Citroen C4 Grand Picasso

[anthony_374363773]

Has any one any experience or knowledge of towing with a C4 Grand Picasso 1.6HDI 110BHP I would be greatful for any advice.

 

[Brian_374234561]

Anthony

Not sure if this will help you, but we have the 2.0HDI model. Not quite the same I know, but it tows really nicely. A little too wallowy on the suspension for my liking. We tow a 1490kg 'van so close to the Citroen limit but pulls along nicely and we get high 20's to the gallon on a run. If you want any more info, just ask

Cheers, Brian

 

[anthony_374363773]

Anthony

Not sure if this will help you, but we have the 2.0HDI model. Not quite the same I know, but it tows really nicely. A little too wallowy on the suspension for my liking. We tow a 1490kg 'van so close to the Citroen limit but pulls along nicely and we get high 20's to the gallon on a run. If you want any more info, just ask

Cheers, Brian

Thanks Brian our van only weighs 1100kg max so that should be comparable. Thanks again.

 

[harry_374369142]

brian

I am thinking of buying a new C4 grand picasso 2.0HDI ex.can you give full details of your experience driving/towing with your C4

 

[Peter_374293316]

Anthony

I live in France and have a C4 Picasso 1.6 HDI 110 BHP, though it's only the 5 seater - it has an unladen weight of 1489 kg. I tow a Caravelair Ambiance 400 with an MTPLM of 980 KG. It is quite a lightweight caravan. The maximum recommended noseweight for the C4 is 60kg. though I note from my handbook that for the Grand with this engine it is only 50 kg which may be due to the greater rear overhang. Achieving this without transferring weight to the rear of the caravan may cause you some problems, though I have to say I've not suffered any problems towing and there is little rear end sag. I have the Alko AKS 1300 stabiliser fitted but no shock absorbers. I've covered around 2000 miles - mainly on Autoroutes and am very pleased with the handling. Acceleration is not sparkling but if you keep the revs at about 1700 to 2000 rpm it pulls very well up to and over the (English) legal limit. I usually manage to stay in 5th gear for all but the steepest of motorway hills then drop down to 4th and can easily pass most HGV's. Fuel consumption is normally around 46mpg but this reduces to 26mpg when towing - or even less if there is a strong headwind. I am very happy with the Picasso - it's spacious with lots of storage space and the large windscreen with sliding visors gives excellent light and visibility. I'm not entirely happy with my towing mirrors which clamp on to the top edge of the door mirrors and vibrate at motorway speeds. It's the fault of the C4 mirrors which are huge and not rigid enough. In conclusion, knowing how much heavier English caravans generally are (too many "extras" in my opinion - do you really need an oven?)you may want to go for the 2.0 HDI with the 138 bhp engine. I hope this helps.

 

[sconny]

Anthony

I live in France and have a C4 Picasso 1.6 HDI 110 BHP, though it's only the 5 seater - it has an unladen weight of 1489 kg. I tow a Caravelair Ambiance 400 with an MTPLM of 980 KG. It is quite a lightweight caravan. The maximum recommended noseweight for the C4 is 60kg. though I note from my handbook that for the Grand with this engine it is only 50 kg which may be due to the greater rear overhang. Achieving this without transferring weight to the rear of the caravan may cause you some problems, though I have to say I've not suffered any problems towing and there is little rear end sag. I have the Alko AKS 1300 stabiliser fitted but no shock absorbers. I've covered around 2000 miles - mainly on Autoroutes and am very pleased with the handling. Acceleration is not sparkling but if you keep the revs at about 1700 to 2000 rpm it pulls very well up to and over the (English) legal limit. I usually manage to stay in 5th gear for all but the steepest of motorway hills then drop down to 4th and can easily pass most HGV's. Fuel consumption is normally around 46mpg but this reduces to 26mpg when towing - or even less if there is a strong headwind. I am very happy with the Picasso - it's spacious with lots of storage space and the large windscreen with sliding visors gives excellent light and visibility. I'm not entirely happy with my towing mirrors which clamp on to the top edge of the door mirrors and vibrate at motorway speeds. It's the fault of the C4 mirrors which are huge and not rigid enough. In conclusion, knowing how much heavier English caravans generally are (too many "extras" in my opinion - do you really need an oven?)you may want to go for the 2.0 HDI with the 138 bhp engine. I hope this helps.

