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Grand C4 Picasso Flair (66 plate) review |
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waynieoaks
 
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  Member No: #46500
Joined: Oct 15 2016Location: Cambridge |
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). |
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routemaster1
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   Member No: #574
Joined: Jul 08 2007Location: Dorset |
Hi, great review and I'm glad you are enjoying your car. A few comments. waynieoaks wrote ... 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. The Flair model seems to be closer to the older Exclusive + as it seems to have sunroof and powered tailgate as standard. waynieoaks wrote ... 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. The storage on top of the dash was fine, but the lids had a tendency to break, so perhaps a mixed blessing. You also have the large bin between the seats.I had 2 pre 2013 cars and don't remember the under second row storage being 'screw down'. However I rarely used them as we were always travelling with the car full and these bins inaccessible. waynieoaks wrote ... 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. This is easily solved by using the 'bullet' style USB adaptors available. I believe you can get them from Tesco filling stations for about £5. You also have a power supply at the rear of the central console, and a further one in the boot, so you have plenty of options. waynieoaks wrote ... 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. Give it a try. It is very good. It will only work when it's dark enough, and turns off well when approaching the rear of traffic, and when there are oncoming cars. The only issue is that after I have used it I forget to dip the beams when driving our C3! waynieoaks wrote ... 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… I have this and I have never used it, apart from the occasional experiment! |
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waynieoaks
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Member No: #46500
Joined: Oct 15 2016Location: Cambridge |
routemaster1 wrote ... Hi, great review and I'm glad you are enjoying your car. A few comments. Thank you  routemaster1 wrote ... The Flair model seems to be closer to the older Exclusive + as it seems to have sunroof and powered tailgate as standard. Forgot to mention the tailgate - have added a paragraph about that. routemaster1 wrote ... This is easily solved by using the 'bullet' style USB adaptors available. I believe you can get them from Tesco filling stations for about £5. You also have a power supply at the rear of the central console, and a further one in the boot, so you have plenty of options. My old adaptor kept falling out so have replaced it and it does work well... My eldest also enjoys the central console one for keeping her phone charged upon the journey too. My first car had one in the boot but the second did not, so glad that I have this back as it does become handy from time to time. |
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Theantitheo
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  Member No: #47543
Joined: Feb 12 2017Location: Bristol |
Howdy, Thanks for the review, I also have a flair but the petrol manual rather than diesel. The coffee alert does work but only comes up for a few seconds like the ice warning and clears automatically so you might have missed it. Also, assuming you're in the U.K. when teathered do you get TomTom traffic, petrol prices and parking availability? Chris |
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Richard_C
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Member No: #46470
Joined: Oct 11 2016Location: Cambridge |
I am away right now so this is from memory. I have a pre facelift model but late enough to be eligible for map updates, max 2 per year. It was hugely frustrating to go through various loops with here and with Citroen nav and Citroen other sites. The solution was to register for, I think, my Citroen which again if I remember right I found via owner services off the main Citroen.co.uk site. You give them some details, then register the car maybe needs vin which you can see through bottom of windscreen, you can register multiple cars. Anyway, once set up you can access map updates from the my Citroen account for any eligible vehicles. When you do the dowload you get a code which you need to write down, you enter it as part of the update process, download is locked to one vehicle. Final tip if you do get it going, use a formatted empty usb stick and unzip download to it, top level not a subfolder or car wont find it. If when I get home and have my laptop to hand it turns out to be wrong I will post again but it wont be for a few days. |
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indieblue
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 Member No: #47322
Joined: Jan 19 2017Location: Cornwall |
Theantitheo wrote ... when teathered do you get TomTom traffic, petrol prices and parking availability? Chris To get those TomTom features you have to be tethered AND your dealer needs to add them to your car via something called the OVS Portal. I found out about the OVS Portal on this site or the TomTom forums (I can't remember which). When I asked my dealer about it they had never heard of it but they promised to look into it for me. The next day they called to tell me they had added my car to the Portal and as soon as I started the car for my next journey I had the TomTom features enabled. Another thing to mention is that if your phone allows Bluetooth Tethering then that is sufficient to do the job so you don't have to use wi-fi tethering if you don't want to. |
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