Citroën Grand C4 Picasso 1.6 THP, Volkswagen Touran Sport 1.4 TSI (DSG) Review
It's a fast moving world

Story and Photos by Raymond Lai
29 Jan 2010

They might have relatively puny, tax-friendly engines but there's nothing pedestrian about the way these people carriers shift.

Tour de force

For the past one and a half years, the Volkswagen Touran Sport has been the MPV of choice among family people who wants some performance from their rides. The Golf-based MPV was first introduced way back in 2005 but it never caught on with MPV buyers here perhaps due to its premium pricing, unimaginative styling and last but not least, its links to being a taxi. Back then, the Touran offered only average performance in both 1.6 and 2-litre guises.

And then Volkswagen facelifted the Touran in 2008 and did the best thing ever to their compact MPV - to shoehorn the Golf GT's twincharged TSI engine under its bonnet. With its new 170bhp heart, the Touran Sport offered performance levels that are rare for a compact MPV and it finally gained popularity and recognition among local MPV buyers. The Touran was recently updated with mild tweaks as well as a new seven-speed DSG gearbox which means its appeal is stronger than ever.

But the Touran Sport is not exactly all perfect though - its looks are still a tad on the unimaginative side, the exterior dimensions too compact for a spacious cabin and its Germanic efficiency and no-nonsense approach might be a bit uninteresting for the slightly more adventurous type.

For those who are of the abovementioned type, there's now an alternative to the Touran Sport. The Citroen Grand C4 Picasso has always been one of the most stylish MPVs around but its package was somewhat marred by lackluster performance from its 2-litre normally aspirated engine in the past. This shortcoming was addressed thanks to its new power plant introduced last year- the Peugeot 308 Turbo's turbocharged 1.6-litre. The engine is not as powerful as the VW's twincharged motor but it should run the Touran close in all other areas.

Next Page - Styling

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