It's some months now since Citroen launched the C4 Picasso, a five seat version of the company's people carrier and it's only now that Michael Moroney has got a chance to take the Citroen test drive. In this weeks article he looks at the versatility of the airy people carrier from Citroen.

In looks, the Citroen C4 Picasso fits the bill as a people carrier, mainly dictated by the shape, style and relatively high driving position. In practice it's a five seat car, which challenges the definition of people carrier, where you think of extra seating as a qualifying feature.

This latest C4 Picasso is part of the evolution of the Picasso range from Citroen. The original model was different if not radical in its time. The new model has evolved from this with much of the original design ambitions coupled with a more modern style.

This French built C4 Picasso has classic Citroen styling. The most outstanding feature for me was the airy and bright cabin area, maybe too bright at times. The fact that the C4 Picasso has such a large glass area brings light into the car and superb feeling of space. This gives welcome comfort in the low light winter days but could be a negative in intense summer heat (what is that!) making the option of air conditioning a must in all models.

There are five specification levels in the C4 Picasso range. The entry model comes with a high level of safety specification including Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), which is more than I had expected.

Ambiance, Dynamique, Privilege and Exclusive form the next grades up, where the extra driving aids are rear and front parking sensors. The big differences as you move up the grades relate to styling and comfort features.

Comfort is high with the Picasso. The suspension is impressive and gives a very smooth ride across a range of road conditions. Seating is flexible and firm and the Privilege model that I drove included a split opening rear glass section in the boot for easier loading. The car was noticeably at the comfort end of the scale and so was its price an extra €6,000 over the basic model.

I've had the 1.8 litre petrol powered C4 Picasso Privilege on the road for my test report. This is the entry level model, while there is a 1.6 litre turbo-diesel option that is sure to offer better economy and lower CO2 emissions, but at a higher price.

The 1.8 litre petrol engine is bigger than the engine offered by much of the competition in this sector of the market. Most offer a 1.6 litre option, while Renault and Volkswagen offer a 1.4 litre engine in the Scenic and Touran respectively.

The extra engine size gives the C4 Picasso the edge in terms of power and acceleration over the competition. The relatively high engine power at 127bhp allows it to achieve an acceleration time of 11.7 seconds in a 0 to 100km/hr race. That's ahead of all of the 1.6 litre competition, as well as the diesel powered options.

In driving terms, the C4 Picasso feels lively. That is aided by the high torque figure, which at 170Nm is relatively high for a 1.8 litre petrol engine.

The Picasso's fuel economy figure is one of its few downsides. The combined fuel economy rating is 8 litres/100km (35mpg), which is marginally lower than that of the competition. And with a relatively high CO2 figure at 190g/km you can expect the C4 Picasso price to take a hike in July.