When the then-new Citroen C4 was launched almost five years ago, it was a bit of a departure from the norm. Where every C4 before it had been a hatchback, the new model blurred the lines between genres, creating a coupe-hatchback-SUV mix that looked great and was surprisingly practical. Despite being offered in all manner of forms, including electric e-C4 guise, it never really caught on, remaining a left-field alternative to the VW Golf and Toyota Corolla.
Yet Citroen has persevered, and the C4 has been updated for 2025 with an even smarter new look and a dash of extra technology. Will that be enough to turn the C4 into a proper family car contender, or will it remain an odd, but oddly appealing choice for those who want something different from the norm? Our first chance to sample the new car was at its European launch in Barcelona.
How does the Citroen C4 look?
The C4’s shape hasn’t really changed as part of the update, so it still has the same chunky demeanour and the same swooping roofline. It already looked modern, and Citroen has brought it into line with its siblings thanks to a new front end with the new, retro-inspired Citroen logo becoming a prominent part of the styling. There’s a faired-in grille with a chevron pattern that merges with the headlights, and Citroen has added little strips to the front bumper that can be customised according to customer taste. As standard, they’re finished in gloss black, but top-spec cars get gold.
At the back, the window remains divided by a spoiler, which isn’t ideal for visibility but makes for a dramatic image, while the Citroen name is now spelled out across the tailgate and the new fragmented light pattern that’s on display at the front of the car is referenced at the rear, too. As a result of all that, the C4 looks a little less alien than its predecessor, and that’s probably a good thing, but it still feels fresh, modern and funky.
A look inside the Citroen C4
Though Citroen has made fairly substantial changes to the C4’s exterior design, the interior changes are somewhat less obvious. But they exist if you look closely, with updates to the digital instrument display and the touchscreen.
Aside from that, however, it’s business as usual, with a fairly attractive dashboard design that features some neat chrome-effect touches and some fabric surfaces, preventing it from feeling drab. There’s a surprising number of buttons on show, too, given Citroen’s penchant for hiding things away in touchscreen menus, and switchgear to adjust the head-up display and the climate control feels like a bit of a rarity these days.
It also runs the risk of feeling a little old-school, and there is an element of that about the C4’s cabin. The head-up display that’s projected onto a thick screen, rather than the windscreen itself, is a bit olde worlde, and some of the buttons and stalks feel a tad last-generation, too. All that said, though, the overall style is pretty modern.
Unfortunately, some of the materials aren’t that upmarket, especially on the passenger side, and though that’s a black mark against the Citroen’s name, it’s to be expected given its value positioning in the family hatchback market. Happily, the way in which those materials are stitched together is much more impressive, and that allows the C4 to recover some prestige.
Space is an equally mixed bag, with the C4 falling foul of its stylish shape in the luggage department. While it’s a proper hatchback (in that the rear window is part of the tailgate), so the boot aperture is fairly good - certainly better than that of the supposedly more practical and closely related C4 X - but space isn’t as impressive: the 380-litre boot is almost exactly the same size as that of a VW Golf. And the sloping rear window means exceptionally tall rear-seat passengers will struggle for headroom, while fitting bulky items in the boot might not be as easy as it would be with more upright rear glass. Still, the C4 manages to carry four adults fairly happily, and the boot will be big enough most of the time.
The Citroen C4’s on-board technology
With so few changes to the C4’s basic interior design, the focus is on the technological advances. Chief among which is the inclusion of a new seven-inch digital instrument display, which is larger and clearer than its predecessor, and generally feels like a much more cohesive part of the C4’s on-board tech offering.
Certainly, it’s better than the central touchscreen, which uses Citroen’s latest software and now includes a voice assistant with ChatGPT tech for more natural conversations. But the responses of both the voice assistant and the screen are so glacial that none of it feels as modern as it looks or sounds. Yes, the graphics are tidy enough, but the menus are awkward to use and when you’re left waiting for the screen to catch up with you, it becomes quite tricky on the move.
