Citroen C4 is one of the popular cars of this company and it's predicted to have good sale statistics in Iran.
The Citroen C4 is a conventional five-door hatchback, and a rival for the likes of the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra. However, despite being a similar size, you can get a C4 for quite a bit less than either of the aforementioned rivals.
Keen drivers also won’t be impressed by the C4’s handling. It’s very softly sprung, which means plenty of body roll even when you’re not cornering particularly hard. It may feel comfortable at first, but harder-edged obstacles can cause the ride to become unsettled. It can also feel quite wallowy at times.
Although the C4 is keenly priced, even before you factor in the discounts that Citroen always seems to offer, it feels too far off the class best to really recommend.
Driving
Drive only a short distance in the C4 and you soon realise that comfort has been the priority for the car’s suspension engineers. Even compared to a Skoda Octavia, the C4 feels very softly sprung.
Over smooth but undulating tarmac, the car irons out the worst of the bumps in a slightly wallowy fashion. However, throw in a few sharper edged obstacles like potholes or expansion joints and the ride starts to fall apart. Instead of smothering these, it tends to crash and thump noisily. Drive over crumbling urban roads at a slow speed and it isn’t very pleasant at all.
Naturally, the squidgy springing means that there’s plenty of lean in corners. Add to that steering which doesn’t give you a great idea of what the front wheels are doing, and it’s clear that there’s not much fun to be had in driving the C4 quickly.
We’ve sampled the 128bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine as well as the most powerful 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel motor. The latter choice gives the C4 strong acceleration with plenty of flexibility at low rpm, although the little petrol motor also impresses with its flexibility. You need to work it a bit harder than the diesel but it’s a willing performer, even if it does remind you of how many cylinders it has regularly. There’s quite a lot of vibration that comes though the controls, and the stop/start system transmits more tremors through the cabin. Work it hard and you’re treated to a thrummy noise that is noticeable but not at all unpleasant.
We would be tempted to look at the lower powered options in the range, however; the BlueHDI 120 still offers decent performance while offering even lower running costs. We wouldn’t rule out the entry level PureTech 110 petrol or BlueHDI 100 diesel if you do plenty of urban miles. They may not have as much punch as the more powerful options, but they’re more than enough for the vast majority of situations.
Interior
Even entry level Touch specification gets a steering wheel that adjusts for both height and reach along with seats that can be raised or lowered. This means it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position no matter what size you are.
Those that travel long distances will be disappointed to see that lumbar support adjustment isn’t included in Touch trim; you need to go up a trim level for it to be included as standard.
Looking around the dashboard, there are sizeable areas of soft-touch plastic and some attractive chrome trims used in an attempt to lift the ambiance. Look closer, however, and you soon find hard, scratchy plastic and controls that don’t operate with the precision of some rivals.
The touchscreen infotainment system is also a bit of a disappointment. The positioning isn’t bad (although some may prefer it a little higher), and it was fairly easy to navigate, but the graphics are both dated and shown in quite a low resolution.
The touchscreen has also meant that the button count has been greatly reduced. This makes for a cleaner, less cluttered looking dashboard. The same can’t be said for the button-laden steering wheel, which feels too big for the cabin.
Cost & verdict
Compared to rivals such as the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra, the Citroen C4 scores for its cheap purchase price and reasonably generous levels of standard kit. Citroen generally offers discounts, so it’s well worth haggling hard if you want one.
The warranty period is an industry standard three years or 60,000 miles, however this can be extended. Paying a bit more for a longer period of cover may not be the worst plan, as the C4 performed badly in our last customer satisfaction survey.
At least emissions and economy are a C4 strong point. The BlueHDI 100 with start/stop manages an impressive 86g/km of CO2 emissions with combined economy of 85.6mpg. Even the most powerful engine, the 148bhp diesel, manages 100g/km and 74.3mpg.
Unsurprisingly, the petrol engines aren’t quite as impressive, but they still don’t disgrace themselves. All can manage over 50mpg with none emitting more than 120g/km, even the automatic version.
Back in 2010, the C4 managed a full five-star score from Euro NCAP. The test has been updated since, however, and pedestrian protection was poor. The security experts at Thatcham have awarded it a maximum five stars for resisting being stolen, and four stars for resisting having items stolen from it.
