2014 on C4 Grand Picasso - Should I? Shouldn't I?

[Rhothgar]

Just wondering what the collective group's thoughts on on the C4 Grand Picasso Series 2.

Lovely looking car from the front but I am less bothered about the aesthetics.

I am considering whether I should get one to replace the Xantia S2. I'd be looking for one with either free or £20 road tax or even the £35 bracket.

I've been lurking and reading on all manner of forums to see what the common issues are. One post I read somewhere (on FaceBook I think) said avoid these years and it quoted something like 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2014. Now I do not know if it was making reference to all Series 1's. Maybe some late registered ones got through?

And what do drivers think of this centre mounted speedo mularkey? I'd probably want one with the multi coloured display not the LCD option. Is this 2016 onwards?

It seems like our inimitable RichardW is probably one of the most learned members on the forum of this model.

They seem to fetch very variable money too. Read one horror story today on FaceBook of this poor guy:-

"Saga of my 2015 diesel C4 GP.
Bought it two months ago from a non franchise dealer who described it as "faultless" with a service and full MoT, however he failed to point out the two blotches on the instrument screen and I didn't notice until the day after I picked it up. After a bit of an argument/haggling I pointed out that one blotch hid the 'lights on' warning light and suspected that would bean MoT failure? At this point we googled a new screen and found one on aliexpress for £135.00, so as a compromise he gave me £100 and I said I would fit the screen myself. At the same time I pointed out that there was a knocking from the near side front, the dealer sent me to his preferred garage (the one who provided the MoT) for a report, they concluded it was a bent strut!
The dealer booked it in for a new strut and suspension mount at the above mentioned garage the work was undertaken later that week. On the drive home I felt quite pleased that the car no longer produced the knocking sound when going over bumps, before I got home it started to rain so I put on the wipers, there was one horrible noise and the wiper mechanism ground its way right through the windscreen!!! Reason being that when the strut was changed the mechanic had not located the motor properly and it was about 30°out of line. Back to the garage and they agreed to pay for the windscreen replacement which they did.
The day the windscreen was replaced the battery failed, so back onto the dealer who supplied a new battery to be fitted by the garage, however once the battery had been changed the service light was on and I had a message saying engine fault have car repaired.
Back to the garage where they tried in vain to reset the fault but failed, so back to the dealer who contacted an auto electrician who had the car for a couple of hours but was also unable to reset the fault.
Today it went back to the auto electrician booked in for the whole day. However after a couple of hours he discovered a broken pin on the shunt assembly attached to the negative terminal on the battery, once this was repaired the fault reset.
So I have now had the car for less than two months and have not had a single day of motoring where there has not been some kind of issue (got the new instrument screen but still need to get it fitted), I now have absolutely no confidence in this car and wish I had never seen it.
Are these cars plagued or am I just unlucky??"

It has 66000 miles on it and he paid £7000 plus a trade-in for his knackered Ford Focus as he so lovingly put it.

I guess every make and model has horror stories.

Dare I admit I am even considering a Toyota or will that get me banished to solitary confinement for a month of Sundays?

[RichardW]

Well... no complaints with ours (Sep 17, now on 72k).

There are horror stories, but there are for any make model. The Grand is quite a big car; there's plenty of room in the 5 seater if you don't need to extra seats (which are small children only really) or the extra boot space.

You soon get used to the centre speedo, a digital read out is easy only needs a quick glance. I think the facelift cars from 2016 all have colour screens whereas the earlier cars only have the colour screens on higher spec models - and on early cars these are prone to failure with dead spots appearing on them; this doesn't seem to happen on the later ones - they also have better sat nav, a Tom Tom based system that is not too hard to update the maps on. To get the low tax you need to pick one that is registered before 1st April 2017 when UK cars went onto flat rate tax (which is now nearing £200 / year!). Post Sep 16 they are Euro 6 Blue HDi - with the well known ad blue issues, this is not restricted to this model of course! There are some Euro 5 HDi floating about in the facelift version. There are 2 versions of the 1.6 - 100 and 120 BHP, I imagine the former is a bit underpowered. Up to 2016 autos are the robotic semi auto, but later cars use an Aisin TC auto which is much better. Problems with the 1.2 Puretech and 1.6 THP petrols are well known and best avoided! 2.0 diesels offer a useful power hike, but it's not a sports car; never any issues with our 1.6 120; got to work it a bit fully loaded, but not excessive. Main issues:

Front suspension - struts are a bit weak; they develop play and rattle (got a knock on the front of ours, which I presume is this)
Wires to rear ABS sensors (and handbrake motors on pre facelift cars) rub through on the inside of the conduit and cause issues - usually a blizzard of lights that scares most people!
Boot struts on higher spec models are electric and they fail and cost a lot to replace
Heater matrix can block up leading to loss of heating on driver's side - fortunately it's easily accessible in the passenger foot well in a RHD car and is relatively easy to change
e-HDi models have injector troubles, but this doesn't seem to affect blue HDi engines
1.6 Cambelts fail early; need a change at around 80k - but it's easy to do (no daft wet belts here!)
Thermostats on 1.6 blue HDi seem to leak - pretty sure ours did from pretty much new; it's been replaced and it wasn't cheap!
Battery protection units give up and cause no response to the start button; these are not fitted on later cars

As ever, buy the best you can afford with good history!

[apcs41]

i have a 2014 C4 Grand for last 3 months+. We needed a 7 seater occasionally for family. Cheap tax, good mileage, cheapish insurance bracket the car drives lovely & i am overall very happy with it. Issues I've had so far.

