"Auto Motor und Sport" and "Top Gear" tested the van.

The new Renault Espace comes from Citroën. That calls for an explanation: in 2014, when the Espace IV will be twelve years old, Renault is replacing it with something crossover, a mix of SUV and café lounge. Who then looks for a car, so particularly roomy, so particularly variable and above all so particularly like the Espace, finds it in the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso.

Citroën Grand C4 Picasso on EMP2 platform

Like the regular C4 van, which is 16.9 centimeters shorter and 1.9 centimeters flatter, the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso is based on the PSA Group's new EMP2 platform, so it wears Mc-Phersons at the front and composite control arms at the rear at the ends of the wheelbase, which has been stretched by 5.5 centimeters to 2.84 meters. To do this, the engineers clear the entire back room of the Peugeot 5008: three narrow, hard, longitudinally sliding and reclining seats into the second row, as well as the narrow folding seat duo that folds flat into the trunk. With a little shifting of the seats, seven passengers can actually be accommodated in the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso, which, by the way, is very easy.

Citroën wants their cars to appear friendly and accessible. From the front, the C4 Picasso reminds you of a friendly shark (who still remembers the "Shark" DS 23?). In the rear with the 3D lights to an enhanced Audi style. Inside, the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso has armchairs with a massage function for the driver, a leg rest extends on the front passenger seat, and it reclines to a lie-flat seat. Small details like sun blinds in the rear, triple Isofix and the interior mirror, with which turmoil on the child row can be pursued and beschiedsrichten, show the family, 645 liters of cargo capacity the packing competence of the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso – and interior space is crucial in this class. Beyond that, there are a ton of storage boxes and hidden compartments, so every kid is guaranteed to have their secret compartment.

Citroën Grand C4 Picasso with a bright interior

This puts it almost exactly on a par with the six-centimeter-longer Espace. Traditionally, it also strives to broaden the horizon: With the standard panoramic windshield, glass roof, and bifurcated and glazed A-pillars, the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso creates a light interior whose modern ambience is underscored by the touchscreen system. So inside, the C4 Picasso is super "glassy" – which feels like being outside.

By the way, the C4 Picasso is really new: it is the first car with the PSA modular platform. The structure is better. Leaves more room for people. In its generosity, the Citroën Grand Picasso appears as the more balanced C4 Picasso. It doesn't even try to be dynamic, springs softly and curves early understeering, but always safely. Feedback in the steering? Pah! Let's celebrate the gently and sparingly drizzled Citroën Grand C4 Picasso rather, because it puts our lives on wide space and is therefore super for the family, cheap to maintain and safe. "Top Gear" thinks that for a family car, the right priorities have been implemented very well.