Cleaner and Better-Tasting Water with 3M Water Filter Systems

With the weather being as hot as it is these days, one of the things we've all been doing a lot more of is DRINKING MORE WATER.

I must confess that drinking more water daily is something that my husband has been nagging me to do for ages. I just don't have the habit of drinking a lot of water, which isn't great, considering that drinking lots of water has a whole host of benefits, including giving you great skin. I am really feeling my age these days and looking it. (Ahhh!!) So I'm diligently trying to up my water drinking routine, and make the kids do so too.

Something that has really helped is my recently acquired 3M Water Filter System. Why, you ask? For one, the water tastes better, and when it tastes better, I drink more.

I grew up drinking boiled water and continued doing the same in my own household. While tap water in Singapore is officially safe to drink, I followed my mother's practice of boiling tap water before transferring these into water pitchers ready to be poured out for drinking. I thought nothing of it and would have continued drinking boiled water but for my husband having a change of heart. He went on a business trip with a client who only drank bottled water and returned home convinced that our usual boiled water didn't taste quite right. That same week we went out to buy a water filter jug, and I had to agree -- the water tasted way better than our usual water.

But I never found a water filter jug very efficient. The filter was slow. You had to wait 5-10 minutes for all the water to pass through the filter. The jug capacity of 1 litre was also rather limited, which meant that if I needed a larger quantity of water, I would have to refill the jug several times and wait for the water to filter through each time to accumulate the required amount. The filters were also pricey, especially when you consider the amount of water they filter (ie. not much!).

With the 3M Water Filter System, I've finally found a solution that works for us. Having used it for over a month, I have to say I really like it and the husband has been telling everyone about it!

Here's why:

1. The water filter system is small and compact. We got the basic system (AP Easy Complete) installed and got a separate tap installed at one corner of our sink. The filter is a single cartridge under the sink, and a tube is run to link the it to the water source. That's it! The installation was quick and easy and took 45 mins. If you'd rather not have a separate tap, it is also an option to upgrade your existing tap to a mixer tap where, instead of choosing between hot and cold water, you can choose between filtered and unfiltered water.


2. It is very convenient as you get filtered water straight from the tap. No more boiling water and waiting for it to cool down. No more filling a jug and waiting for the water to filter through either. If you need to drink, you can get filtered water instantly from the tap. It is also much easier for me to fill up the soup pot with filtered water when it used to be quite tedious previously as I would have to refill my water filter jug several times to get enough water.

3. We get much cleaner water to drink. The 3M AP Easy Complete water filter is certified by NSF International (an independent public health and safety organisation) to significantly reduce cysts, chlorine, sediment, rust, lead, mercury and volatile organic chemicals in water. It is the only home system in the market that is independently certified so you know that this is a product that delivers on its claims.

4. It is affordable. $0.04 per litre, is I think, not a lot to pay for clean water. Especially since I don't need or use a kettle any more! Each replacement cartridge costs $110 and lasts for 6 months. As a comparison, it cost me about $0.24 per litre with my water filter jug and I needed to change cartridges every 3 months.

5. The water just tastes better. I keep coming back to this, because this has been the biggest, most obvious result. In fact, one great thing that has happened since we switched to filtered water is that the husband has stopped drinking cold water. He used to ONLY drink cold water, but he now deigns to drink room-temperature water as it isn't as unpalatable. I've found myself drinking more too.

If you're in the market for a water filter system, this is the best time to get your hands on the 3M Water Filter System as they are having a storewide 15% DISCOUNT on all their water filter systems during this GSS! This means that you can get the 3M AP Easy Complete (usual retail price: $600) for just $525. And there's more! All blog readers are entitled to an ADDITIONAL $50 VOUCHER which can be used to offset against the already discounted price of the system! Which means that you only pay $475 for the 3M AP Easy Complete.

To get your additional $50 voucher, just click on the following link and fill in your details and use the blogger code MY SMALL THINGS: Click here for your $50 voucher! This offer is valid till 31 July 2014.

