Despite wearing a name etched in Cubism, Citroën’s first Picasso (Xsara) was more of an egg on wheels. That car has since been replaced by the even rounder, but far prettier C4 Picasso. Now comes another member of the Picasso family and it’s definitely more Pablo than Faberge.

In our office, the little ‘spacebox’ was christened the French baguette and while it is a bit of a bread van, it’s no Postman Pat commercial vehicle. Like kiddie-friendly furniture, all the edges and corners are severely rounded off and there’s plenty of stylish detail, design flair and visual interest to keep you occupied, if you care to look. The strange thing is, hardly anyone did, proving that MPVs, regardless of shape, are just not seen as cool tools. Maybe one of the range’s louder metallic hues would have helped garner more attention than our stealthy silver example.

Step aboard the very spacious cabin and you’re faced with yet more creativity. Quality dash-top materials, a beautifully detailed steerer, ‘floating’ digital instrument pod and funky air vents are the high points. A passenger cubby so small it could barely fit a government loaf sandwich, and a fiddly, Peugeot-familiar radio/CD with properly ‘remote’ satellite controls, are the lows. It’s the same with the cruise control buttons which are grouped on the opposite side of the steering column, again hidden behind the wheel’s skull-like boss. Lidded dash-top storage and large door pockets do compensate for the useless cubbyhole – it’s possibly a victim of the LHD to RHD conversion – but storing your service book in the door pocket isn’t ideal. Citroën touts horizontal dashboard trays as additional storage, but they’re lined in silverfish and seem perfect for storing half a pool noodle and little else. Mobile music users will appreciate the optional USB and AUX inputs on the centre console between the seats, while moms will love the dash-mounted child-lock button. There’s a lot to play with, though you may find it strange to encounter wind-up windows in the rear of a car so well-specced in other areas.

You perch rather than recline on comfortable, reasonably supportive seats, taking hold of a telescopic, tilting steering wheel. This and the height-adjustable driver’s seat mean that finding your inner bus driver is easy enough.

At 1.62 metres tall, C3P_o offers ample headroom despite the upright seating position. Wishbone A-pillars afford great forward visibility, though with the huge quarter lights it’s a bit like watching soccer on one of those multi-screen displays at the mall’s food court. Split rear seats tilt, fold and slide so you can vary the human-to-cargo ratio with ease. Boot volume varies from 385 to 500 litres with the rear seats still in use, to more than 1500 litres all in. That’s a lot of space considering the car is just a tad over 4m long. Some really thoughtful additions to the practicality list are magnetically stayed flaps that cover the gaps in the boot floor when the seats are slid forward or when fully-folded. So wax crayons, Twinkies or Catwalk Barbie won’t go MIA in the crevice. Beneath the boot’s false floor is another useful space (clever), and beneath that is a puncture repair kit (not so clever).