Sofa so good
New C4 has a look and feel all of its own, despite the many shared parts
Once upon a time, I saw a real-life customer driving an outgoing Citroën C4. That feeble hatchback was cannon fodder in the sights of the VW Golf and the Ford Focus. But the new C4 is this rather avant-garde automobile.
It couldn’t be more zeitgeisty. There’s a choice of electric, petrol or diesel engines, courtesy of adopting the CMP platform familiar from Peugeot’s 2008 and Vauxhall’s Mokka, though at 4.36 metres this is the longest car on the platform. The hatchback body is raised up and strapped in plastic protection, like an SUV, though with a crossover coupe’s raked roofline. Like Toyota’s C-HR, it stands out.
It’s a distinctive drive too. You wouldn’t catch the Focus and Golf prioritising comfort like this. It’s comfier than your favourite armchair. The ride is terrific at higher speeds in particular, ebbing and flowing with the contours of the road, pitching slightly under braking and riding sharp bumps and crests smoothly. Thank the standard ‘progressive cushions’ – hydraulic stops at the end of the damper stroke, which absorb and release kinetic energy to prevent bouncing. Yet the C4’s no wobbly jelly, with body movements controlled and quick to settle.
We drove both the zero emissions ë-C4 and the PureTech 130 petrol, running Citroën’s familiar three-cylinder turbo engine and producing 129bhp. The petrol has the edge on comfort, the heavier EV feeling a bit more lumpen. Both versions roll on 18-inch wheels as standard.
The comfort is accompanied by calm. Trundling about town in the ë-C4, the loudest noise is the air-con fan, so I drop it to minimum using actual physical switches – Citroën has rowed back from solely touchscreen operation. The project’s engineers were reportedly acoustic obsessives, leading to an aerodynamic body and lots of sound deadening to quash noise. It’s very evident on the motorway, where the calming PureTech offers but a murmur of engine and a trickle of wind.
It’s not a quick car, though. In Normal mode, the throttle has a pronounced step and the gearbox takes a beat to respond before racing up the cogs to save fuel. The electric car feels more responsive, more punchy, though you’ll be mindful of hard acceleration’s impact on the 217mile maximum range. Both models have plenty of grip and accurate steering, which is a touch light at urban speeds but gains reassuring weight as you speed up.
The C4 is as supple as a pilates teacher, nicely equipped and competitively priced, from £20,990. Throw in those eye-catching looks and a drivetrain choice for all tastes, and this might – at last – be a midsize Citroën that cuts through for a fairytale ending.