If you want to see check out the range of water filters 3M has to offer or try a cup of 3M filtered water yourself, do drop by their showroom at:

No.2 Kim Chuan Drive #02-06
CSI Distribution Centre
Singapore 547080
Tel: 6288 8290
E-mail: sales@jestac.com.sg

Opening Hours:
8.30am to 5.30pm (Mon-Fri)
8.30am to 2.30pm (Sat)




* We were provided with the 3M AP Easy Complete Water Filter System, and drank many cups of water on our own for the purposes of this review. We genuinely love it! All opinions remain my own and are based on my own experience and on information provided to me by Jestac. (Mei is also dressed in her favourite dress, from FOX!)

Wink To Learn Chinese {Giveaway + Discount Code}

Teaching the kids Chinese - and getting them comfortable with the language - is an on-going endeavour in this household.

Among the things we have tried are:

1. Letting the kids to attend Chinese playgroups as toddlers -- Noey went to Mandarin Playclub at Julia Gabriel (now re-branded as Chengzhu Mandarin Centre) while Mei attended a similar programme with Bibinogs.

2. Attending Chinese cultural performances.

3. Attending Chinese plays and other kids' performances. 

4. Visiting Chinatown.

5. Sending Noey to Berries.

6. Reading them Chinese books (with help, of course).

7. Attending Chinese camps/holiday programmes.

7. Listening to Chinese music.

We have yet to conquer the last frontier of speaking Mandarin on a regular basis to the children. I'm trying but honestly, my vocabulary is currently so poor, I'm not capable of carrying on an extended conversation in Mandarin with them of any real substance. 

Recently I had the opportunity to try something new -- the Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese Programme. 

Wink to Learn is a Singapore home-grown early learning resource developer with a wide product range of early language learning resources like flash cards, DVDs and CDs, with the aim of helping children learn multiple languages from a young age. Amongst these, Wink to Learn's Speak & Read Programmes are one of the most highly-rated educational resources for helping children to learn to read using flashcard methodology.

Like any other parent, I have my concerns about exposing my kids to too much television, but the programme promised that the flashcard lessons were short and that it was only necessary for my kids to watch 1 to 2 lessons a day over a period of 6 months to recognise more than 500 words and phrases. Having heard a number of success stories from friends, I was keen to give it a shot. 

The Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese Programme comes with a set of 6 DVDs, and a Parents' Guide which gives some instructions for usage of the DVD lessons based on the age of your child. You can choose to have the lessons in simplified Chinese or in traditional Chinese in 2 versions.

The flashcard DVD lessons are divided into 6 levels (1 level per DVD). Levels 1 to 4 are aimed at enlarging the child's vocabulary, while in Levels 5 and 6 the child learns to phrases and short sentences using the vocabulary acquired in the earlier levels. Each level has 8 lessons and a set of revision lessons.

The said the lessons were short -- and they were right! Each lesson was only about 3 to 5 minutes long. I think it took longer for us to find the DVD, watch the intro and get the lesson started than it actually took for us to watch the lesson! In each lesson, a picture is flashed followed by the corresponding characters, and the whole set of ten words is cycled through twice. After that, there is a short song relevant to the topic which the children can sing along to. The lyrics are also flashed on screen. Sometimes a series of pictures relating to a place (like Paris, for example) are screened. Here is a short clip of one of the lessons on Animals (Level 1, Lesson 2) as an example:

 

As a result of the lessons being so short, I ended up letting my kids watch at least 2 to 3 lessons at one go since they started protesting when I wanted to stop the DVD after each lesson! In fact, I was glad that they were keen on it. 

