1st - Citroen C4 Picasso HDi
The C4 Picasso, with its incredibly flexible seven-seat interior, is the only French car that left its mark on Gold Star Cars. The C4 ticks all the ‘safety’ boxes and comes in a full six grand under the Tarago’s price.

The diesel-powered C4 proved $500 a year cheaper to run than the petrol-only Tarago or Odyssey, and nearly $700 better than the thirsty, unplaced Mitsubishi Grandis.

The Citroën’s other big win was its 20,000km minor service interval. That’s double the Toyota and Honda (and 25 percent better than the Grandis), so the C4 scored enough points here alone to gift it a sizeable 3.2 point win over the more popular Toyota Tarago.




2nd - Toyota Tarago CLi V6
Long the default people mover choice, the Tarago trumps Odyssey with a full complement of safety gear. The extra seven points earned in this one category were enough to secure silver by less than a point overall.




3rd - Honda Odyssey Luxury
It’s easy to see a black Odyssey with 20-inch wheels pressed into service as a Yakuza staff car – and with a 66 percent resale rating, it’s a safe bet no fingers would need to be cut off to secure a decent trade-in deal. Pity about Honda’s 10,000km service interval.