Citroen C4 Review & Prices

Citroën made a bold return to the family car market with a funky coupe crossover-style hatchback in the form of the C4 – a far cry from the conventional C-sector hatchback that the model was originally. It’s available in petrol, diesel and fully electric forms to offer the broadest possible appeal.

With its SUV-like looks and sofa-like comfort, comparing the new C4 with the old, forgettable one is like comparing the funky-looking headline dish at your local French bistro with a plate of past-it lettuce. It’s a much more distinctive and likeable car – but it still isn’t as good to drive as some alternatives.

Still, it’s clear from just a glance that this is not just a copycat to the same old humdrum Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus. The funky and bold exterior styling makes the previous car seem more outdated than a fax machine, with a strong combination of coupe-hatch svelteness with SUV-like presence.

There’s a new set of LED lights that have a different look to previous Citroëns – it’s sharper and bolder than before. It also has a much more sporty shape than other Citroëns, which tend to have a softer, more rounded look. It’s more in line with other sharply-styled models that are a similar price, such as the SEAT Leon.

The Citroën C4’s interior isn’t as unusual as the one in the Citroën C4 Cactus, but it’s getting on for the highest-quality cabin you’ve ever seen from the French brand. There’s plenty of soft-touch materials and a general feeling of solidity that was rarely found in Citroëns of old. Sure, it’s not quite an Audi, but it’s easily up to the general class standard there.

The Citroën C4’s SUV-like styling means that, physically, it appears larger than alternatives such as the Volkswagen Golf.  However, it has a boot capacity of 380 litres, which is only average at best for this size of family car.

There are four trim levels: Sense, Sense Plus, Shine and Shine Plus, although the electric e-C4 does without the entry-level specification.

All models come with LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, a 10-inch infotainment system with smartphone connectivity, autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist and dual-zone climate control. Sense Plus is probably the best choice in the range for value, but the higher-end models are very well kitted out.

The C4 has plenty of choice when it comes to engines. Alongside the electric-only e-C4 model, there are three petrols and two diesel models.

The 1.2-litre three-cylinder PureTech petrol model is available with 100hp, 130hp and 155hp, and the diesel is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder with either 110hp or 130hp. The 100hp petrol and 110hp diesel are manual only, while the 155hp petrol and 130hp diesel are auto-only. On the 130hp petrol you can choose which gearbox you want.

Even the base petrol offers perfectly adequate pace, but the 130hp version would be our pick. It’s frugal, too, making the diesel a tad redundant unless you spend half your life on motorways.

Whatever engine you go for, this is not the sort of car that will have you carving up B-roads like you’re on a rally stage. Citroën has deliberately put comfort at the top of the priority list, so the ride is smooth and wind and road noise are kept in check. But the flip side of this is that the body leans over a quite a bit in the bends, and the steering doesn’t inspire confidence like the best-driving family hatchbacks.

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Kicking off the range is the Sense. 18-inch alloy wheels come as standard while you also get a 10.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can use your favourite music and navigation apps on the move. There’s dual-zone automatic air conditioning too, so you won’t have to fight over the climate control settings in the front.

Sense Plus takes things up a level, adding LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, a 10-inch infotainment system with smartphone connectivity, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist and dual-zone climate control.

The C-Series Edition is marked out by Anodised Bronze fog light and Airbump surrounds on the outside, and more bronze detailing inside. The seats are partly upholstered in black leatherette with green stitching. And there are five body colours to choose from: Polar White, Cumulus Grey, Platinum Grey, Perla Nera Black and Iceland Blue. Standard features largely match those of the Shine Plus model.

Shine Plus is the top-spec model and features a premium stereo system leather seats with electric adjustment and heating, four USB sockets and wireless smartphone charging. All are competitively priced compared with more traditional rivals such as the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra.

The C4 is a practical family car but can still be engaging to drive if you don’t push it too hard

In town

While some car companies relentlessly chase ever sharper handling, Citroën likes to go its own way with how its cars drive – and the C4 is no different.

