Citroen e-C4 Review & Prices

The new Citroen e-C4 is an electric version of the C4, aimed to snatch sales from models such as the Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen ID3 and Hyundai Kona Electric.

It sits somewhere in the middle between a more traditional hatchback model, like the Leaf, and a small SUV such as the Kona. There is clear SUV inspiration in its styling, while there’s also a coupe-like roofline at the rear. It’s a bit like somebody’s chucked a load of ingredients from different types of car into a stew, and produced this.

The Citroen e-C4’s interior isn’t as unusual as the one in the old Citroen C4 Cactus nor the C3 Aircross small SUV. It’s more traditional, with dark, soft-touch materials and a large 10.0-inch media system with sat-nav and smartphone connectivity.

Although some may miss the wackiness of Citroen cabins of old here, it’s actually one of the best overall cabins the brand has turned out for quite some time. Quality seems to be up there with VW’s electric car range, and while the technology isn’t the most advanced, it’s a lot easier to use than it used to be. The dash has a more dramatic design as well, with sweeping lines rather than the flat and practical set-up in other Citroens.

A big selling point of the Citroen e-C4 is that, unlike some alternatives, the car has been designed so there is no compromise on space whether you opt for one with an engine under the bonnet or an electric motor. That means the e-C4 gets the same reasonably roomy passenger compartment and 380-litre boot as the standard C4. There is also a lower section of the boot that’s ideal for storing the e-C4’s charging cable.

Unlike the petrol and diesel C4, there is no entry-level Sense trim level in the e-C4: you get the choice of Sense Plus, Shine and Shine Plus. This helps offset the increase in price for the electric version over the regular C4.

All models come with LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, the 10.0-inch infotainment system with smartphone connectivity, autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist and dual-zone climate control. Sense Plus is probably the best combination of kit and value, too.

Powering the Citroen e-C4 is a 136hp electric motor mated to a 50kWh battery. The power output might not sound like much, but it feels pretty sprightly on the move thanks to the instant punch from the electric motor that comes as soon as you prod the throttle. The top speed is a modest 93mph, however.

The 50kWh battery offers an official range of 217 miles. In our experience it’s better to expect a real-world range of about 160-180 miles, but that’ll drop lower in cold temperatures. That’s entirely acceptable for the e-C4’s price, but not exactly remarkable. The e-C4 can be charged at speeds of up to 100kW, allowing an 80% battery top up in 30 minutes.

On the road, it’s clear that Citroen has set up the e-C4 with comfort in mind. Its soft ride and cushy seats iron out the worst Britain’s roads can throw at it pretty well, but the trade off is it rolls around a fair bit in the corners and doesn’t feel anywhere near as planted as something like a Volkswagen ID3.

If sporty handling isn’t high on your list of priorities for a new electric car, why not check out how much you can save on a Citroen e-C4 on our deals page?

The Citroen e-C4 is actually pretty well priced. Yes, this electric version is quite a bit more expensive than the cheapest petrol C4 (by around £7,000 in fact) but it’s more affordable than the likes of the Volkswagen ID3 and it’s actually cheaper than the closely related Peugeot e-2008. 

The C4 isn’t quite as capable as the VW though, being slightly smaller inside, and most definitely having much less range, whether we’re talking real-world or on-paper. Mind you, a basic 40kWh Nissan Leaf is cheaper again, although it has even less range than the fairly short-legged Citroen.

So comfortable, but not a lot of fun  

In town

The key thing here is the e-C4’s oh-so-soft suspension. Citroen has fitted it with the company’s ‘Progressive Hydraulic Cushions’, which aren’t for your sofa, but instead give the suspension a soft, fluid-filled bump-stop so that when you hit a big bump, the impact is dealt with gently. The effect isn’t quite as squishy-comfy as the hydraulic Citroen suspension from the sixties and seventies, but it’s not a bad impression of it. Around town, you’ll notice how much less you’re being bumped and jostled around by the lumpy city streets and the e-C4 just glides over speed bumps. The steering is very light, which is good when you’re trying to get through tight spaces in town, although the sloping roofline does cut off your visibility over your shoulder. You get rear parking sensors as standard, and everything but the basic model comes with a ‘top-down’ 360-degree camera system. It’s just a shame that the display is so low-resolution. It’s like watching a TV from 1985. There is a ‘B’ mode for the gearbox, which increases the regenerative braking around town, and which gives you a degree of ‘one-pedal’ driving.

