Gac M8 vs Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

What's the difference?

The flagship GAC M8 PHEV Luxury we’re reviewing lives in a strange corner of the family car market. It’s a people mover, but it’s priced like a luxury SUV, designed like a VIP shuttle and powered by a plug-in hybrid system that suggests someone, somewhere, had very specific plans.

It finds itself up against the fully-electric LDV Mifa 9 and Zeekr 009, while also circling the upper end of the Kia Carnival range. The latter of which has proven itself to be the default choice for families.

Which begs the question - who is the GAC M8 actually pitched towards? Families with older teens or ageing grandparents feel like a more natural fit than those deep in the child-seat phase, largely because the M8 prioritises space, comfort and efficiency over the usual kid-wrangling conveniences.

At the same time, its chauffeur-like identity hints at a broader, more commercial audience and one more focused on quiet efficiency and passenger comfort. What can be agreed is the real point of difference here isn’t packaging or versatility, it’s the M8’s plug-in hybrid powertrain, and the way it reshapes where a people mover like this sits within the broader electrified landscape.

Does that approach make sense once you live with it? Let's find out.

You know Picasso? He died a long time ago. And now the Picasso badge - which has adorned Citroen’s people-mover models internationally since way back in 1999 - is set to die, too. 

As a result, the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso is set to be relabelled the Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer, following a new van naming convention set in Europe. It’s a shame, because Picasso is undoubtedly one of the better known nameplates that Citroen has… and let’s be honest, Citroen needs all the help it can get in Australia. 

But before we see the name change, the company has made an addition to the current Grand C4 Picasso range: a new price-leader, the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso petrol, is now on sale - and it cuts the price of the seven-seat people mover by a huge $6000 compared to the diesel.

That amount of money will buy you a heck of a lot of petrol, so does the new base model version in the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso 2018 range make more sense than its expensive diesel sibling?