Citroen C4 Picasso: Test Drive

Date: 31 May 2007   |   Author: Tristan Young

Category: Mini-MPV Price: £21,022 Key Rival: Ford C-max

Citroen claims the only version of C4 Picasso 2.0HDI it will be bringing to the UK is the one with the clutchless manual gearbox. This is a mistake.

The French car maker, known for its quirky and eccentric, but loveable, cars has gone a step too far with this gearbox that sees the removal of the clutch pedal. To change gear the driver is provided with paddles behind the steering wheel. It's a simple concept and the reasoning is that drivers gain an improvement in mpg and CO2.

While moving along smoothly at any speed above a crawl is possible for the skilled and experienced driver, in most other conditions the gearbox is jerky and annoying. Particular problems centre around using the car at very low speeds such as finding a parking space at Homebase, when smooth progress getting on or off the accelerator is near impossible and the lack of a clutch or manual handbrake makes maneuvering on slopes tricky.

There are other issues, too: the cruise control speed differed from the separate speedo reading by 1 or 2mph; the seats are not as easy to fold as those in rival cars; and our car made strange groaning noises on start-up or after locking.

But there are some positives: the C4 looks even better in the metal than it does in pictures and the costs (32.9ppm for the fully loaded version) are on a par with rivals.

Verdict: Costs okay, but an incredibly annoying car.

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