All versions of the C4 use a fancy-sounding ‘progressive hydraulic cushion’ suspension. Basically, all you need to know is it lets Citroën set up the C4 really softly but is meant to stop the car feeling bouncy or wallowy.

And they work, to a point. Comfort is clearly the priority here, and the Citroën C4 cushions most of the typical about-town potholes, speed humps and scarred roads really well. Where it does come unstuck is really large or sharp bumps, which can sometimes penetrate the cabin, but it’s one of those cars where you aren’t worried about bumping up the kerb a bit to park. The C4 also has a good turning circle, so it’s a doddle to drive about town.

On the motorway

While the motorway isn’t the C4’s natural environment, it’s far from out of its depth. The high ride height and soft suspension discourage you from pressing on too quickly, but it’s stable and assured with a moderate amount of wind noise.

On a twisty road

The special suspension doesn’t completely remove the feeling of bounciness on fast, undulating roads, though. Turn into a corner at medium speed and you’ll notice the body rolls a lot more than a conventional, lower-to-the-ground hatchback, but even a small SUV such as a Ford Puma controls its body movement far better.

Still, it’s perfectly good enough if you’re not driving it too enthusiastically. Road and wind noise are well-isolated and the controls are light and easy.

Forget Citroëns of old: the new C4’s interior is well-made and attractive, and the infotainment is improving rapidly

Citroëns in the 70s and 80s often had bizarrely quirky interiors, but things are a little more conventional in the C4.

Having said that, in sheer design and quality terms the new C4 is not just well ahead of the old model, it’s probably the best Citroën cabin we’ve seen for some time overall.

Gone is the flimsy, half-baked feel, replaced by an attractively designed dashboard featuring enough soft-touch surfaces and solid switchgear. It’s still a fair way from BMW or Jaguar standards, granted, but for the price there’s not much in this class of car that’s nicer to sit in.

You can forget wobbly centre consoles or cheap feeling door cards – the C4 is good in both respects. The seats, although not all that supportive in the bends, are extremely comfortable and plushly padded in what is now a Citroën hallmark, too.

We’re also delighted to see that Citroën has once again started offering proper physical knobs and buttons for the climate control. On many of its other models there are none, meaning you have to poke and prod a rather fiddly touchscreen and take your eyes off the road for too long just to adjust the fan speed.

If there’s one black mark, it’s rear visibility. Even entry-level cars come with rear parking sensors, but you’ll likely want to upgrade one step higher and get a reversing camera as that chunky spoiler cuts across the rear window, and general visibility out the back isn’t great at all.

If you think by being taller and more SUV-like the Citroën C4 is roomier than traditional hatchbacks, you’d be wrong, though.

Granted, it’s hardly cramped. Despite the steeply raked windscreen making the dashboard feel quite close, there’s plenty of room for six footers to get comfortable in the driver’s or front passenger’s seats. The optional panoramic sunroof doesn’t dent headroom too much, either, and because Citroën doesn’t have the same small steering wheel layout as its sister brand Peugeot, most shapes and sizes of driver will find good adjustment and be able to get comfortable.

Space in the back seats

In the back, you’ll find two adults with long legs won’t struggle for knee or foot space. However, taller folk might take issue with headroom, which is a little less generous than you might hope due to that coupe-like sloping roofline.

That’s more of an issue if you try and squeeze three passengers in the back, as adults will likely find their heads against the roof. Still, there’s a nearly completely flat floor so nobody needs to play footsie to get their legs comfortable.

Boot space

The boot in the Citroën C4 isn’t a particular highlight of the car. It offers 380 litres of space, which is reasonable but matched (and in some cases beaten) by a number of conventional hatchbacks or similarly sized crossovers. A Golf has just one more litre than the C4, while small SUV models such as the Peugeot 2008 and Ford Puma can offer 434 and 456 litres respectively. 