We've been using this set on and off for about a month, and while I'm not a proponent of television learning, I have been quite pleased with it. What I like about this series:

• There is a wide range of vocabulary introduced
• The introduction of terms progressing on to phrases and simple sentences is very systematic. I like that the later phrases and sentences build on vocabulary that has already been introduced in the earlier lessons.
• Clear enunciation of the Chinese terms and phrases. My kids, particularly Mei, love repeating after the voice. As it is clearly pronounced, she usually gets it right. I do watch it with them though so I am at hand to correct her when she doesn't get it right.
• Good use of pictures. It is usually clear from the pictures what the words being taught are so you can probably follow along even if you know no Chinese.
• The use of colours on the Chinese radicals to help the children break down the words and learn to read them.

The proof of course is in the learning. Did it my kids learn from this set? I'm happy to report that even though I wasn't very diligent in getting them to follow the programme, they have certainly acquired the use of new terms. When we were having fruits just a few nights ago, Noey voluntarily told me that the kiwi fruits were 奇异果. Even more surprisingly, when I tested Mei and tried to get her to read some of Chinese words on a board, she could read most of them, some with some prompting. Not bad for a girl who still mostly makes Chinese -sounding sounds when asked to speak Chinese but doesn't actually say anything meaningful most of the time! I think we will be continuing use of this to see where it takes us.

GIVEAWAY!

Good news for you if you'd like to try the Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese programme for yourself -- I have ONE SET TO GIVEAWAY!

To win ONE SET of Wink to Learn Speak and Read Chinese (RRP: $99.90), kindly sponsored by The Groovy Giraffe, just follow the steps of the Rafflecopter widget below. Please note the following terms and conditions:

1. You MUST like The Groovy Giraffe's Facebook Page through the Rafflecopter widget in order to qualify for this giveaway.

2. The winner will have to self-collect their prize from The Groovy Giraffe (Everton Park) or pay $5 for shipping.

3. The giveaway prize will not come with the cover box.

4. No exchange of of the prize for other products or conversion to store credits will be allowed.

5. All entries will be verified and false or incomplete entries will be disqualified.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you'd like to purchase Wink to Learn's range of educational products, the good news is that they are now available at The Groovy Giraffe, our favourite remainder bookshop. Check out the full range here. In addition to Chinese, they have the Speak and Read series for English and other Asian and European languages too, amongst other products. As with all products at The Groovy Giraffe, you can be sure that you are getting the lowest price for these products. Wink to Learn Speak & Read Chinese for example is available for just $58.90, down from the usual price of $99.90!

An even sweeter deal for all blog readers: Use the code "MUMMYBEAN" and get a special 20% OFF ALL WINK TO LEARN PRODUCTS! This special code is valid for 1 month till 11 August 2014. Also, the code GET5OFF is still valid to give you a 5% discount off all other products in the store so don't forget to use it! 

Happy shopping!

An Active Fresh Morning at the Rise & Shine Carnival

I love starting my weekends right, which for me, means getting a good breakfast and having a little fun at the same time. 

Guess it's not surprising that I was up bright and early for the Rise & Shine Carnival a couple of weeks ago! Despite the fact that we'd just returned Malaysia the day before, I woke up ready to enjoy some family time on The Lawn @ Marina Bay.

I wasn't the only one with this idea -- The Lawn was packed with families by the time we arrived, with many apparently turning up bright and early at 8am to stake their spot. Not that it was unexpected. There was plenty happening at the carnival that morning, with sports trials, a bouncy castle, a mini foam party and lots of other games and everyone was certainly there to have fun.

 

Meips was immediately drawn to the Doc McStuffins Toy Check Up booth, which was honestly the cutest thing! She hopped in line to give her favourite Hello Kitty a once over and was rewarded with a goody bag for her efforts.

While the kids were drawn to the games booths, I wandered over to the Johnson's Baby booth to find out a bit more about a new product they were launching at the carnival -- Active Fresh. Packaged in Johnson's Baby's ubiquitous baby powder and bath wash, Active Fresh promises to fight body odour, keep skin dry and, most interestingly, activate a fresh fragrance when it comes into contact with sweat. 