Source: whatcar.com
Keen drivers also won’t be impressed by the C4’s handling. It’s very softly sprung, which means plenty of body roll even when you’re not cornering particularly hard. It may feel comfortable at first, but harder-edged obstacles can cause the ride to become unsettled. It can also feel quite wallowy at times.
Although the C4 is keenly priced, even before you factor in the discounts that Citroen always seems to offer, it feels too far off the class best to really recommend.
Driving
Drive only a short distance in the C4 and you soon realise that comfort has been the priority for the car’s suspension engineers. Even compared to a Skoda Octavia, the C4 feels very softly sprung.
Over smooth but undulating tarmac, the car irons out the worst of the bumps in a slightly wallowy fashion. However, throw in a few sharper edged obstacles like potholes or expansion joints and the ride starts to fall apart. Instead of smothering these, it tends to crash and thump noisily. Drive over crumbling urban roads at a slow speed and it isn’t very pleasant at all.
Naturally, the squidgy springing means that there’s plenty of lean in corners. Add to that steering which doesn’t give you a great idea of what the front wheels are doing, and it’s clear that there’s not much fun to be had in driving the C4 quickly.
We’ve sampled the 128bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine as well as the most powerful 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel motor. The latter choice gives the C4 strong acceleration with plenty of flexibility at low rpm, although the little petrol motor also impresses with its flexibility. You need to work it a bit harder than the diesel but it’s a willing performer, even if it does remind you of how many cylinders it has regularly. There’s quite a lot of vibration that comes though the controls, and the stop/start system transmits more tremors through the cabin. Work it hard and you’re treated to a thrummy noise that is noticeable but not at all unpleasant.
We would be tempted to look at the lower powered options in the range, however; the BlueHDI 120 still offers decent performance while offering even lower running costs. We wouldn’t rule out the entry level PureTech 110 petrol or BlueHDI 100 diesel if you do plenty of urban miles. They may not have as much punch as the more powerful options, but they’re more than enough for the vast majority of situations.
Interior
Even entry level Touch specification gets a steering wheel that adjusts for both height and reach along with seats that can be raised or lowered. This means it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position no matter what size you are.
Those that travel long distances will be disappointed to see that lumbar support adjustment isn’t included in Touch trim; you need to go up a trim level for it to be included as standard.
Looking around the dashboard, there are sizeable areas of soft-touch plastic and some attractive chrome trims used in an attempt to lift the ambiance. Look closer, however, and you soon find hard, scratchy plastic and controls that don’t operate with the precision of some rivals.
The touchscreen infotainment system is also a bit of a disappointment. The positioning isn’t bad (although some may prefer it a little higher), and it was fairly easy to navigate, but the graphics are both dated and shown in quite a low resolution.
The touchscreen has also meant that the button count has been greatly reduced. This makes for a cleaner, less cluttered looking dashboard. The same can’t be said for the button-laden steering wheel, which feels too big for the cabin.
Cost & verdict
Compared to rivals such as the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra, the Citroen C4 scores for its cheap purchase price and reasonably generous levels of standard kit. Citroen generally offers discounts, so it’s well worth haggling hard if you want one.
The warranty period is an industry standard three years or 60,000 miles, however this can be extended. Paying a bit more for a longer period of cover may not be the worst plan, as the C4 performed badly in our last customer satisfaction survey.
At least emissions and economy are a C4 strong point. The BlueHDI 100 with start/stop manages an impressive 86g/km of CO2 emissions with combined economy of 85.6mpg. Even the most powerful engine, the 148bhp diesel, manages 100g/km and 74.3mpg.
Unsurprisingly, the petrol engines aren’t quite as impressive, but they still don’t disgrace themselves. All can manage over 50mpg with none emitting more than 120g/km, even the automatic version.
Back in 2010, the C4 managed a full five-star score from Euro NCAP. The test has been updated since, however, and pedestrian protection was poor. The security experts at Thatcham have awarded it a maximum five stars for resisting being stolen, and four stars for resisting having items stolen from it.
Source: whatcar.com
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