You’ll squeeze five carry-on luggage cases beneath the C4’s parcel shelf – about average for this size of car, but beaten by a number of alternatives including the Skoda Scala and Nissan Juke. At least the boot floor can be adjusted to allow a bit of underfloor space and reduce the loading lip, or to maximise outright capacity.

There’s no sliding or reclining cleverness with the C4’s rear seats, sadly, but they do at least split-fold pretty easily thanks to levers within the boot you can pull to fold them down. You’ll get a largely flat load bay if you do that, too.

Every version of the Citroën C4 comes with a fairly large and clear 10.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system. Entry level cars don’t get sat nav, but all feature the full roster of smartphone connectivity via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay so you can use your phone’s navigation app easily.

Unlike the Citroën C3 Aircross, where the screen is mounted halfway down the dash and requires you to look well away from the road, the C4’s screen is right in your eyeline on the dash top to improve safety. It’s flanked by a couple of shortcut buttons and a physical volume knob.

The software isn’t the most responsive or feature-packed around, but the bigger screen makes it easier to select things on the move than older Citroëns. The graphics are decent, enough, too.

All versions get a clear and attractive (but not very configurable) digital drivers display in place of analogue dials, too. A handy feature is a head-up display that flips up from the binnacle on start-up. It’s not the most sophisticated, but it’s impressive this is standard on all but entry-level trim.

There’s some thoughtful storage touches in the Citroën C4, mainly located in the front.

In the centre of the dash is a well-placed wireless smartphone charging pad (in many cars these are clearly afterthoughts) flanked by two USB-C connectors for further devices. Below this is a handy storage stray that stops things rattling around.

While there is the usual small glovebox – Citroën doesn’t bother moving the fuse box for right-hand drive cars, so it takes up a big chunk of space – above it is a really handy tray that slides out to reveal another storage space. Citroën will also supply a mount to clip a tablet to it – although the tray doesn’t come in entry-level models.

There are also a couple of cupholders beside a flip-up armrest, and the door bins are a useful size. In the back you’ll find cupholders in the centre armrest, too.

A big selling point of the new Citroën C4 is the fact that it’s offered with petrol, diesel and fully electric variants.

All of the petrol options are based around a 1.2-litre Puretech three-cylinder engine, but in three states of tune: 100hp, 130hp and 155hp. Like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, we’d plump for the middling 130hp option as it offers the best combination of power, fuel economy and purchase price, and can be had with either a six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Even the 100hp version offers perfectly adequate performance, however.  The 155hp version should feel strong, but it may not be all that necessary given this is no sports car. All three engines are three-cylinder units, but they are refined and smooth examples that even sound quite fruity.

You should favour petrols over the 130hp 1.5-litre diesel unless you find yourself regularly doing lots of motorway miles: It’s good, but hardly necessary when the 130hp petrol is quieter, just as quick and easily manages 40-45mpg without much effort. It’s also worth checking out the all-electric e-C4 which, although it doesn’t offer a massive electric range, will suit many people’s normal journeys.

The electric e-C4 puts out a reasonable 136hp from its front-mounted electric motor, enough for a fairly sprightly 0-62mph time of nine seconds. It’s clearly no Tesla, but as with all EVs the instant shove from any speed means it rarely feels underpowered.

Another thing it has in common with most EVs, however, is an optimistic official range figure from its 50kWh battery. 217 miles sounds like plenty, but unless your commute takes place in a laboratory you’ll find about 160-180 miles to be the most you’ll see, and that can reduce quite dramatically in cold weather.

The latest C4 has a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating. It performs well in a collision but was deducted points for pedestrian safety and a limited suite of active safety features. Active safety features fitted as standard include Traffic Sign and Speed Limit recognition, Lane Departure Warning and Cruise Control with Speed Limiter function.

Every new Citroën comes with a three-year/60,000 mile, fully transferable warranty and a 12-year anti-perforation warranty. There has been one recall regarding rear wheel hubs, for cars built between 2020 and 2021.