CITROEN GRAND PICASSO PETROL

Citroen_Grand_Picasso_frontCitroen’s Grand Picasso people mover is now offered with more power – and a significantly lower price tag. With a recommended retail price of $38,490 it sits $6000 under the existing turbo-diesel model. On-road costs have to be added but you get very-fashionable seven-seat people mover for not a lot over $40,000.

The new turbo-petrol engine developes 121 kW of power and 240 Nm of torque, whereas the turbo-diesel has 110 kW and 370 Nm. (The much higher torque from the diesel is typical of this engine type.

The petrol and diesel engines both sit beside a six-speed full automatic transmission.

It’s not just the new petrol engine that is in the news. Both variants now have Apple Carplay and Android Auto in their infotainment systems.

Safety features in the turbo-petrol are Active Lane-Departure Warning, Active Blind-Spot Monitoring, Speed Sign Recognition, and Driver Attention Alert. Part of the price increase for the turbo-diesel is additional standard items by way of Autonomous Emergency Braking and Active Cruise Control.

We managed a too brief test drive of the new turbo-petrol Picasso during the launch of the new Citroen C3 and were reminded of the brilliant surround-windows that make it so much fun to sit in.

Citroen_Grand_Picasso_rear

Citroen Grand Picasso has seven individual seats, not the far more common bench or split-bench seats. The three centre row seats can slide backwards and forwards and the two rear seatback can fold flat.

The petrol engine produces good, though not outstanding, performance and the automatic transmission is prompt in the way it responds to throttle inputs. We will borrow a petrol Grand Picasso asap and carry out a longer test drive then.

The new Managing Director of Citroen Australia, Anouk Poelmann said that the petrol power-plant was in response to customer and market demands, “This market is dominated by petrol drivetrains and we have worked with Citroen in France to offer a petrol drivetrain for Australian customers.”

In Australia, Citroen’s Grand Picassos are covered by a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty and roadside assist programs.

About Ewan Kennedy

Ewan Kennedy, a long-time car enthusiast, was Technical Research Librarian with the NRMA from 1970 until 1985. He worked part-time as a freelance motoring journalist from 1977 until 1985, when he took a full-time position as Technical Editor with Modern Motor magazine. Late in 1987 he left to set up a full-time business as a freelance motoring journalist. Ewan is an associate member of the Society of Automotive Engineers - International. An economy driving expert, he set the Guinness World Record for the greatest distance travelled in a standard road vehicle on a single fuel fill. He lists his hobbies as stage acting, travelling, boating and reading.
Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *