No doubt, André Citroën, the company’s founder, would have found the latest Grand C4 SpaceTourer able to cross a ploughed field with a comfortable aplomb…

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Car Reviewed: Citroën Grand C4 SpaceTourer PureTech 130 S&S EAT8 automatic Shine

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Having neither a ploughed field nor a top hat available, I nonetheless feel that, of all cars now on the road, the SpaceTourer might have won gold in any such competition.

It certainly mastered the horrors on the roads around where I live, so let’s report that the suspension is as follows — front: independent McPherson, coil spring and anti-roll bar; rear: independent cross arms, torsion bar and anti-roll bar.

Great ride, therefore, with comfortable seats that Citroën is so well-known for.

The SpaceTourer is a seven-seater. The rearmost two are easy to erect and take back down, at which the boot space is, of course, greatly extended; with all seven seats up, there is naturally only a relatively small hatchback-size area for transporting anything other than people. In order to allow foot room for those at the back, the three-seat middle row easily slides forwards, and the front passenger seat folds flat to extend the luggage space even further.

It took a while to discover all the stowage and storage spaces. There are so many of them and they certainly will help keep the car from becoming an untidy dumping ground.

In fact, the car abounds with little features so useful in a family car; one such is the provision of a child observation mirror. Fold-down aircraft-style trays are fitted to the rear of the front seats and air vents help keep middle-row occupants fresh.

I loved the lumbar support and massage feature, and it’s not only the driver that had this — the front-seat passenger gets the same luxury.

The car weighs in around 1400 kilograms, yet the engine, at a mere 1199cc and three cylinders, can shift this not exactly small car to 62 mph in just ten seconds through its 8-speed auto gearbox. I was surprised at how well the car goes, along with a satisfactory, typically 3-cylinder growl; it felt sporty and fun. Delving into the performance detail, this little engine delivers 129bhp and 170 lb/ft of useful overtaking torque from 1750 rpm.

The car’s indicated fuel consumption came out, after more than three hundred miles of generally quite relaxed driving conditions, at 41.3 mpg; this was much as expected given the official WLTP figures. Emissions are 150 g/km.

The SpaceTourer offers generous accommodation, especially, of course, if the fold-up rear two seats are not deployed: the car also feels pleasantly light and airy, not least because of its massive (‘panoramic athermal’) windscreen: it’s a clever sunblind system that allows the driver to slide back or bring forward the apparent top of the screen. There’s a dark-glass electric sliding panoramic roof, also.

As far as connectivity goes, this car is well up with the game, as it also has a long list of safety features to mitigate against damage to passengers and the car in an unfortunate accident (the laws of physics allowing).

The test car, the best-selling C4 SpaceTourer Shine version, was priced at £33,045. If this car entered Britain’s Got Talent, it would be “A GREAT BIG YES FROM ME!”