CARS REVIEW

The Citroen C4 Picasso, which has already been seen dozens of times before its official presentation and was shown as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show, was finally revealed by the French company, and the more i look at it, the more it looks good. But i feel it will be one of those cars that you love it or you hate it.

The interior, while it looks more classy and luxurious, has the same overall design of the older model. The speedometer and rev counter are now displayed on a rather large screen on the center of the dashboard. The screen also serves as a navigation system and to show other relevant information when driving.

Under this screen there is another smaller touchscreen that will be used by the infotainment system and the air conditioning system.

The exterior of this 4430mm (174.4 inches) long car we get to see a fresh and different design. The head lamps are positioned in the bumper, below the day running lights (DRL) creating a very exclusive front. The back is somewhat more "normal", i would say even a little German, which suits this specific MPV.

Powering the C4 Picasso are four engines, two petrol, with a five or six speed manual gearbox, and two diesel units that can be connected to a six speed manual or a six speed automatic transmission (EGS6). The petrol engines are the 1.6 liter VTi with 120PS (118hp or 88kW) and 160Nm (118lb/ft), and the 1.6 liter THP that produces 156PS (154hp or 115kW) and 240Nm (177lb/ft).

Top speed, acceleration (0 to 100km/h [62mph]), fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are respectively, 187km/h (116mph), 12.3 seconds and 6.3l/100 (44.8 UK mpg or 37.3 USA mpg) and 145g/km, and 209km/h (130mph), 9 seconds, 6l/100km (47.1 UK mpg or 39.2 USA mpg) and 139g/km.

The diesel options include a 1.6 liter engine with 92PS (91hp or 68kW) and 230Nm (170lb/ft) and another 1.6 liter unit, this time producing 115PS (113hp or 84kW) and 270Nm (199lb/ft), 285Nm (210lb/ft) with over-boost.

Diesel engines range from 173 to 189km/h (108 to 117mph), 11.8 to 13.7 seconds, 3.8 to 4.2l/100km (74.3 UK mpg to 61.9 USA mpg or 67.3 UK mpg to 56 USA mpg) and 98 to 110g/km, depending on the engine and if you choose a manual or automatic transmission.

The new Picasso uses the also new EMP2 platform, making it smaller and lighter. Has less 40mm (1.57 inches) in length, the wheelbase increased 55mm (2.14inches) at 2785mm and the boot has room for 537 liters, 40 more over the previous model.

Together with the new platform, Citroen used aluminum and composite materials on the body, so they were able to reduce weight by 140kg (close to 309lbs).

Update: Only now everyone is saying it was official, but in my blog it was official a long time ago!

The Rolls Royce Wraith was one of the most teased cars from the Geneva Motor Show and finally we get to see how it looks. And it looks classic with many new and a little weird features, like the Satellite Aided Transmission, a system that helps you use the correct gear depending on the terrain ahead.

But what is so different about this new Rolls Royce is the sportier spirit of the car and to confirm that Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said “The most powerful Rolls-Royce in history, Wraith promises the sense of adventure and speed that drove our founding forefather. But of course, Wraith’s starting point is luxury, refinement and quality, traits that remain as important to Rolls-Royce customers today as they were more than a century ago.”, and indeed it is still a immensely luxurious car.

And the most powerful Rolls Royce ever uses a 6.6 liter twin turbo V12 with 632hp (465kW) @5600rpm and 800Nm (590lb/ft) @1500 to 5500rpm. The top speed is limited to 250km/h (155mph) will accelerate from standstill to 100 km/h (62mph) in just 4.6 seconds. Really good for a car that weighs 2360kg (5203lb). Power is transmitted through an eight speed automatic ZF transmission.

The distinctive fastback designed car has a suspension that was tuned to minimize body roll but there was absolutely no compromise to the sensation of riding on a bed of air even with the 20 inch or the optional 21 inch wheels.

On the inside we have a voice activated navigation system with a 10.25” High Definition screen with Real Time Traffic Information (depends on the market). There is also a Voice Activated Email and Text Messaging. But when you dont want to talk but you want to relax to a classic song, you can take advantage of the 1300W sound system to better enjoy the music.

And the best for last. In the roof liner Rolls Royce installs 1340 individual fiber optic lights for a "a starry night sky within the cabin" effect. The Price for all of this? Depending on the market, starts from €245.000 ($319.250 or £211.150).