I was skeptical but the promoter obligingly did a live demo for me to test it out. No, I didn't have to get all sweaty for it! I took a good whiff of the powder (which smelt lovely, by the way) and then a drop of water was added to the powder to simulate sweat. To my surprise, the scent did indeed get stronger.

I went home with a couple of samples which I duly put to the test. I do have two sweaty little kids and if you read this blog, you'll know that we spend a lot of time exploring the great outdoors. I am a firm believer that active play is as important to a child's development. More so in fact than getting them to sit down and do a ton of assessment books! Current research has backed this up, showing that play time forms the basis on which children hone the skills necessary for their social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. Amongst other things, a daily dose of physical activity can help build strong bones and muscles, improve hand-eye coordination, balance and movement, support brain development, reduce the chance of myopia, build self-esteem and build a healthy weight. (Source: Health Promotion Board)

Personally I just love bringing the children out because there's so much to explore outdoors, and it is a great way to spend some time with them. Just this June holiday, we've learnt about dragonflies at Bukit Batok nature park, explored Chek Jawa at Pulau Ubin, and visited Gardens by the Bay and the Botanic Gardens just to play and scoot several times. There are actually plenty of open spaces where you can explore and if you need some ideas, here are some of our favourites.

In the week following the Rise & Shine Carnival, we made a date with some cousins to check out Amped, the trampoline park in Katong, and just before we left, I popped a bottle of the powder in my bag. The kids had loads of fun (you can read about it here), and after jumping for a full 2 hours, they were hot and definitely sweaty! I took them aside to change and whipped out the powder to help them freshen up. It turned out to be a great decision because once the powder went on, they immediately felt much more comfortable and less sticky. As a bonus, they smelt great too. It's been something of a revelation! I've since tried applying some powder on them before heading out in to the sun and have found that it helps to absorb sweat and the scent really has staying power. All the way till bath time, I could still smell the Active Fresh scent on their skin.

 

And speaking of bath time, Johnson's baby has you covered there too with its Active Fresh Bath. The kids have been happily using this during their bath and the scent really lingers. Even after an afternoon of active play, when I bent to kiss my daughter's head, I was pleasantly surprised that her hair still carried that signature scent. Good thing too, or I would have been met with a rude shock for kissing her sweaty head!

 

 

With that, I'm looking forward to the Rise & Shine Carnival next year already, and the new products they will have in store for us! 

 

*This post is sponsored by Rise & Shine in conjunction with Johnson's Baby. All opinions expressed remain my own.

Looking Spiffy with FOX Kids and Baby

I don't consider myself much of a shopper.

(Ok husband, you can quit rolling your eyes now.)

Seriously, I don't buy many things except for groceries, books, and erm, maybe many random frivolous items for my ever-growing craft stash. But kids' clothes are a different matter. I admit I have a weakness for buying kiddy clothing for my kids. For one thing, it's so cute! Have you seen the options that they have available these days, especially for little girls? I don't know how many times I've picked up an item and wished that it came in my size.

I shop a lot for the kids online, but when I buy clothes for the kids in-store, one of the stores I've come to rely on over the years is FOX Kids & Baby. Here's why:

1. Attractive clothing for both boys and girls. 

Anyone who tries to shop for their sons will know that girls get 10 times the number of choices that boys do. There are more shops catering just to girls and the selections for girls are much wider. At FOX, I am able to pick up clothes for both my son and my daughter in the same store. The boys also get a more than decent selection of tees, shirts, berms and jeans. The girls have more clothes to choose from, naturally, but there was enough for my son to be pleased with (think tees with images of trucks and bikes and cute-but-not-too-cute prints) and which still met Mummy's taste test.

 

As for little girls, there are dresses, shirt dresses, tops, shorts, skirts, and leggings galore! My little girl was gleefully picking out her own outfits. She came running up to me with the top she is wearing in the picture below, excited because "it's Rapunzel!" she said. Of course it had to go into the bag, it looked super cute with the heart-print jeans shorts, don't you think? 

