shifting people about I'd take the Citroen every day, and I say that as a general Ford fan.
I should point out that I have experienced an AMT on a 3008 which was beyond terrible. I'd never have any vehicle with that gearbox.
Zod said:
OK, let's leave aside the appalling gearbox for a moment. What about the body roll? I know one person thought the steering fine, but I found it bizarrely vague with very little feel.
But its not supposed to be a car to go for a hoon in, its just supposed to transport you and your kids from A-B. Its just a tool for the job?It rolls a fair amount and is a bit quick with it but it's not dreadful. It didn't seem a terrible compromise given the ride.
I didn't really lean on it that much but then that's how most people drive. At the end of the day its primary design function is to carry families around in relative comfort rather than be a razor sharp drivers tool.
I didn't really lean on it that much but then that's how most people drive. At the end of the day its primary design function is to carry families around in relative comfort rather than be a razor sharp drivers tool.
S10GTA said:
Zod said:
OK, let's leave aside the appalling gearbox for a moment. What about the body roll? I know one person thought the steering fine, but I found it bizarrely vague with very little feel.
But its not supposed to be a car to go for a hoon in, its just supposed to transport you and your kids from A-B. Its just a tool for the job?Gassing Station | French Bred | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff