What's the news?
Citroen has tripled-up on new car launches this week, bringing the revised C4 Picasso, the C4 Cactus Rip Curl special edition and the new Dispatch van into Ireland all at the same time.
Prices for the updated C4 Picasso start at €26,695 for the five-seat version and €28,995 for the seven-seat Grand Picasso. The styling has been updated with a new front bumper, some more chrome trim and revised lights, while there are changes at the rear to the lights and badging. You can have new colours too, Lazuli Blue and Soft San, and there's also a contrast roof colour option. 17-inch alloys are now standard on the mid-ranking Feel trim while top-spec flair models get integrated roof rails.
Two new optional driver assistance packages are available, which introduce Citroën first active safety systems such as Active Lane Departure Warning and Active Blind Spot Monitoring. Driver Assistance Pack One contains active lane departure warning system, active blind spot monitoring system, speed limit recognition, intelligent beam headlights and driver attention alert. Driver Assistance Pack Two includes all of the above as well as active radar guided cruise control. Owners will also benefit from hands-free tailgate technology, allowing the boot to open by simply waving a foot under the rear bumper.
More importantly than that, you can also now have the 130hp PureTech 1.2-litre petrol engine with a manual gearbox and stop-start. With Co2 emissions of 115g/km, are you sure you still want that diesel?
You probably will still want a diesel in the new Dispatch - it is a van after all. Mind you, it's car related as it's based on the same EMP2 platform as the C4 Picasso. You can stuff it with a load of up to 6.6-square metres and 1,400kg and it can tow as much as 2,500kg. There's a standard 4.6-metre long model, a 4.95-metre one called M and a 5.30-metre model badged XL. There's a rather clever feature called Moduwork, which allows the passenger seat to be lifted up and a flap opened in the bulkhead, allowing long, narrow loads of up to 4-metres to be carried. There's also the option of a nine-seat Combi model.
Citroen claims that the 1.6 BlueHDI diesel model has best-in-class fuel consumption and Co2 emissions of 137g/km and you can specify it with clever 'Grip Control' traction control for making progress on slippery surfaces. Prices start from €21,500.
Also getting Grip Control is the C4 Cactus Rip Curl edition, which has been worked over by surfing and watersports specialist Rip Curl. The Grip Control system is there to make it easier to drive on to and off of sandy beaches and is backed up by 17-inch diamond-cut alloys with Goodyear mud and snow tyres, while inside the special edition gets Rip Curl graphics on the wings and rear quarter-lights, white roof rails and door mirrors, orange seatbelts, orange detailing on the audio speakers and orange-trimmed carpet mats.
The Rip Curl features a panoramic glass roof as standard, and will be available with five body colours - Obsidian Black metallic, Arctic Steel metallic, Pearl White pearlescent, Sport Red and Tapenade Grey. All with the Cactus' distinct Airbumps, of course.
Standard equipment also includes aluminium-effect front and rear bumper protectors, rear parking sensors, a colour reversing camera, automatic air conditioning, automatic headlights and wipers, satellite navigation, a six-speaker MP3 audio system, cruise control with speed limiter, and tinted rear windows.
Prices start from €23,995 for the 110hp 1.2 PureTech petrol and €25,045 for the 100hp 1.6 BlueHDI diesel.