Citroen adds value to C4 Picasso twins

CITROEN Australia has made running changes to its Grand C4 Picasso people-mover, with extra specification added, but no change to pricing.

The French car-maker's local distributor Sime Darby Motors has added overhead air-conditioning to the third row of the seven-seat Grand C4 Picasso as standard fare, with the price remaining at $44,990 plus on-road costs.

The sleek people-mover also gains a separate flow control module for the airvents and reading lamps in the rear pew.

Citroen Australia product manager Glenn Reid said the third-row air-con will benefit buyers leading into the summer months.

“As we move towards the warmer months we thought it important to add this feature to the stylish people mover, bringing with it greater levels of comfort and convenience for all passengers,” he said.

“The additional specification will be available across all Grand C4 Picasso vehicles and compliment an already well specified and great value family vehicle.

“Teamed with a Citroen’s new Confidence program and a leading six year warranty, we are certain the updated Picasso will add further appeal to an already leading package.”

Citroen launched the Grand C4 Picasso in Australia last February in one specification only – the Exclusive with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder Euro 6 BlueHDi diesel unit producing 110kW and 370Nm. At the time it was priced from $43,990, but this has since risen by $1000.

Standard gear in the Grand C4 Picasso includes a 7.0-inch multi-function touchscreen with 8GB hard-drive for storing music, 12-inch panoramic high-definition screen, dual-zone air-conditioning, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, panoramic sunroof with electric sun-blind, panoramic windscreen and 17-inch alloy wheels with a tyre-pressure monitor.

On top of the additions to the Grand C4 Picasso, the smaller five-seat C4 Picasso now comes with six years or 90,000km of free servicing, which, according to Citroen Australia, saves customers $3635 over six years of ownership.

The five-seat Picasso is priced from $40,990 and is powered by a 121kW/240Nm turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.

Since its launch in February this year, the C4 Picasso has found 66 homes in Australia, meaning it is one of the slowest-selling models in the premium small-car segment. It is being outsold by typically low-volume electric cars including the BMW i3 (97 sales) and the Nissan Leaf (89).

The seven-seat version is faring better, with 153 sales to the end of July, a 1.3 per cent increase over the same period in 2014. It is outselling the likes of the Kia Rondo (125 sales), but is behind the SsangYong Stavic (259) in the sub-$60,000 people-mover segment.

Both models are built using PSA Peugeot Citroen's EMP2 modular platform that also underpins the second-generation Peugeot 308.