2. Good selection of basics. 

Never underestimate the value of good basics. Plain shorts, and leggings and tees in simple basic designs that are comfortable and go with everything are very useful. I buy them in different colours! FOX has a good selection and I like the quality.

 

3. Reasonable prices.

Reasonable prices are always a plus, especially when you're shopping for fast-growing kids. FOX scores in this regard, with a good prices made even better by regular promotions. Better yet, when you spend a minimum of $80 at FOX in a single receipt, you can sign up for FOX-C membership, which will entitle you to accumulate points for your purchases. These points can be redeemed for vouchers to offset your next bill. Every $1 gives you 1 point, and 150 points can be redeemed for $10 while 250 points can be redeemed for $30. What's more, you can enjoy a whopping 25% discount in your birthday month. May is my birthday month and I was super pleased with the bargains I was getting with the birthday month discount.

 

4. Availability of licenced characters in cute designs.

Ah, special mention has to be made of the cute characters which won my daughter's heart. The moment she walked into the store and saw Hello Kitty, her eyes lit up. Of course one or two (or more) Hello Kitty items made their way into our basket. I admit that I don't really like such licensed characters but the kids definitely do, and the designs at FOX are way nicer than the ones their grandmothers happily ply them with, which are bought from markets and void deck shops. (Those I confine to the home and try to bury when the kids are not looking!) They had little Mr Men series tees which I thought were really cute and am eyeing for my soon-to-be-born new nephew!

5. Clothes and accessories for every age and every season.

Swimsuits, hats, shoes and slippers, hair accessories, costume jewellery, sunglasses… You name it, they have it. Better yet they have clothes from 3 months right up to 14 years so you can carry on shopping at the same store for some time to come! That makes it a very convenient one-stop shop. Too convenient in fact. As I was purchasing items to top up the kids' wardrobes recently, my little girl kept running up with items she was merrily picking off the accessories rack as I was paying. She did manage to score a hairband that way!

6. Fun events for members.

More than just clothing, FOX also has fun events for members, like the upcoming Ice Cream Making Workshop, which will be happening on 8 June 2014! A slot is just 150 Fox-C points + $15 for a parent and child. I hear there are limited slots left so sign up quickly if you're interested! I know my kids would have loved to attend this, but Sunday is out for us. You can be sure I'll be keeping an eye out for this the next time it rolls around!

After that long list, I have to say that the the main reason that I go back to FOX is that that the kids like the clothes. I've had many hits and very few misses. Also, although I am an avid online shopper, there's nothing like being able to touch the material and ascertain if it is too thin or uncomfortable. And let my daughter experience the joy of the changing room! (She loves it, save when I want to change her out of the new clothes that she HAS TO WEAR IMMEDIATELY.)

We are all shopped out for the Summer season! Thanks FOX for the great shopping experience and for keeping us looking spiffy!

* As I mentioned previously, we are privileged to have FOX Kids and Baby is our clothing sponsor for this period, and the clothes pictured are part of the all-new Summer season at FOX Kids! All opinions remain my own. All the smiles? Courtesy of my two tikes and FOX!

Shopping and Saving on Books at NoQ Store

It is no secret that I love buying books. When I see a good title, I simply cannot resist. With the proliferation of online bookstores with selections wider than you'd find in a physical bookstore, with lower prices to boot, I've been happily buying and (as I tell my husband) SAVING MONEY. Ah, love it when I can use that line!

So the latest bookstore that I've been saving money at is NoQ Store. For the uninitiated, NoQ Store is the online bookstore of the Times Publishing Group, one of the most reputable names in publishing, printing, distribution and retail in this part of the world. It shouldn't be surprising then to know that NoQ Store offers a touted 14 million titles and boasts the cheapest book prices in Asia. All your favourite books, stationery, and reading accessories are available at your fingertips without the hassle of heading out the the store and queuing. (Hence their name: "No Queue" - geddit?)