Drains clogged causing water in the drivers footwell (fixed by dealer) this is a common fault apparantly
Blower motor not working on day 1 (fixed by dealer, they replaced the motor with a second hand one)
occassional esr/abs warning light (I presume a loose / dirty sensor doesn't happen often enough for me to be overly concerned atm)
blower motor has stopped working again (motor replaced as i assumed this was the prolem but still not working, thinking a problem with resistor)
particle filter fluid warning light has just come on. having asked around a few local gararges it appears that i'll need to get this done by citroen.

Had a little bad luck but otherwise am very happy with the car so far. Hope that helps

[CitROeNALD]

I've owned two 1.6 diesel models since 2014. These cars are practical and flexible, especially if you avoid SUV trends. Their low door sills and minimal drop to the floor are ideal for relatives with mobility issues (something modern options lack). The massive boot can hold a huge amount, without being a semi-dedicated van. On some trips, I fit 5 people, a mobility scooter, 5/6 suitcases, a mobility chair, and other bags, while still having visibility out the rear window.

My first car, a medium-spec model with a panoramic roof and 17" wheels, performed flawlessly during a three-year lease, with only an Aircon recall.

My second car, a C4 Spacetourer, I extended to a five-year lease and then bought out-right I was so happy, has also performed perfectly. It has 16" wheels (which I prefer for our terrible roads) and no panoramic roof (which I don’t really miss). The e-ink display for speed and revs is clear and simple (again, I prefer this to the LCD screens). The only issues are a slight battery problem (which seems to be a common issue) and poor dipped beam headlights. I may try nightbreakers to improve the output at the cost of longevity once the originals burn out.

My battery issue consists of it going into economy mode very quickly. This was after the first battery was replaced in warranty (covid did not help it). The new one is not faring much better. It might have also had tail end of covid damage (lack of use), or it's just a weak replacement brand. However, the car never fails to crank. Just the eco-mode protection is aggressive.

The Dacia Jogger is the closest newer alternative, as most manufacturers have stopped making similar cars. I considered the Kia Sportage but found it lacking in the same level of practicality.

My previous cars were Ford C-Max and a C3 Picasso. Both good in their own ways but I much prefer the C4 Grand/Spacetourer.

Adblue issues are a future concern, but thus far I have not suffered any issues. I ensure the Adblue is well maintained. Never over filled or left to run low. Like any modern car, ensure you get one with a good service history and especially with modern diesels, regular oil changes with the correct specification.

@RichardW - is there a check one can make to determine if there is play developing and prevent it? What does the knock feel like?

[Rhothgar]

occassional esr/abs warning light (I presume a loose / dirty sensor doesn't happen often enough for me to be overly concerned atm)

Thanks for that.

I imagine it suffers that same as the Peugeot 3008 so ABS sensor and reluctor ring wear. To replace genuine means, replacing the whole hub and bearing whereas you can purchase the reluctor rings separately.

Where the ABS sensor bolts into the hub corrodes and causes the ABS sensor to go at an angle. When you are up for replacing make sure you clean the back plate thoroughly where the sensor sits. Obviously the wires can wear through and/or become corroded to ABS sensor also.

[Rhothgar]

I've owned two 1.6 diesel models since 2014. These cars are practical and flexible, especially if you avoid SUV trends. Their low door sills and minimal drop to the floor are ideal for relatives with mobility issues (something modern options lack). The massive boot can hold a huge amount, without being a semi-dedicated van. On some trips, I fit 5 people, a mobility scooter, 5/6 suitcases, a mobility chair, and other bags, while still having visibility out the rear window.

Sounds like it may be too cavernous for my needs. I do like the SpaceTourer too.

Choices! Choices!

[Rhothgar]

Well... no complaints with ours (Sep 17, now on 72k).

There are horror stories, but there are for any make model. The Grand is quite a big car; there's plenty of room in the 5 seater if you don't need to extra seats (which are small children only really) or the extra boot space.

As ever, buy the best you can afford with good history!

A very detailed write up about the choices ahead of me. Thanks for that, Richard. Much appreciated.

I am beginning to wonder if the car would be too big for my needs. I'm erring towards cheap road tax and as few problems as possible. It was rather depressing speaking to an RAC mate of mine on Saturday. He said the brands he sees the most on breakdowns (not accidents) are Citroen and Peugeot. No doubt all electrical although he did have a spate of Kia's last year with gearbox issues almost from factory it would seem. The car he sees the least of turns out to be Toyota! No surprise there I guess.

Sounds like I need a post Sept 2016 - March 2017 2.0 BlueHDi to be really happy if I do decide to go for one.

[CitROeNALD]

Just to clarify, I meant the C4 Grand Spacetourer which is just the rebranded name of the C4 Grand Picasso, not the actual Spacetourer which is the massive van/people carrier.

If you think the C4 Grand Picasso might be too big, you might also consider the standard C4 Picasso.

The one problem you have with RAC anecdotes is that they may only reflect how certain owners treat their cars, rather than the reliability of the cars themselves.

I expect many C4 Grands are used as a family bus/workhorse, driven into the ground and not serviced well. Which is why a good service history is vital.
I find many Toyotas are owned by taxi drivers (so kept in pretty good condition) and older drivers (usually kept well serviced). But again, that's just my perception.

If I did not have this car, and finding a good used one was difficult, I would be looking at a Dacia Jogger I think. If I wanted the same amount of space that is.