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The Citroën ë-C4 has been updated; it’s available from under £30,000, which is great value for an electric family hatchback, and the one improvement that it needed has now been actioned: sharper front styling.
The Citroën ë-C4 has been updated, with changes including revised styling. In a world where there are lots of electric cars packed full of the latest technology that many people don’t want, at very high prices, it’s refreshing for Citroën to give us an electric family hatchback that starts at under £30,000.
The one key thing that the last Citroën ë-C4 needed was sharper front styling to replace the droopy headlights; this has now been rectified with the new model, along with similar improvements at the rear.
The dashboard is dark with lots of plastic, which looks a bit basic, but many people aren’t likely to be too bothered about this. They’re more likely to be pleased that an electric five-seat family hatchback is available for under £30,000. The 380-litre boot (or 1,250 litres with the rear seats folded) has two false floors, providing compartments that allow you to store the charging cables, and even the parcel shelf, which is really useful, and it makes you wonder why more manufacturers don’t do this.
The Citroën ë-C4 in MAX trim as tested has a 54kWh lithium-ion battery, but YOU! and Plus trim levels retain the slightly smaller 50kWh battery. A 156 bhp electric motor (or 136 bhp in YOU! and Plus trim levels) delivers front-wheel drive. The ë-C4’s platform is shared widely within the Stellantis Group.
The driving experience of the updated Citroën ë-C4 isn’t wildly different from the previous model; the headline remains that the ë-C4 is comfortable and easy to drive. This is primarily due to the suspension, which delivers comfortable ride quality on most roads unless there are huge potholes, but the seats also contribute to the comfortable experience. The ë-C4’s relatively light weight, 1,680 kg, also helps with the way the car drives. Because the ë-C4 is engineered for comfort, this means that if you’re looking for precise, race car-like handling and steering, you won’t find it here.
Front-wheel drive can result in wheelspin in EVs under acceleration due to the high levels of torque, but it feels like the power delivery has been managed so that this isn’t an issue in normal driving.
The ë-C4 is quiet and refined like virtually all electric cars, but the key point is that most petrol or diesel cars at the same price point as the Citroën won’t have this level of refinement.
The gear selector is the familiar Stellantis unit, with choices of P, R, N, D and B – even though some other models in the Group have now ditched the B setting on the gear selector (for increased brake regeneration) in favour of steering wheel-mounted paddles. There are also drive mode choices of Sport, Normal and Eco.
The ë-C4 has a driver’s instrument display and a head-up display projected onto a plastic screen, as well as a wide central touchscreen in the MAX trim of our test car, with separate physical climate controls for cabin temperature and fan speed, and a physical volume control. Under the touchscreen are two shortcut buttons for home and vehicle, the latter giving access to shortcuts to switch off assistance systems such as lane keeping assist. Good luck trying to find the satnav on the infotainment system.
The Citroën ë-C4 in MAX trim has an official combined WLTP electric driving range of 257 miles, which is an improvement on the 219 miles for the YOU! and Plus trim levels. During a week of mixed driving, we averaged 220 miles in the real-world, which is good. But note that the range will drop quickly with lots of high-speed motorway driving.
The Citroen e-C4 can rapid charge at up to 100 kW, when a 0-80% charge will take just 30 minutes. Using a 7.4kW home charger, a full charge should take seven hours 30 minutes. You can also specify the e-C4 with the option to charge at 11 kW, which will deliver slightly faster charging when using a charge point with a three-phase electricity supply, such as at a workplace.
The Citroën ë-C4 MAX 54kWh 156hp is priced at £31,505. Our test car had options of a black roof (£300), Techno Pack featuring 360 Vision parking camera system, Highway Driver Assist incorporating Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop&Go and 15W wireless smartphone charging (£500), a heat pump to control vehicle temperature more efficiently and increase real-world achieved range, particularly in colder conditions (£450), and an 11 kW three-phase onboard charger (£300), taking the total price of our test car to £33,055.
The Citroën ë-C4 is available in three trim levels: YOU! and Plus, priced at £27,650 and £28,715 respectively, both with 50kWh ‘standard range’ batteries giving a range of 219 miles together with a 136hp electric motor, and MAX trim, as tested, with 156hp and a 54kWh battery giving a 257-mile range, priced at £31,505.
The Citroën ë-C4 is a comfortable and easy to drive family hatchback with prices starting at £27,650, which represents excellent value. The main issue with the previous generation model that needed improving was the frontal styling, and this has now been done, resulting in much sharper looks. If you want a slightly longer driving range then you’ll need to go for MAX trim, which has an official WLTP range of 257 miles, which takes the price to £31,505. The Citroën ë-C4 gains a Green Car Guide rating of 8 out of 10.
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