I made several purchases from NoQ Store and here is what I thought. 

What I like about NoQ Store:

• Wide Range
  One of NoQ Store's major selling points has to be the range of books and reading paraphernalia available. There are fiction and non-fiction titles for the whole family, sorted into 37 categories which you can readily browse. There are also two special categories that I found useful: 
  
  -- Special Feature where you can find the bestsellers and staff picks, and books of particular interest. Like Geronimo Stilton and Lego, for example, which my son love.
  -- Bargain Books need no further explanation. Here you'll find the cheapest books and the ones with the deepest discounts. 
  
  If you're looking for something specific, pop that in the search bar to call it out. Aside from books, NoQ Store also stocks textbooks and assessment books, magazines, stationery like notebooks, journals and notepads, diaries, calendars and e-book readers.
  
• Great Promotions and Offers
  The prices you find at NoQ Store are very competitive and lower than what you can find in bookstores around town. These are also frequently augmented by special discounts and offers, which come around fairly regularly. I scooped up a bunch of Little Golden Books during a recent Easter promotion and got a further 20% off the books, which were already very affordably priced at $4.19 each (before GST). I was chuffed to find that these offers make the already good prices even better!

• Free Shipping (with a minimum $25 purchase)
  Even with the low prices, shipping within Singapore is free with a minimum purchase of $25, which I believe isn't difficult to meet. If your order comes up to less that $25, shipping within Singapore is just a flat rate of $5. The books took about 14 days to arrive, which is comparable to other similar online bookstores.
• Doorstep Delivery
  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the even though shipping was free, my books were delivered via courier right to my doorstep instead of being unceremoniously shoved into my letterbox. The books in the box were beautifully wrapped in brown paper and arrived in pristine condition. I was also alerted to when they would be delivered via SMS.  

What I was not so keen on:

• Reflected Prices do not include GST
  Do bear in mind that the prices of the books reflected on the website do not include GST, which is tagged on at the end when you checkout. So if you're making a comparison across different bookstores, you might want to account for this in your calculations.
  
• Post-purchase Out-Of-Stock Notification
  I placed two orders and both times I was informed after my order had been placed that a book was out-of-stock. My order total was adjusted accordingly and I was not charged for the out-of-stock books and did not need to seek a refund. I guess I suffered no loss save the disappointment of having my hopes of getting a much-sought-after book crushed. I personally would much rather be told at the outset if a book is out of stock, but I understand that the reason for this later notification is that NoQ Store operates via a drop-shipping process, where books are only imported from overseas suppliers upon receipt of orders. Hence, NoQ Store is only able to inform customers of the fact that some books are out-of-stock after orders have been placed and suppliers have confirmed their availability. This process is a bit longer and more tedious but it is how NoQ manages to keep prices low. 
  
• Search Function
  The search function for the site is a bit difficult to use in that using a portion of the title is often insufficient to find a book. Your best bet is to use the full title, or the full author's name.

Overall, I think that while there are some blips in the shopping experience at NoQ Store, these are not insurmountable, and for me at least, the attractive offers do outweigh some of these setbacks.

And here's a special offer to sweeten the deal, just for readers of this blog! Simply use the coupon code "SMALLTHINGS" under the voucher and promotion code tab at checkout and get 15% OFF ALL PURCHASES! If you have yet to check out NoQ Store, this might be a good time to do some shopping. 

[P.S. While we are on the topic of books, do check back on Tuesday for a book review and giveaway!]

* I was invited to shop at NoQ Store for the purpose of this post. I do not earn any commission from the use of the coupon code -- it is purely an offer from NoQ Store to the readers of this blog. (Thanks NoQ Store!) All opinions reflected are my own.

CITROËN Grand C4 Picasso Review

* Guest post by my husband, DD!

Last weekend we were very lucky to be lent the ALL-NEW CITROËN GRAND C4 PICASSO to review. (Woohoo!)



