Your views on ford's s-max and citroen's c4 grand picasso

[commuter]

So thats the 1.6 diesal hdi then any other info on recall problems.

 

not from me. BTW they took the cylinder head off and checked the part numbers against the recall notice and found it did not apply to my engine

[barginboy]

I looked at both plus the galaxy but discounted the galaxy as I only need an occasional 7 seater (so mpv rather than people carrier). The s max is a nice looking car but I found the headroom a bit restricted in the rear and a bit overpriced compared to the c4. We paid 13k at the time for a <1 year old on an 08 plate with 8k on the clock and we now have 25k on the clock. We tried lots of 7 seaters before we decided on the c4 but a lot of them had very restricted views due to thick windscreen pillars, small mirrors and headrests getting in the way. I also like the versatility of the seating positions e.g. sliding rear seats, independently folding seats and a flat boot floor when the rear seats are folded. in terms of space I've managed to get 7 interior doors in with no problems and can get all the rubbish that comes with two toddlers (changing bags, pedal cars, bikes etc)

 

The main reason I went for the c4 was the fact that it comes with a very good 1.6 hdi engine which means £140 tax and not bad economy. We only have two kids but regularly drive sheffield to stuttgart or innsbruck and with a fully loaded boot and roofbox the car is more than capable of autobahn speeds. we tend to get 42mpg on the long runs and around 38mpg around town but driven steadily on the motorway we can get up to 55-60mpg. The dash takes a bit of getting used to with the central display and the centre of the steering wheel not moving when turning. I would recommend a manual rather than egs gearbox but that's just my preference. The only thing I miss comparing with previous cars is climate control (we have aircon only in this one) and cd multichanger but you can get a usb connection fitted in the refrigerated glovebox for your mp3 player to connect. The only extra we had fitted were rear parking sensors but in hindsight we should have had front sensors as well as it is difficult to see the nose sometimes when parking up to short bollards or vehicles with rear steps/tow bars

 

The only build quality issues we had - wheel arch liner came loose, internal panel on boot lid keeps coming loose (common problem) lock button on dash - symbol has worn off. biggest problem was locking wheel nut key sheared off (we change for winter tyres in Nov and back to summer tyres in March so it was used quite a lot more than most) swapped the locking bolt for standard bolts. one thing to ask the dealer relates to a recall - I recently took mine in for something minor to be told there's a recall which was "remove cylinder head and replace engine if necessary" this might not be something an independent dealer is aware of so be wary of a car patch selling you one with 30 day warranty (but should be covered by manufacturers warranty)

 

pm me if you need more info

 

thanks for that, its the c4 im leaning towards and the 1.6hdi. i went for a test drive in an auto one the other day and they drive well and wasnt under powered like i thought it would be but it did seem to learch a fair bit when changing from first to second (in full auto, was fine in semi auto). iv been doing a little research on them and it seems they were recalled for a software update on the gearbox, as the one i drove only had 17k miles on it im hoping its just not been updated yet (not due its first service untill 20k)

[cuttsie]

thanks for that, its the c4 im leaning towards and the 1.6hdi. i went for a test drive in an auto one the other day and they drive well and wasnt under powered like i thought it would be but it did seem to learch a fair bit when changing from first to second (in full auto, was fine in semi auto). iv been doing a little research on them and it seems they were recalled for a software update on the gearbox, as the one i drove only had 17k miles on it im hoping its just not been updated yet (not due its first service untill 20k)

Manual every time

[barginboy]

Manual every time

 

i always thought the same but the manual is only a five speed where the auto is six, the auto also get better mpg

[cuttsie]

i always thought the same but the manual is only a five speed where the auto is six, the auto also get better mpg

That must be the first time ever.

MY hdi 1.6 berlingo manual nev shows less then 51.5 miles per gallon.