Firstly sorry this is such a long post – didn’t think I would have much to say when I started…
This is my third C4 Grand Picasso with my previous versions being second or third hand VTR+ models. This is my first brand new car and a lot has changed from my old 09 plate I thought I would give a rundown on the first few weeks, my likes and my dislikes to the new 2016 model along with hopefully some little tips that I have found along the way.
So I went for the BlueHDI 120 S&S 6-Speed Manual Flair edition in Onix Black.
I did not go for any of the driver assistance packages or optional extras. The only thing I didn’t realise was an extra was the speed limit recognition feature. I believe that also not included (as it is part of the driver assistance package) is the Active lane departure, safety brake, adaptive cruise control (which slows down to the speed of the car in front) and the driver attention alert.
From what I can tell, this Flair model is what was called the executive in the previous range. The Feel edition seems to be the equivalent to the VTR+ and the Touch edition being the base level.
In the last few weeks I have mainly pootled around town but have done a couple of big trips like taking the kids to see their grandparents at the seaside and a 400 mile round trip to LegoLand. The kids love the car especially the sunroof as we go through tunnels or drive past an airport and planes fly over. I am glad we have the air vents in the back – in the old car the kids would get too hot and travel sick – now with their own air so we don’t have to freeze ourselves with the vents on high trying to get cold air to the kids.
Unfortunately there are some features they have removed which is a shame – like the child lock button – I liked to get to our location and be able to let the kids (or adults) out if it is safe from the driver’s door. You can still control the rear windows with that button stopping them from opening them but you have to set the child locks the old fashioned way which feels like a step back to me.
There is also less storage I feel at least for us in the front. The glovebox is not as big as the old one. There is the new middle storage unit between the seats as well as a little cubbyhole under the driver’s seat but they have got rid of the cupboards you had driver/passenger side in the dashboards. There is still the two in floor storage cupboards with the middle row of seats, and now with a spare wheel and not the puncture “goo” these are actually empty to be used for storage. I like the way they got rid of the old screw down way of securing the covers in these and replaced them with an easier to use handle lid.
They have also removed the extra mounting points in the boot. There are still the four on the floor to secure things down, but there was some higher up and I use to like the trick of using the net at the back to stop stuff falling out of the boot as it opens. That is a real shame and I don’t understand the reasoning – again a step back I feel and not really saving Citroen any money by removing them.
The “electronics” cubby hole in the middle only has 1 USB port – I understand previous versions had two and this is a little annoying when you want to charge a phone as well as use your USB for music – that said I understand the reasoning that two USB items plugged in made the console sluggish and had various compatibility issues. I wish there was still a Jukebox options so I could copy the music from the USB to the internal hard drive – freeing up the USB slot for the phone.
I read reviews that the in-built navigation system was not very good – I think they have listened and made some improvements although I never used the old nav – this one seems responsive. Sometimes it choice of routes can be questionable but it is trying to avoid the traffic. Traffic is now delivered from TomTom and that is a real godsend. You need to pair up your phone anyway to use other features in the car – but the Connected Nav also needs Bluetooth tethering to be turned on. Android has an annoying bug at the moment where Bluetooth tethering can get turned off and having to check your phone when you get in the car is annoying – thankfully there is an app for that which so far works really well for me. It is called: “Blue Car Tethering” and you can find it free on the Play store. Select your car Bluetooth from the drop down list and every time you phone pairs with the car tethering will get turned on automatically. I am afraid I do not know of an apple equivalent but I guess the iPhone does not have the same problem anyway.
The one thing that is bothering me right now is map updates. Apparently I get free map updates and at the moment my house is not on the map although it is on my TomTom on my phone. You go to the “My Citroen” and it tells you to go to “citroen.navivation.com” which tells you to go to “My Citroen”… Phoning Citroen support they put me through to “Here maps” (which is the navigation.com people) who say they do not do map updates for my model and I need to speak to Citroen support. The “Support-loop” between the two was frustrating and Citroen support are now trying to find out from a manager how map updates are delivered to these Connected Nav models.
It is a shame you cannot change the voice on the Nav but now I am just being picky. The voice is clear enough. It would be nice if you could change the “ringtone” in the car but again I am picking fault over the little insignificant things here.
Other likes include – the flashing of high beams is easier than my older model – where I could accidently leave high beams on – this one it is easier to flash and not stay on. Apparently it will automatically turn off high beams if there is oncoming traffic – although I have not tried this for obvious reasons.
The electronic tailgate is a great feature that I did not have in the old car. Being able to open and close with full hands (and even the option to have the car lock itself if you close it with the wave of your foot) however you can look like a bit of an idiot waving your foot around if you don't quite get it right and it doesn't detect you.
