2022 Citroën C4: Fun, Sexy, and Smart

When launched a few months ago, I thought Citroën’s C4 was as French as baguette, Vin Rouge, et la tour Eiffel. C4 shook off the shackles of frump, to become a raving beauty, but there are one or two teensy little trifles to temper the celebrations.

For example, the recent news of a 4 Star ANCAP rating was disappointing but not unexpected. Read about it HERE.

Citroën’s C4 comes in a single model, the Shine. Peugeot Citroën has culled their lineup over the last few years, and as sales continued to shrink, new models have been thin on the ground. Some new models failed altogether, such as Citroën’s own C3 Aircross.

Buyers are a canny bunch, and they’re ruthless when it comes to brand loyalty. No car maker can rest in the laurels of their past glory.

The looks:

C4 is a beguiling little minx, neither overstated nor dull. The friendly face is the latest iteration of the split lighting arrays that seem to have found favour with a deluge of designers. Some have been more successful than others, and Citroën itself has dropped a couple of clunkers in that department.

What we see now is a beautifully refined version of success stories like the beloved 2CV. It is a a pleasant departure from the often dreary hatches pumped out by car makers left and right.

The SUV-coupé, Citroën style, eschews the grotesque bulbousness of the Mercedes GLE and BMW X4 and X6. Instead, the C4 is svelte, with a chapeau floating gently over a deliciously buxom body. Bodacious lines cut across the front and rear, slicing and dicing the surface into a complex mesh of lights, vents, and creases. The eye doesn’t rest long, before being guided by expert hands to the next point of interest.

The rump is particularly successful with daring slashes of light defining arrays that also outline the extremities of the hatch. It is clever, but resists the urges of the overdesigned Honda Civic hatch.

You’re in no doubt of C4 being an SUV, but her lines cloak her generous proportions in such a way as to render her a mere slip of a thing. It looks much smaller than it actually is.

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The looks:

C4 is a beguiling little minx, neither overstated nor dull. The friendly face is the latest iteration of the split lighting arrays that seem to have found favour with a deluge of designers. Some have been more successful than others, and Citroën itself has dropped a couple of clunkers in that department.

What we see now is a beautifully refined version of success stories like the beloved 2CV. It is a a pleasant departure from the often dreary hatches pumped out by car makers left and right.

The SUV-coupé, Citroën style, eschews the grotesque bulbousness of the Mercedes GLE and BMW X4 and X6. Instead, the C4 is svelte, with a chapeau floating gently over a deliciously buxom body. Bodacious lines cut across the front and rear, slicing and dicing the surface into a complex mesh of lights, vents, and creases. The eye doesn’t rest long, before being guided by expert hands to the next point of interest.

The rump is particularly successful with daring slashes of light defining arrays that also outline the extremities of the hatch. It is clever, but resists the urges of the overdesigned Honda Civic hatch.

You’re in no doubt of C4 being an SUV, but her lines cloak her generous proportions in such a way as to render her a mere slip of a thing. It looks much smaller than it actually is.

The cabin:

The interior design is a triumph.

The cabin is entered via locks so smart; they don’t even need to be touched to work. They simply sense the key secreted about the driver, and either lock or unlock, ready for adventure.

Driver instruments have been abolished, replaced by a pop-up HUD augmented by a sexy little 5.5” LCD where dials would normally live. Before you start huffing and puffing with indignation, I can tell you it works beautifully. It combines Gallic flare, with practicality that is not obvious until the system fires up. Then, the colour displays give you just the data you need. You’re not flooded with irrelevant minutiae in a layout that is informative, yet strangely calming.

The handsome precision continues throughout the cabin, but the gear selector is going to take getting used to. Like VW, Citroën is banished the lever, replaced by a toggle switch, with a button for Park and Manual. You normally pull a lever back to select directional changes, first reverse, then neutral and drive. In this case, a push forward is reverse, and back is drive. The number of times I moved it forward to go forward, and backward to go backwards, was rather shocking. Thankfully I did not plant the loafer, or I’d have done rather a good impression of a pensioner entering a shop the hard way.

Twin zone climate gives the front passengers individual comfort settings, further aided by seat heating to keep bums warm even on the coldest Alp.

Then, there is the seats themselves, which have been crafted to fit the body perfectly. They even have a massage keep you Zen in heavy traffic.

It wouldn’t be Citroën without a touch of frivolous excess. In this case, the front passenger has a couple of drawers above the glove box, one contains a tablet holder, and the one above it is an armature into which the tablet holder securely clicks. This wonton luxury is usually enjoyed by rear riders on posher ponies. It is genius, and is an innovation I hope to see used often.

I love Citroën seats, and with 4-up, all should feel like royalty.

The Drive:

What a peach.

When I hear the words “three” and “cylinder,” I lapse into a soporific stupor.

They lack lustre to the point of coma, yet Citroën has managed to give their 1.2L a touch of zip. Its polished performance is aided by a rather gorgeous 8-speed automatic. It slides from gear to gear with the dexterity of a Cirque du Soleil summersaulter.

As you glide along, you’re barely aware of gear shifts as the playful C4 glides along to the strains of its raspy exhaust.

Performance is somewhere between average, and fun. 8.5secs  to a hundy1 is relaxed enough to be fun, but brisk enough to be respectable. This is where the 114kw/250Nm puts a touch of sparkle into your Sunday spin through the Nasho2.

Cornering in a Citroën is heavenly, there is no other word for it. You guide C4 in, and it does the rest, mind of its own. One joyous bend after another is dispatched with the alacrity of a cat on carpet. Steering has little feel, but is as precise as a Swiss watch. Say what you like about Citroën, but it is hard to find more fun at the price.

As for gadgets, you’re reasonably catered for, but there are no centre airbags, thus the 4-star rating. There is no lane centering, but you do get active lane departure warning. There is also blind spot monitor, and smart cruise with a queue assist function for city snarls. Its controls take a little getting used to. We couldn’t find how to adjust the distance to the car in front, and there was no user guide. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a Frenchman, eating croissant, having a giggle at my expense.

I’m not fussed on their attempt at a 360o reversing camera. It concocts a view as you reverse, stitching together a picture instead of having several live cameras, never mind, it is a trifle.

Conclusion:

There is always something in a Citroën that is playfully incomprehensible. They no longer have the uppy-downy suspension, but they keep the spirit of André’s intentions alive and well. Don’t get into the driver’s seat expecting to be bored rigid. It is a hoot from the moment you stab the starter.

The interior feels and looks of good quality, but when buyers compare brands, they look at price, value, warranty, and gadgets. They’ll also consider performance, and handling, and I fear a 114kw 3-cylinder may not satisfy their rampant lust for power.

However, that misses the whole point of the C4. It is not a powerful sports car, yet it handles like one.

I loved it and would happily drive one until the next shiny thing comes along.

Citroën C4

  • Price: $37,990
  • Engine: 1.2L 3cyl turbo petrol, Euro 6.1
  • Power: 114kw/250Nm
  • Trans: 8-speed automatic
  • Economy: 6.1L/100k (claimed combined)
  • 0-100kph: 8.5 seconds
  • CO­­­­­­­₂: 138gm/km
  • Tank: 50L

 

1-hundy = 100

2-Nasho = Royal national Park, Sydney

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