Peter, where did you get the 50kg from, i have looked all over the web for specifications and can find everything exept the noseweight.

John

 

[Brian_374234561]

Hi Harry

we have just come back from SW France having towed approx 750 miles without any probs. It is an excellent solo car if you're after an mpv, very smooth, spacious and refined. Towing-wise, it's excellent, but to be fair I am new to towing and can't compare to any other vehicle. I personally find the suspension very soft when solo and its a bit wallowy when towing. As I said before, we tow close to the max tow limit of 1500kg and it's absolutely fine. The noseweight limit is 75kg which is achievable with careful packing. we have a 6 berth Abbey Expression 550, so can put weight on the rear bunk floor (in a sensible way) to get the noseweight correct. It has self levelling suspension as well which is very useful indeed and keeps things nice and stable. We also have 3 kids, which means pushchair etc in the boot so we're pretty laden, but again well within the gross train weight of 3.6tonne.

Overall it's an excellent car, the wife loves it, although I dont like the gearbox as it's very jerky. We have had a software upgrading on the gearbox and it improved it significantly, but still not ideal for my liking. I drive a Subaru Impreza, so I might be being a bit unkind on the gear change and suspension !

If you want any more info, please drop me a line

Cheers

Brian

 

[Peter_374293316]

Anthony

I live in France and have a C4 Picasso 1.6 HDI 110 BHP, though it's only the 5 seater - it has an unladen weight of 1489 kg. I tow a Caravelair Ambiance 400 with an MTPLM of 980 KG. It is quite a lightweight caravan. The maximum recommended noseweight for the C4 is 60kg. though I note from my handbook that for the Grand with this engine it is only 50 kg which may be due to the greater rear overhang. Achieving this without transferring weight to the rear of the caravan may cause you some problems, though I have to say I've not suffered any problems towing and there is little rear end sag. I have the Alko AKS 1300 stabiliser fitted but no shock absorbers. I've covered around 2000 miles - mainly on Autoroutes and am very pleased with the handling. Acceleration is not sparkling but if you keep the revs at about 1700 to 2000 rpm it pulls very well up to and over the (English) legal limit. I usually manage to stay in 5th gear for all but the steepest of motorway hills then drop down to 4th and can easily pass most HGV's. Fuel consumption is normally around 46mpg but this reduces to 26mpg when towing - or even less if there is a strong headwind. I am very happy with the Picasso - it's spacious with lots of storage space and the large windscreen with sliding visors gives excellent light and visibility. I'm not entirely happy with my towing mirrors which clamp on to the top edge of the door mirrors and vibrate at motorway speeds. It's the fault of the C4 mirrors which are huge and not rigid enough. In conclusion, knowing how much heavier English caravans generally are (too many "extras" in my opinion - do you really need an oven?)you may want to go for the 2.0 HDI with the 138 bhp engine. I hope this helps.

John

Sorry for the late response.

I have my original French handbook, and also one in English that I bought from a Citroen dealer in England. The maximum trailer noseweight (maximale sur fleche) for the 5 seater with all engine and gearbox combinations is shown as 60kg. It gets more complicated for the 7 seater as it shows 60kg for all petrol engines, 70 kg for the 138hp diesel, but only 50kg for the 110hp diesel. Interestingly the max recommended roof bar weight is 100kg for the 5 seater, but reduces to 80 kg for the 7 seater. I'm not sure where Brian gets his 75kg (presumably for the 2.0 HDI) but I'm going to stick to 60kg as the outfit tows very well.