The Least "PH" Car Possible: Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
Discussion
I'm quite pleased with this so I'm sharing it with you lot despite it probably being the least petrol head type of car imaginable.
Now hear me out. I've started a new job (yay) but it's a 90 miles round trip and they want me in the office 3-4 days per week. The only cars I have at my disposal are V8s! It's a good job and all but not viable to commute in a V8. I didn't want anything fancy, I wanted something comfortable, great on fuel and practical. We've hired a few 7 seaters before so I started looking at them and this model piqued my interest, mainly because it's not 100000% dull like most are.
So, here we have my 2014 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso Exclusive+, try and stay calm. It has a 2.0hdi and an autobox but manages to average 56mpg, if I drove at 55mph it'd do 60mpg without issue.
[IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/fRLpyTvP/1000089112.jpg[IMG]
There is a reason I opted for it, I have 3 kids but often do family trips with more than five so no hiring a car for holidays. Also, it is one of the most comfortable, easy, pleasant cars I've ever been in. Considering I own a Merc CL and an S Class before that but I'd say it's one of the most relaxing vehicles I've been in.
It's incredibly well spec'd for it's era, radar guided cruise control, self parking (not that I use it!), auto handbrake, electric everything, keyless entry, automatic lights/wipers, massage seats, parking sensors/cameras and so far at least they all work. I've also never owned a car that technically has 12 windows!! 13 if you include the full length panoramic roof.
The sun visors push right back to almost halfway along the length of the doors so you get a great view.
I'm probably over justifying it as even my mates are wondering why, but I am rather taken with it.
Air vents in the back and trays for the shaven apes, I mean kids in the back and another two seats currently folded down in the boot.
The display is a bit fussy and controlling the stereo, aircon, car settings and sat nav all from a touch screen is far from the best but the main display works pretty well. Just set it and don't touch it again.
By some sort of miracle and it also being the second one I've ended up with (long story), I managed to find a very clean example. Many of these are very rough, understandably used as work horses with the kids, dings all over and knackered wheels. One of the three previous owners even liked this one enough to refurbish the wheels at least.
[/IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/4xSM9kLg/1000089101.jpg[/IMG]
It is very much a French car, the build quality is I would say adequate but it has some nice little details.
[IMG/https://i.postimg.cc/wjGPm8fq/1000089097.jpg[/IMG]
So there you have it, probably the dullest car on PH but if you look hard enough it has some cool touches that I think at least, elevate it just a tad! haha
Now hear me out. I've started a new job (yay) but it's a 90 miles round trip and they want me in the office 3-4 days per week. The only cars I have at my disposal are V8s! It's a good job and all but not viable to commute in a V8. I didn't want anything fancy, I wanted something comfortable, great on fuel and practical. We've hired a few 7 seaters before so I started looking at them and this model piqued my interest, mainly because it's not 100000% dull like most are.
So, here we have my 2014 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso Exclusive+, try and stay calm. It has a 2.0hdi and an autobox but manages to average 56mpg, if I drove at 55mph it'd do 60mpg without issue.
[IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/fRLpyTvP/1000089112.jpg[IMG]
There is a reason I opted for it, I have 3 kids but often do family trips with more than five so no hiring a car for holidays. Also, it is one of the most comfortable, easy, pleasant cars I've ever been in. Considering I own a Merc CL and an S Class before that but I'd say it's one of the most relaxing vehicles I've been in.
It's incredibly well spec'd for it's era, radar guided cruise control, self parking (not that I use it!), auto handbrake, electric everything, keyless entry, automatic lights/wipers, massage seats, parking sensors/cameras and so far at least they all work. I've also never owned a car that technically has 12 windows!! 13 if you include the full length panoramic roof.
The sun visors push right back to almost halfway along the length of the doors so you get a great view.
I'm probably over justifying it as even my mates are wondering why, but I am rather taken with it.
Air vents in the back and trays for the shaven apes, I mean kids in the back and another two seats currently folded down in the boot.
The display is a bit fussy and controlling the stereo, aircon, car settings and sat nav all from a touch screen is far from the best but the main display works pretty well. Just set it and don't touch it again.
By some sort of miracle and it also being the second one I've ended up with (long story), I managed to find a very clean example. Many of these are very rough, understandably used as work horses with the kids, dings all over and knackered wheels. One of the three previous owners even liked this one enough to refurbish the wheels at least.
[/IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/4xSM9kLg/1000089101.jpg[/IMG]
It is very much a French car, the build quality is I would say adequate but it has some nice little details.
[IMG/https://i.postimg.cc/wjGPm8fq/1000089097.jpg[/IMG]
So there you have it, probably the dullest car on PH but if you look hard enough it has some cool touches that I think at least, elevate it just a tad! haha
Obi Wan said:
It looks pretty funky as MPV s go.
That was my thinking too. It's never going to be exciting, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how nice it is to cruise up and down the motorway in and it's a tiny bit more interesting than the other 7 seaters I've driven, albeit no more dynamic hahaSporky said:
No shame in buying a car that does what you need a car to do.
Very true. I had to take my BMW 650 for a few days and that cost me ~£27 a day in fuel vs ~£13 in this. Plus I'd rather pile the miles on this than my other cars. My sister had one of those up until last year, was financially totalled by the alternator failing. Couldn't get any quotes below £2k to do it, that's if the garage would quote, as it's a massive job to get at it. Had the 1.6 diesel engine rather that the 2.0 though. Went from £9k three years ago to £1k from the scrap man in two years. It had other small issues too so not worth getting it fixed. Lovely to sit in but it wasn't the best built thing. Her current MG ZS SUV thing is actually a better car in a lot of ways.
MattsCar said:
Nope, sorry.
It is French and quirky with a certain amount of flair In the design and also a certain amount of " brave pill" ( although I hope it behaves for you) therefore, very much a PH car.
Haha good points, perhaps it's a bit more PH than I gave it thought and why it appealed in the first place. It is French and quirky with a certain amount of flair In the design and also a certain amount of " brave pill" ( although I hope it behaves for you) therefore, very much a PH car.
Definitely under no illusions about their potentially fragility. I joined a FB group for them and did plenty of reading up on their potential issues. The 2.0hdi and autobox are generally considered reliable where the 1.6 is fine but apparently very sensitive to it's servicing. Amazing how many of these don't have a full service history!
Electrical gremlins seem to be the order of the day with various alarms and beeps going off for things as basic as a battery voltage drop.
On the flip side, I've seen plenty hitting 180-200k but there are some significant costs on them but that's not uncommon with the types of car I tend to buy! haha
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