What is striking about the Goupil G4 from Picnic?
You must have already recognized him despite the cargo box and the orange nose. This is the car with which online supermarket Picnic delivers groceries to tens of thousands of customers every day. Although Picnic was already a success before the corona crisis, the virus suddenly turned the supermarket into one life saver for many families. The playful Goupil G4 is the environmentally friendly billboard on wheels for the e-wholesaler.
It is compact, robust and very handy. The G4 is equipped with a lithium ion battery pack with a capacity of 14kWh. Striking is its load capacity of 1226 kilos, which means that almost 1000 kilos of groceries can be carried. That is about 200 cartons of milk, 20 crates of beer, 60 bottles of cola, 100 cans of tomato soup, 100 cartons of bread rolls and 1000 bags of paprika chips.
What’s good about the Goupil G4?
The G4 is perfectly suited to its task. Thanks to the fully electric drive, it is particularly environmentally friendly during the short city trips from front door to front door. In addition, he zooms very quietly through the city center and the suburbs.
“The Picnic van has leaf springs at the back to prevent sagging under the weight of our groceries.”
But it does not stop at ease of use and environmental friendliness. With its steel chassis and simple mechanics, the G4 is also extremely durable. Thanks to the McPherson suspension at the front, the comfort for the rider is much better than expected. At the rear, the G4 has leaf springs (but made of composite material) to prevent sagging under the weight of our shopping.
Entry is easy, the huge windows at the front and sides offer the best possible view of the road and the G4 is not only equipped with heating, but also a radio with USB connection. Oh yes, we should not forget the turning circle of 3.9 meters: exactly what you want in a busy city.
What could be better about the Goupil G4?
If you look at the Goupil G4 from a driver’s perspective, the range of about 135 kilometers (WLTP) is absurdly low. ‘No longer of this time’, we would say to the editorial office. The same applies to the top speed, which is limited to 50 km / h. Still, both are just fine for the purpose of the G4.
A real point is the design of the Picnic G4. Due to its narrow and high construction (1.20 meters wide and 1.80 meters high), the G4 seems prone to falling over. However, you have to do a bit of hard work to get it done, but for Picnic it was enough to oblige all drivers to follow strict driving training.
When will the Goupil G4 come to the Netherlands and what is the price?
The Goupil G4 has been on the market since 2017 and is exclusively imported from France by Van Blitterswijk Eco-Mobility in Moordrecht. The starting price is around 20,000 euros, excluding taxes, but can go up to 40K due to all the options that you can add. There are quite a few. For example, our test Goupil is equipped with a tipping system, but its brothers are also used, for example, for weed control. There are now about 2000 units in the Netherlands and an estimated 80 percent of the municipalities have at least one.
What do I think of the Goupil G4 from Picnic?
I love it. The G4 is up to the task like no other electric car. I can’t imagine any vehicle better at delivering groceries than the curious Goupil. The ride is remarkably comfortable and while navigating through city traffic you imagine yourself in a computer game, that’s how dynamic and agile the G4 is. The all-round visibility is also excellent and everything has been done to make it as easy as possible for the delivery person (me in this case).
At least as beautiful is that the G4 with its distinct and striking appearance has (unintentionally) become a moving billboard for Picnic. The fact that the delivery is also wonderfully environmentally friendly is the icing on the cake. Which, incidentally, immediately makes you wonder why other errand boys still drive dirty diesels.
As an important vehicle, I rank the Goupil G4 at the top of my rankings next to the Model T. While the Ford Model T gave people the freedom to get out and about, the G4 offers us the freedom to stay at home more than 100 years later. It can be wrong.