![Citroen C4 electric (top) and Citroen C4 petrol](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/ss-2020-12-12-12-33_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq0RglTN43wyGR-NQABDM7ErkcnEMN6jgniYeqwz6a86k.png?imwidth=680)
Is electric or petrol best for your family hatchback? The Citroën C4 aims to please everyone
We test petrol and EV versions of the new family hatchback to work out some ground rules in the “electric versus everything else'' debate
![Citroen C4 electric (top) and Citroen C4 petrol](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/ss-2020-12-12-12-33_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq0RglTN43wyGR-NQABDM7ErkcnEMN6jgniYeqwz6a86k.png?imwidth=680)
Is it time to look at a battery-electric car? Citroën thinks it is with its new C4 family hatchback, which provides a choice of pure electric as well as conventional petrol or diesel propulsion.
If you look beyond car makers’ bullish claims, however, past the braying politicians and pressure groups, the answer is a lot more nuanced.
We’ve taken two C4 models to see if we can up with some ground rules in the great “electric versus everything else'' debate.
Under the skin
The new C4 hatchback is on sale now but first deliveries will be next year, with most people holding on for the registration-plate change at the start of March.
The body shape apes the current vogue for SUV/crossover models with a high ride height and tall roof. It’s 4,355mm long, 1,834mm wide and 1,525mm tall and has a 2,670mm wheelbase.
![2021 Citroen C4 petrol](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855150_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqdL_pBwJQgN01yJPsbqLLg4r9ecc3Mmr1ib0ni3x3zqM.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Under the skin is the PSA Group’s Common Modular Platform (CMP), which rightly belongs to a subset of smaller cars. So while the C4 is highly conventional to look at, it isn’t going to frighten the horses and despite the stretched bodywork, the overhangs at the extremities aren’t too pronounced. Did it really need a rear spoiler, though?
If you aren’t going to lose it in a car park, however, you’ll need a distinctive colour, such as the £545 optional caramel (or ‘camel’ as it appears in some brochures) brown metallic shown here.
Mechanically the suspension is entirely unexceptional, with a MacPherson-strut front and a twist-beam rear. The difference is in the damping, where hydraulic bump stops ease the wheels into the extremes of their travel and allow a softer ride quality at small suspension deflections – we’ll come back to this…
The petrol versions consist of a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol which, in 130PS form, was the one we tested. This has a conventional torque-converter automatic gearbox with eight ratios.
![2021 Citroen e-C4 electric](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855257_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqgiYfikpTC_IynkJ8TR4Rg2l5z4-PQ8TCelUbKEgQi_4.jpeg?imwidth=350)
With a kerb weight of 1,541kg, the battery-electric version weighs about 300kg more, but the 50kWh lithium-ion battery gives the 134bhp/221lb ft motor more firepower than the 129bhp/170lb ft petrol equivalent. But then weight takes its toll, so the battery electric version’s 0-62mph acceleration time is only 0.4sec faster than the petrol car.
Maximum speed is pretty academic unless you live in Germany or Montana, but the battery car tops out at 93mph and the petrol at 130mph.
Interior appointments
Someone at Citroën did some hard bargaining at board level for the dashboard in this family car. Not that the C4 has Audi-like levels of quality and material choice, but it’s intriguing to look at and easy to use, while the interior overall is comfortable and spacious.
![2021 Citroen e-C4 electric car - interior](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855160_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq2UT24tysUNS89v637bWo7jBMZvvLgQf0ptMXESkj1-U.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Even better is that the heater controls have been separated from the touchscreen, which takes the pressure off the screen function and makes changing the settings on everything more relaxed, involving less time with your eyes off the road.
Shine Plus is the top model and it comes with pretty much everything. It has the same camera- and radar-based safety systems as the penultimate Shine specification, but a slightly more sophisticated cruise control.
![2021 Citroen C4 1.2 petrol - interior](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855173_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bq2UT24tysUNS89v637bWo7jBMZvvLgQf0ptMXESkj1-U.jpeg?imwidth=350)
In the top model the seats are beautifully upholstered and supportive, and even on the rear bench there’s space for up to three adults abreast with leg and head room to spare.
The rear seat back splits 60/40 per cent and fold on to the rear bench so the load bed isn’t flat, but there’s a well thought-out two-height rear floor to mitigate this.
On the road – petrol
The three-cylinder engine emits a distinctive warble and is surprisingly brisk and rorty on the road. This is partly helped by the eight-speed automatic gearbox, which smoothes the changes, but kicks down quickly. Considering the size of the engine, this is a surprisingly sparky drive.
The petrol C4 also has the most wonderful ride quality, breathing over bumps and coping with sharp-edged potholes and traffic calming measures with equal aplomb. Drive hard on an undulating B-road and there’s slightly too much movement and a bit of float, but it never feels out of control – besides, if you are planning on driving that hard on a regular basis, you’d probably not be looking at a Citroën in the first place.
![2021 Citroen C4 1.2 petrol](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855226_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqgaWflyim2eqeYUuRAWDzx48kiobXm_pt1yaIf8iIiYQ.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The passive suspension doesn’t change with the drive mode selected and Sport, which peps up the throttle response and drops a ratio or two, seems rather over the top. The Eco setting, on the other hand, leaves responses sludgy and dulled so you’re better leaving the switch in Normal.
