On paper, the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso’s ‘Electronic Gearbox System’ excels.
It costs half as much as any regular auto box (£500), and is barely half a second slower to 60mph than the equivalent manual version while squeezing an extra 1.7mpg on the combined cycle (49.6mpg). It’s also a band lower to tax.
Like the rest of the range the C4 benefits from an innovative light and airy cabin and a spaceage dash, freer from a gearstick.
Drive it like a regular auto gearbox, however, and like every other automated manual around it disappoints, with a pause on the up shift giving rise to a feeling of inertia.
Adapting your driving style by changing with the wheel flippers and lifting off the throttle as you shift and things smoothen out, but overall most will be better off with the cheaper, easier to live with manual.
Verdict: Cheap alternative to auto doesn’t quite add up
