Subaru Trailseeker vs Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

What's the difference?

For a vehicle that Subaru has touted as a Sport Electric Vehicle, promising the all-terrain adventuring the brand is known for, the Trailseeker AWD looks like it should be stepping up to the plate with plenty of confidence.

It has all the ingredients on paper: electric power, decent driving range, all-wheel drive and the sort of go-anywhere credentials Subaru buyers have come to expect.

But is an electric wagon-SUV-crossover really the product Aussies have been screaming out for? Will you happily point this towards Alpine country and strap your skis to the roof, or has Subaru swung a little too hard here?

Because the electric vehicle market is getting crowded, with what seems like a new brand arriving every other week. The Trailseeker has some serious competition from the likes of the Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y and Zeekr 7X and they're all vying for attention.

I've spent the week finding out what makes the Trailseeker AWD stand 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?