The steering feels over-assisted, springy and with a strange weight build-up through corners – very Citroën, then. It feels divorced from the road, but there’s a very grown-up feel, comfortable and long-legged.
On the road – electric
Other than its different instrument graphics and cacophony of bleeps when you start up, the ë-C4 battery version is barely any different, although the blue trim highlights are subtle and well finished.
Floor the accelerator and there’s an immediate feeling of more heft. The electric motor is strong and the starting performance brisk although the impression is of a fully-laden petrol model with the handbrake left on.
![2021 Citroen e-C4 electric car](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855246_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqoCYxz75W_x7UphVIxqMtHOx9nk3CAZAhqsYczWc60Ho.jpeg?imwidth=350)
Gone, too, is the lovely ride quality of the petrol C4. It’s no disaster, but the battery model’s ride feels leaden and featureless in comparison. It makes much more of a meal of exactly the same road surfaces than the petrol car glided over.
The steering is even more isolated from the road and while the brakes are strong, they stop the car in a series of lurches as the system maximises power regeneration over progressive stopping.
Conclusion
According to Department for Transport figures, the average mileage of each car in the UK in 2019 was 7,400 miles. If you charge the ë-C4 at home on a 7.4kW wall box at off-peak rates of, say, 11p per kWh, (the 11kW three-phase charger costs an extra £300) then given a fair wind, not too much temperature variation and very gentle driving, that mileage should cost you somewhere between £200 and £300 in electricity.
The same annual mileage in the petrol version will cost between £760 and £800, plus you’ll have a more expensive annual service to add to the mix.
![2021 Citroen C4 1.2 petrol](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855244_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqDQVK81QMLSkr-IuGRMUJHJxWLfs5mAvkbXYQqrLnBas.jpeg?imwidth=350)
A foregone conclusion, then? Well, not quite. For a start, the like-for-like comparison between the two cars shows a difference of £4,740 in favour of petrol, which turns into £6,140 if you change gear manually.
And if you venture farther than 200 miles from your home charging station, you’ll be at the mercy of Britain’s haphazard charging infrastructure, which in places will relieve you of upwards of 69 pence per kWh of electricity, which is about 17 pence per mile compared with 10ppm for the petrol car.
There’s also the not insubstantial matter of extra tyre wear in the battery model, as well as the effects of depreciation on both.
At the moment, the cry is “Electric, electric” but the argument is less clear-cut for families with only one car.
![2021 Citroen e-C4 electric car](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/images/2020/12/12/TELEMMGLPICT000244855245_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqzxxJKcei7biILNBJQ-STUv-5atqDw7JUjrinpvwQI_s.jpeg?imwidth=350)
If you have off-street charging, rarely travel long distances or have another car, the battery electric C4 is a clear choice and will save a lot of money, although (as with every battery-powered car) it’s no environmental free lunch. Also, it isn’t as good to drive as the petrol model.
If you don’t have access to a home wall box and travel all over the place on a schedule, you probably want the petrol, which is about as economical as it gets in the market, or perhaps even the diesel version which returns 65mpg with only 119g/km of CO2.
With the proliferation of models and power sources at the moment, it has never been more imperative to avoid being suckered into the wrong choice. As they used to say, you pays your money, you makes your choice.
The facts
2021 Citroën C4 (battery electric version in brackets)
TESTED 1,199cc, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol, eight-speed automatic gearbox, front-wheel drive (50kWh lithium-ion battery with 100kW, 400 volt AC electric motor, front-wheel drive via a single speed drop-down transmission)
PRICE/ON SALE from £20,990 as tested £26,590 (from 29,180 inc Government Plug-in Car Grant PiGG, as tested £30,130 inc PiGG)/now, first deliveries in the spring
POWER/TORQUE 129bhp @ 5,500rpm, 170lb ft @ 1,750rpm (134bhp/221lb ft @3,674rpm)
TOP SPEED 130mph (93mph)
ACCELERATION 0-62mph 9.4sec (9sec)
FUEL ECONOMY 50.3mpg (WLTP Combined)
CHARGE TIME 30 minutes for an 80 per cent charge on a 100kW DC charger, 7.5hrs for a full charge on a 7.4kW home wall box, 24 hours on a 13amp domestic supply
RANGE 553 miles (217 miles)
CO2 EMISSIONS 131g/km (zero at tailpipe, well-to-wheels 33.3g/km)
EFFICIENCY 4.34 miles per kWh
VED £215 first year, then £150 (zero rated)
VERDICT With a combustion engine, Citroën has achieved something rather remarkable with its C4 family hatchback; a classy feeling and spacious interior, with a magic carpet ride quality, perfect for long-distance travel. The battery electric ë-C4 has its charms, not least inside, but an extra 300kg blunts the suspension’s abilities and makes driving feel leaden after vivacious combustion-engined cars. As a second car, or a runaround with a reasonable range it does the job, but it’s really not rounded enough to be the only car on your drive.
TELEGRAPH RATING Four stars out of five (three out of five)
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