Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Grand C4  Picasso has scooped the Best MPV prize at the Auto Express New Car Awards 2014. And it seems our seven•seater is doing its best to ensure it holds on to the title in 2015.

Since late March, the stylish MPV has coped effortlessly with family days out and my daily commute, but a recent trip to south-west France really highlighted the Citroen's talents as a spacious, family friendly, long-distance cruiser. For starters,  the 793-litre boot was big enough to swallow 10 days' worth of holiday gear for my family of four.

And after  the wide leather seats of our Exclusive+ model had already made most journeys easy, I wasn't surprised how comfortable they were for our French trip, despite the long hours we spent in them. Rear passenger blinds and the sunroof cover provided shade from the  sun, yet the expanse of glass helped us enjoy the French sceneiy.

I haven't always found navigating the controls easy  on Citroens or Peugeots in the past, but this car's ergonomics are wonderful and the touchscreen display is really easy to use. Converting the speedo from mph to kph took just a couple of taps on the screen, while entering our remote rural holiday destination into the sat-nav was equally simple,  and the guidance itself was easy to follow. The
clear turn arrows with a distance countdown were especially helpful when navigating busy French market towns and the speed limit detector kept me aware oflimit changes.

Another highlight is the fact that you can have the map on the large 12-inch TFT screen, or you can display it on the seven-inch screen ahead of the driver. Where the Picasso really excelled was on the country's autoroutes. It's obvious that this car has been designed with fast dual carriageways in mind, as it was veiy comfortable, and the active cruise control  was in its element.

A quick toggle on the steering wheel set the limit, then the car took over. It's the closest I've come to autonomous driving: the Picasso would slow if the radar sensed another vehicle two seconds  in front, but as soon as I pulled  into the empty fast lane it accelerated back to the desired speed.

However, if I changed lanes without indicating, I'd get a pull on the right shoulder from the lane assist system, which comes as part of the £300 Serenity pack. This feels like a child repeatedly tugging  on your belt from the back seats, which can be irritating •although as w ith most of the Citroen's driving aids, it can be turned off.

Once we were at our holiday home, the flexibility of the seven-seat l ayout came into its own, and we could double up with the rest of the family on day trips. This was helpful,  if not essential, but the ability  to  fit all of our homeward•bound luggage and seven people into the Citroen enabled us to take two family members to the local train station for their journey home.

The only real surprise was how many heads the C4 Picasso turned. Perhaps it was the classy trim and tinted glass that give  our car some extra kerb appeal. Any negatives? Well, there was one after we returned to the UK. The standard tyre pressure sensor indicated a loss of air from the rear driver's side. It turned out two nails were embedded in  the sidewall. Apart from that, the C4 Picasso  hasn't put a foot wrong.

Essentials

Equipment
Large, dual•screened sat-nav made getting about unexpectedly easy. Switching from  mph to kph was simple and the illuminated active cruise control took  stress out of driving on autoroutes .

Class Roof
Huge panoramic: sunroof Lets loads of light into the Pic:asso's interior,  while rear door blinds block out unwanted sun to keep the children cool .