We were particularly excited to be test-driving this car as the All-New CITROËN GRAND C4 PICASSO 2014 is an update to the New CITROËN Grand C4 Picasso launched in 2006 which we currently own (and have affectionately named “Pablo”). Apparently, the 2014 release was necessary because the 2006 CITROËN Grand C4 Picasso has been so popular, it’s sold out!

Anyway, I predict that CITROËN will launch the Ultimate-Newest CITROËN Grand C4 Picasso only in 2020+ so if you buy the All-New 2014 version, fear not. I’m sure you’ll be driving the newest car around for quite some time.

But getting back to business: for the purpose of this review, our All New 2014 Grand C4 Picasso shall be called... Paul. For those of you who object because you say that Paul and Pablo are essentially the same name, I think you’ll see that “same-same-but-different” pretty much sums up our 2014 v. 2006 Grand C4 Picasso experience.

Introduction

So to begin with, here’s a short introduction to Paul:

Take note that the child featured in the picture above is a non-standard accessory.

Specs

Here's a simplified spec sheet which sets out the key headlines.


Pretty impressive. What really stands out is the Category A COE. Not many MPVs fall into this category. Also, this car is eligible for a S$15,000 CEVS rebate because it fits certain environmentally-friendly criteria and in fact has the lowest carbon emission rating in its class.

Review

Ok, so now on to the actual review. To begin with, let me just say it outright - this is seriously the best MPV in its class.

I'll let some facts do the talking:

• Roomiest MPV in its class
• Best fuel economy in its class
• Best electronic specs in its class
• Excellent visibility, best in its class
• Lowest carbon emissions in its class

Actually I can stop here because that's the review done and dusted.

But since the good folks at CITROËN were so kind to let us have Paul for three days, I think they must be expecting a little more... Heh.

So here goes.

Design

A review of the All New Grand C4 Picasso must begin with a word on its design.
In its press release the following is stated about Paul's design:

On the design-front, CITROËN C4 Picasso’s and Grand C4 Picasso’s strong, expressive designs are visible in the dynamic lines and high-tech headlights with LED 3D rear lights. The 5.7 square meters of glazing with the zenith windscreen and panoramic glass roof creates the CITROËN-signature loft-style interior with a bright, uncluttered ambience.

Ermm, did anyone really understand that? Me neither.

Actually, in my humble opinion, design is very simple.

Design only comes in 4 choices as follows:
(A) it looks great
(B) it is sort of nice
(C) I'm somewhat doubtful
(D) it sucks.

Most people whom I spoke to think that Paul's design was an unequivocal (A). Me too. Just as you cannot describe what an iphone actually looks like using words like "dynamic lines", I'll just let photos do the talking.







The above of course are the professionally taken brochure photos. Looks great, right? After having seen the car, I’m happy to report that it looks as good in person. You... just have to take my word for it.




Nice!

Drive

Now onto the drive.



Paul uses an All-New (hey that phrase again!) engine platform, wholly different from Pablo. Apparently the new engine cost CITROËN /Peugeot 630 million Euros to develop! Just to make sure that it wasn't wasted money, the new engine, amongst other things:

• consumes 22% less fuel than the old engine
• is lighter and has better weight/performance ratios than the old engine 
• is designed with tighter electronic integration with onboard electronics in mind

That's why it was 630 million Euros! And no, my inside sources confirmed that the cost was NOT because the smart and clever designers of the super-duper magic new engine conned their employers into giving them more money. It had something to do about developmental costs, materials research, etc*

(*I can't recall and share the exact details because I basically lost interest when my Dilbert-based theory was invalidated. Sorry!)

Anyway, the practical result of the improved engine platform is that driving Paul around was a nice and enjoyable experience. Steering was super light, even effortless. The car also offers good control and close handling with little body roll around corners. Acceleration was good; Paul is of course not a sports car, but it will do nicely whether in city traffic or cruising on a highway.
I did find auto shifting from 1st to 2nd gear slightly choppy but owners needn't worry – this should smoothen out once the engine figures out the driver's driving pattern. Alternatively you can use the paddle shifts to dictate gear changes to optimise your driving experience.