On the motorway

Once again, the e-C4’s soft springs come into play here, soothing away the sort of fidget and fussiness you often find with more stiffly sprung cars. There is some wind noise, but actually the e-C4 is pretty aerodynamically efficient, so it’s not too bad, while road and tyre noise is fine. The 136hp electric motor has enough poke in it for big roads, but it feels quite relaxed, with none of the sudden all-you’ve-got-right-now acceleration of some electric cars. That maybe makes it feel a bit less exciting, but it might also be a bit easier to adapt to for buyers coming over from petrol and diesel cars. One thing though; motorway miles give the e-C4’s battery a good kicking, as we’ll come to in a minute. 

On a twisty road

Here’s where the e-C4 kind of falls apart. It’s not that it’s dreadfully floppy to drive or anything, but the steering is too light and too distant from what’s happening for the driver to have any real enjoyment. Again, the soft suspension is as good at soaking up rural roads as it is dealing with mean city streets, but you’re just not going to take the e-C4 out for a drive just for the fun of it. The extra weight doesn’t help either — the e-C4 is around 500kg heavier than a petrol C4, and it shows through the bends with duller responses and a lack of dynamism when trying to corner quickly.

Decent space and comfy seats, although rear space isn’t the best

Practicality

There’s plenty of storage space in the front of the e-C4, not least because the compact little gear selector switch frees up plenty of room for a lidded storage box down on the centre console. You’ll also find the cupholders in there. In front of the gear selector, there’s a double-floored storage space, which means you can stash some items under a little lid, and then pile more stuff on top of that lid. Above that, there’s another tray which is home to the wireless phone charger, although that’s only standard on the top-spec Shine Plus model. As well as the (slightly small) glovebox, there’s a slide-out tray in front of the passenger seat, which is just the right size for an iPad or similar tablet. Above that, there’s a little pop-out bracket which will hold a tablet, making your front-seat passenger feel like they’re sitting in a much more expensive car with screens for everyone. Sort of. The front seats are exceptionally comfortable, and feel more like squashy armchairs than car seats. 

Space in the back seats

The sloping roofline means that headroom is a little bit tighter than it could be in the back of the e-C4. It’s not a huge problem for those sitting in the outer rear seats, but anyone perched in the slightly higher-up central rear seat is going to notice it. It’s not outrageously tight, but it’s certainly a little bit less roomy back there than in the VW ID3. The floor of the e-C4 isn’t flat, either — there’s a ‘transmission’ hump left over from sharing a structure with the petrol and diesel C4, so anyone trying to sit in the middle rear seat is going to have to share foot space with others in the back. There are some nice touches, though — all versions come with seatback pockets, and there are USB sockets and air vents for those in the back. You’ll only get a rear armrest on the top-spec model, though. 

Boot space

At 380 litres, the e-C4’s boot is right on the money for a car of this size — it’s the same size boot as you’d get in a conventional VW Golf, and just five litres smaller than the boot of the VW ID3. Mind you, a Nissan Leaf offers 435 litres, so don’t get too excited.

The boot floor adjusts up and down, so you can sacrifice a few litres of space if you want to do away with the loading lip from the back bumper. Fold down the rear seats and the boot expands to 1,280 litres, but the seatbacks don’t fold entirely flat, and there’s no handy handle in the boot to release them — you’ve got to walk around to the back door to flip them down. There are a couple of helpful little storage spaces to the left and right of the boot floor, as well as some shopping-bag hooks moulded into the sides. Underneath the adjustable floor, there’s a small space for a coiled-up charging cable, but the e-C4 doesn’t get a handy front-boot (froot) under the bonnet.

Decent quality but the infotainment feels old-fashioned

The e-C4 marks a step forward for Citroen in terms of its cabin design and quality. Yes, there are a few cheap plastics on show still, but overall it looks and feels well-made and well-put together, while some items — notably the steering wheel and the little toggle switch with which you select Drive and Reverse — feel positively expensive. As mentioned, the front seats are super-comfy and you sit relatively high-up compared to a conventional hatchback, as the e-C4 kind of sits in a middle ground between a hatch and a crossover, without quite being one or the other. 

