IT HAS less room for rear passengers than some hatchbacks, it is more fun to drive than some coupes and it comes in a shade of red called Rouge Lucifer.

No, it's not a new four-seater from Modena. It's the Citroen C4 Picasso, a downsized Grand Picasso.

The Picasso bears some similarities to the Grand. It has the same goldfish face, the same chassis and the same engine. But that's where it ends.

CITROEN C4 PICASSO 2.0 EXCLUSIVE

Price: $105,988 with COE Engine: 1,997 16-valve inline-4 Transmission: Four-speed automatic with manual select Power: 143bhp at 6,000rpm Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm 0-100kmh: 12.2 seconds Top speed: 190kmh Fuel consumption: 12.9 litres/100km (city) Agent: Cycle & Carriage

The Picasso has five seats, instead of seven.

By lopping 120mm off the tail of the Grand and taking away the third row of seats, Citroen saw fit to give the less-Grand Picasso a whole new rear end design.

So instead of stacking the lights vertically and wearing a slightly droopy behind, the shorter Picasso has a perky rump with more conventionally arranged lights.

The Grand has snug accommodation, like many compact seven-seaters. But the five-seater Picasso is no better in the space department.

Even when shifted all the way back, seats in the second row offer merely as much leg room as an average family hatchback. The Citroen, however, has plenty of head room for outrageous hats, if you're into outrageous hats.

The Picasso's front row is by far more fun. For one thing, the car is not burdened by in-laws and the like. And it has a bit less weight at the back, making it more nimble.

Having a shorter tail also makes it less stressful to park and negotiate tight spots. But the best part is knowing that you don't have to play bus driver to the entire clan.

Its dashboard is exactly the same as the Grand's. The windscreen, which has to be the largest one outside of a Singapore Flyer capsule, offers an uninterrupted view of not just what's ahead of the car, but also what's above. It stretches right up to the panoramic glass roof.

Then there's the plethora of buttons to fiddle with. They are rather unusually sited too, which only adds to the fun. The electric parking brake, for example, is set in the middle of the dashboard while the climate control is just beside the driver's side door.

The centrally set instrument binnacle can be configured to show a host of displays, in varying shades, if you like.

The steering boss, which doesn't turn with the wheel, carries more buttons for you to fiddle with. Chrome paddles behind the steering for sequential gear shifting indulge those with F1 fantasies.

In short, the C4 Picasso is probably the most un-MPV-like MPV around.

The writer is editor of Torque, published by SPH Magazines.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on Apr 5, 2008.