Refined Interior

What also makes Paul stand out is the fact that everything in the interior has been upgraded from Pablo and especially its electronics. Its interior looks really, really nice! And the middle row is noticeably roomier than Pablo.






Paul features, among other things:

• a 7" touchscreen main control panel
• Factory-fitted bluetooth connectivity
• Factory-fitted USB socket with iPod/iPhone/iPad connectivity

All main settings are controlled via the touch screen interface. Air con, radio/bluetooth, GPS, phone, etc. And it's done in a refined and intuitive manner too.

I desperately tried to press as many buttons on the touchscreen interface as quickly as possible to try to make it hang, and see whether a voice would come up and lecture me about that, but there was no success there. So yes, the interface is steady and reliable – not to mention that it also looks great!

Boot Space

I didn't take too many pictures of the boot but don't worry, it is a class leading 537 litres. That means you can put in ALOT of stuff. The tailgate is also automatic! Press a button to open and press a button to close. This is pretty standard issue for the likes of the BMW 5 and 7 series, but for a mid-range MPV this is cool! The only bad thing about the automatic tailgate is that if you're angry with your boss or kids you gotta slam the passenger doors instead.

Comparison with Pablo


Honestly there is no comparison between Pablo and Paul. Paul is in every way, a total, truly All-New, upgrade to Pablo. From the engine/chassis, to the electronics, to the interior ("CITROËN -signature loft styled", remember?), everything has been upgraded. Just to name a few things:

• Longer wheelbase = roomier interior 
• New engine = better performance and fuel consumption 
• All electronic controls

If, like me, you're also driving a 2006 Grand C4 Picasso, you'll definitely be tempted to upgrade. As a measure of what sort of impression Paul made on the kids, they were so reluctant to return Paul they promised to be good for a week!



Areas For Improvement
Ok, so with that said, one gets the impression that this is the perfect family car. With so many features that are in fact class-leading, it certainly might be.

But no car is absolutely absolutely perfect, and the one thing I thought could be improved upon was the Eco Drive. I understand that it comes as a standard on all models sold in Asiapac. So if you've never driven a vehicle with Eco Drive before, you have to get used to the engine switching off when the car halts. But that aside, I found that the Eco Drive implementation on Paul was not as refined as it could be. Once, while I was travelling very (very) slowly up a twisty carpark ramp, Eco Drive kicked in and switched off the engine. Luckily nothing happened. I wasn't able to find out how to turn Eco Drive off but the representatives at CITROËN have told me that it is possible to turn this setting off as part of the car settings.

Closing Note

Here are more gratuitous pics of Paul.








Basically, if you're looking to buy a mid-range MPV, you should really consider this vehicle. You might find, as I did, that the 2014 CITROËN Grand C4 Picasso blows away all its same-class competitors on all counts. Perhaps, among its competition, only the Volkwagen Touran runs the CITROËN close. The Volks has more power, similar fit and finish but less space and poorer fuel economy. In particular, space-wise, the Touran is much smaller and the third row is for very occasional use, whereas the CITROËN's third row is reasonably comfortable.

Personally, I also wouldn't really consider the Japanese MPVs to be close competition for the CITROËN. First of all, for some reason, the Japanese manufacturers favour using big engines to deliver the same sort of ride - this is sort of okay and I don't want to get into the naturally aspirated vs turbo engine debate but what it means, at a very practical level, is that bigger engines mean higher COE, higher road taxes and poorer fuel economy. Second of all to get to the same level of fit and finish that the CITROËN has - well you're looking at a large-ish jump of $20-30K at least, so whether this is ok with you is your call.

For me, there is no question that among the mid-range MPV class, the 2014 CITROËN Grand C4 Picasso ticks all the right boxes.

* This post and our weekend test-drive were sponsored by Citroën for the purposes of this review.