Where the e-C4 is a bit let down is in its digital instruments and its infotainment system. The little 5.5-inch screen in front of the driver is clear enough to read, but it looks tiny, and is surrounded by an acreage of grey plastic that makes it appear like an elephant has got the screen caught between the cheeks of its bottom. No, honestly. 

Meanwhile, the 10.0-inch screen in the middle of the dash that runs the infotainment system is good in some ways, but really quite bad in others. As standard you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections, so it’s a doddle to use your phone with the e-C4. There’s also a standard-fit DAB radio receiver and if you go for anything but the basic Sense model, you get a higher-definition screen as standard. The problem is that the screen runs quite an old software system, so the menu layout is a bit scatter-shot and confusing. Trying to find simple things such as a dimmer control when driving at night is really too difficult, although at least — unlike Citroen’s cousins at Peugeot — there are sensible, physical controls for the heating and air conditioning. 

All e-C4 models aside from the base Sense version come with a three-year subscription to Citroen Connect online services, which include live traffic information, connected navigation, and a ‘Speedcam’ dash camera that records data in the event of an accident.

Good range, until you take it on the motorway  

Because it shares underpinnings with the likes of the Peugeot e-2008 and Vauxhall Mokka-e, the e-C4 gets the same 50kWh battery, slung under the floor, as those two. In general, it’s quite a good battery, giving you a claimed 217-mile range on a single charge. 

It can charge relatively quickly too. If you can find a high-powered public charging point, it can handle up to 100kW of charging power, meaning you can add as much as 205 miles of range in about 30 minutes. If you’re struggling to find a charger, and need to trickle-charge from a domestic socket, then you can add around 62 miles of range in nine hours — hardly rapid, but helpful if you’re staying overnight where there’s not a proper charging point. 

The problem is that the e-C4’s range is really very variable. Stick to town and country roads, and it’s fine and you should be able to get reasonably close to that 217-mile figure. Head out onto the motorway, though, and the extra strain on the battery means that the e-C4’s range drops off very quickly, leaving you with as little as 120 miles available at times. 

Really, then, the e-C4 is for those who only do mostly shorter journeys and aren’t into the whole cross-country runs thing. Of course, one big benefit is that you’ll pay zero VED, and of course — in spite of recent price increases — running a car on electricity is still much, much cheaper than running on one petrol or diesel.

For a fairly small, affordable car the e-C4 is absolutely rammed with safety kit and electronic driver aids, although some of these are of course on the options list. All models bar the base version come with a head-up display which is projected not onto the windscreen but onto a little ‘monocle’ screen that pops up from the top of the dashboard. 

Also coming as standard are active emergency braking — which scans the road in front of you and throws out the anchors if it detects you’re going to have a smash — along with a lane-keeping steering system, drive drowsiness detection and speed sign recognition.

Upgrade to a C-Series Edition or Shine Plus version and you’ll get an upgraded emergency braking system that can detect cyclists and is more useful at night, and extended traffic sign recognition which warns of more than just speed limits. 

All versions get cruise control with a speed limiter, while adaptive radar-guided cruise control is standard on C-Series Edition or Shine Plus models. Those versions also get a blind spot monitor, but all cars get ‘in-crash’ braking, which keeps the brakes pressed on after an accident has occurred to prevent the car rolling forwards. 

When tested by Euro NCAP, the C4 range as a whole scored four out of five stars for crash safety, with an 80% protection rating for adult occupants, and 83% for child occupants.

Citroen once had an unlovely reputation for unreliability and general flakiness, but that seems to have been pushed back in recent years, and the brand now does rather better in reliability and satisfaction surveys than it used to. The fact that all of the e-C4’s parts, battery and electric motor are shared with other cars from Peugeot, DS, and Vauxhall bodes well.

All new Citroens come with the three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, along with a 12-year anti-corrosion guarantee. On top of that, the e-C4 comes with a separate eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty for the battery, which guarantees that it will retain at least 70% of its original charging and energy storage performance.