Blind spot monitoring is good – but not 100% - It is a great reminder and a driving “aid” but is not a replacement for good driving practice and checking the blind spot yourself.
The programmable cruise control and speed limiter is great. In the old car I had it programmed for 30mph for in the city – but now I can instinctively choose different speeds (20, 30, 40, etc) with the press of a button without distraction from the road ahead preventing me from accidentally “creeping” over the limit but probably annoying the driver behind as I don’t go over the speed limit.
Apparently there is a coffee break alert. Although we did a long drive of over two hours I have not seen this function or do anything. I was expecting to be told to take a break after two hours or so.
I have played with Park Assist – mainly to amaze family and friends with the “look – no hands”. Usually I use the old fashioned method of do it yourself quicker when other cars are waiting for you but I must say the parking sensors front and rear with the rear camera do make the manual manoeuver easier and quicker. If you are not confident in parking I can see it being a help but remember you control the brake and accelerator so don’t keep moving if you are about to hit something in the hope the car knows what it is doing…
Stop and start engine is interesting although I am wondering if in time it will stop at traffic lights then fail to start up again. I suppose regular servicing and TLC will ensure the starting up works without issue (fingers crossed).
Cornering lights are good but made my wife think she was seeing things the first time. You do catch it reflected in a window and think for a second the bulb of one of your fog lights are out until you remember this is normal. It is a shame that it does not tell you if a bulb is blown automatically – but then regular checks are a good thing anyways. On bulb changes – I hope as a lot of the lights are now LEDs I won’t have as many blown bulbs as I did in the old car. Although it looks like changing a bulb is easier in the boot than before it still looks like it is going to be a pain with the front bulb on the passenger’s side.
One other thing I have not tried is the alarm but I am sure the neighbour’s kids will kick a ball into it at some point.
The kids love having tinted windows – I know that is not new to the range, but still new to us. They did have issues with their car seats sliding on the leather and we fixed that with something called “Diono Grip It”. We tried the more expensive versions of this and sent them back as the seats still slipped – but this is basically a big non slip mat and so far it does the trick.
Overall a great car and I am glad I upgraded while I had the chance. My kids love it and the wife loves the seats which are more comfortable than our previous model. I am sure the novelty of being stuck in traffic for the stop and start / TomTom stuff will wear off eventually but for now every journey is fun and fresh (as is the smell in the car).
This is my third C4 Grand Picasso with my previous versions being second or third hand VTR+ models. This is my first brand new car and a lot has changed from my old 09 plate I thought I would give a rundown on the first few weeks, my likes and my dislikes to the new 2016 model along with hopefully some little tips that I have found along the way.
So I went for the BlueHDI 120 S&S 6-Speed Manual Flair edition in Onix Black.
I did not go for any of the driver assistance packages or optional extras. The only thing I didn’t realise was an extra was the speed limit recognition feature. I believe that also not included (as it is part of the driver assistance package) is the Active lane departure, safety brake, adaptive cruise control (which slows down to the speed of the car in front) and the driver attention alert.
From what I can tell, this Flair model is what was called the executive in the previous range. The Feel edition seems to be the equivalent to the VTR+ and the Touch edition being the base level.
In the last few weeks I have mainly pootled around town but have done a couple of big trips like taking the kids to see their grandparents at the seaside and a 400 mile round trip to LegoLand. The kids love the car especially the sunroof as we go through tunnels or drive past an airport and planes fly over. I am glad we have the air vents in the back – in the old car the kids would get too hot and travel sick – now with their own air so we don’t have to freeze ourselves with the vents on high trying to get cold air to the kids.
Unfortunately there are some features they have removed which is a shame – like the child lock button – I liked to get to our location and be able to let the kids (or adults) out if it is safe from the driver’s door. You can still control the rear windows with that button stopping them from opening them but you have to set the child locks the old fashioned way which feels like a step back to me.
There is also less storage I feel at least for us in the front. The glovebox is not as big as the old one. There is the new middle storage unit between the seats as well as a little cubbyhole under the driver’s seat but they have got rid of the cupboards you had driver/passenger side in the dashboards. There is still the two in floor storage cupboards with the middle row of seats, and now with a spare wheel and not the puncture “goo” these are actually empty to be used for storage. I like the way they got rid of the old screw down way of securing the covers in these and replaced them with an easier to use handle lid.
They have also removed the extra mounting points in the boot. There are still the four on the floor to secure things down, but there was some higher up and I use to like the trick of using the net at the back to stop stuff falling out of the boot as it opens. That is a real shame and I don’t understand the reasoning – again a step back I feel and not really saving Citroen any money by removing them.
The “electronics” cubby hole in the middle only has 1 USB port – I understand previous versions had two and this is a little annoying when you want to charge a phone as well as use your USB for music – that said I understand the reasoning that two USB items plugged in made the console sluggish and had various compatibility issues. I wish there was still a Jukebox options so I could copy the music from the USB to the internal hard drive – freeing up the USB slot for the phone.
I read reviews that the in-built navigation system was not very good – I think they have listened and made some improvements although I never used the old nav – this one seems responsive. Sometimes it choice of routes can be questionable but it is trying to avoid the traffic. Traffic is now delivered from TomTom and that is a real godsend. You need to pair up your phone anyway to use other features in the car – but the Connected Nav also needs Bluetooth tethering to be turned on. Android has an annoying bug at the moment where Bluetooth tethering can get turned off and having to check your phone when you get in the car is annoying – thankfully there is an app for that which so far works really well for me. It is called: “Blue Car Tethering” and you can find it free on the Play store. Select your car Bluetooth from the drop down list and every time you phone pairs with the car tethering will get turned on automatically. I am afraid I do not know of an apple equivalent but I guess the iPhone does not have the same problem anyway.
The one thing that is bothering me right now is map updates. Apparently I get free map updates and at the moment my house is not on the map although it is on my TomTom on my phone. You go to the “My Citroen” and it tells you to go to “citroen.navivation.com” which tells you to go to “My Citroen”… Phoning Citroen support they put me through to “Here maps” (which is the navigation.com people) who say they do not do map updates for my model and I need to speak to Citroen support. The “Support-loop” between the two was frustrating and Citroen support are now trying to find out from a manager how map updates are delivered to these Connected Nav models.
It is a shame you cannot change the voice on the Nav but now I am just being picky. The voice is clear enough. It would be nice if you could change the “ringtone” in the car but again I am picking fault over the little insignificant things here.
Other likes include – the flashing of high beams is easier than my older model – where I could accidently leave high beams on – this one it is easier to flash and not stay on. Apparently it will automatically turn off high beams if there is oncoming traffic – although I have not tried this for obvious reasons.
The electronic tailgate is a great feature that I did not have in the old car. Being able to open and close with full hands (and even the option to have the car lock itself if you close it with the wave of your foot) however you can look like a bit of an idiot waving your foot around if you don't quite get it right and it doesn't detect you.
Blind spot monitoring is good – but not 100% - It is a great reminder and a driving “aid” but is not a replacement for good driving practice and checking the blind spot yourself.
The programmable cruise control and speed limiter is great. In the old car I had it programmed for 30mph for in the city – but now I can instinctively choose different speeds (20, 30, 40, etc) with the press of a button without distraction from the road ahead preventing me from accidentally “creeping” over the limit but probably annoying the driver behind as I don’t go over the speed limit.
Apparently there is a coffee break alert. Although we did a long drive of over two hours I have not seen this function or do anything. I was expecting to be told to take a break after two hours or so.
I have played with Park Assist – mainly to amaze family and friends with the “look – no hands”. Usually I use the old fashioned method of do it yourself quicker when other cars are waiting for you but I must say the parking sensors front and rear with the rear camera do make the manual manoeuver easier and quicker. If you are not confident in parking I can see it being a help but remember you control the brake and accelerator so don’t keep moving if you are about to hit something in the hope the car knows what it is doing…
Stop and start engine is interesting although I am wondering if in time it will stop at traffic lights then fail to start up again. I suppose regular servicing and TLC will ensure the starting up works without issue (fingers crossed).
Cornering lights are good but made my wife think she was seeing things the first time. You do catch it reflected in a window and think for a second the bulb of one of your fog lights are out until you remember this is normal. It is a shame that it does not tell you if a bulb is blown automatically – but then regular checks are a good thing anyways. On bulb changes – I hope as a lot of the lights are now LEDs I won’t have as many blown bulbs as I did in the old car. Although it looks like changing a bulb is easier in the boot than before it still looks like it is going to be a pain with the front bulb on the passenger’s side.
One other thing I have not tried is the alarm but I am sure the neighbour’s kids will kick a ball into it at some point.
The kids love having tinted windows – I know that is not new to the range, but still new to us. They did have issues with their car seats sliding on the leather and we fixed that with something called “Diono Grip It”. We tried the more expensive versions of this and sent them back as the seats still slipped – but this is basically a big non slip mat and so far it does the trick.
Overall a great car and I am glad I upgraded while I had the chance. My kids love it and the wife loves the seats which are more comfortable than our previous model. I am sure the novelty of being stuck in traffic for the stop and start / TomTom stuff will wear off eventually but for now every journey is fun and fresh (as is the smell in the car).