Still, with steering wheel controls for most things and a head-up display (albeit an ancient-looking one) fitted to the higher-specification cars, the C4’s technology is good enough for a budget family hatch. And it’s available with goodies like a tablet holder for the passenger, so you can watch a film on an iPad, and there’s a drawer above the glovebox in which to store said iPad. Wireless charging is on the menu, too, and there are lots of USB-C ports for charging devices and connecting to the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto tech in the touchscreen.
How much will the Citroen C4 cost in Ireland?
We don’t yet know how much Citroen will charge for the C4 in Ireland, but we do know competitive pricing is part of Citroen’s strategy, and we’re expecting a fairly low starting price for the C4 Hybrid. We’ll update this page when we know more on that front.
How safe is the Citroen C4?
The European independent safety organisation, Euro NCAP, has not yet assessed the new-look C4, but with so few structural changes between the old and new models, the results shouldn’t be too different. When it was originally tested, the C4 received a respectable but unremarkable four-star rating, although that was partly because the European-specification car didn’t have the safety pack that’s standard in right-hand-drive vehicles. So, we reckon a latest-generation, Irish-specification car would probably perform slightly better.
Citroen has continued to develop its safety tech, and the latest C4 comes with all the usual features, including lane departure warning and autonomous emergency braking that can stop the vehicle automatically if the driver doesn’t react to a hazard. High-spec models such as the one we tested also come with a head-up display to help keep your eyes on the road, and there’s a traffic-sign-based speed limit detection and warning system, which is a legal requirement these days and is (like every other manufacturer’s speed limit detection system) inaccurate at times, creating great annoyance. Fortunately, there’s a shortcut button to access the menu that allows you to turn it off. Which you have to do every time you start the car.
How many child seats can you fit in a Citroen C4?
Citroen is offering the C4 with two child seat ISOFIX mounting points on the rear bench, with one on each of the outermost back seats. That’s par for the course in this class, and it should be enough for most customers, but bear in mind the sloping roofline might make access to those back seats a little more challenging than it would be in a conventional hatchback, particularly if you have bulky child seats. Nevertheless, the C4’s cabin isn’t too narrow, so there should be plenty of room to fit both seats at the same time, leaving a bit of breathing space between the two.
How efficient is the Citroen C4?
The days of petrol and diesel C4s are, it seems, over. Instead, the C4 in Ireland now has a line-up that solely comprises hybrid and electric powertrains, with varying power outputs for both.
As standard, the electric e-C4 comes with a 50kWh battery pack and a 136hp electric motor, offering up to 360km of electric range, while the more upmarket option uses a 54kWh battery and a 156hp motor to provide 427km of range. Neither will manage their official numbers in real-world driving.
Supplementing the EVs are two hybrid options. Both are based on the same 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine, which is combined with a six-speed automatic gearbox and a 48-volt hybrid system. Normally, such systems just provide glorified stop-start technology, but the Citroen uses the electric motor to power the wheels more often than you might expect.
When coasting, or even when driving around town with relatively low demand on the powertrain, the C4 stays stubbornly in electric mode, as denoted by the numerals in the instrument cluster changing from white to blue. As a result, both hybrid options return the same impressive fuel consumption of around five litres per 100km, which means they’ll be very cheap to run.
However, putting your foot down will increase that fuel burn noticeably, and you won’t get that much reward for doing so. With the engine at work, the basic C4 Hybrid offers a mere 100hp, which gives it acceleration that’s acceptable but not exceptional. The 136hp version is better - partly because it doesn’t have to work so hard to achieve the same results - but it’s hardly rapid. Nevertheless, you should be able to keep up with traffic without any problem at all.
And anyway, Citroen’s evident disinterest in straight-line speed means there are other benefits to the hybrid system. Although the motor is surprisingly noisy, whirring away as you drive along, the petrol engine is quite smooth and refined, only becoming noisy when you push it. And even when you do that, the three-cylinder thrum is fairly pleasant. As a result, you sometimes need those coloured numbers on the instrument cluster to tell you whether you’re running on petrol or electricity, and that’s quite the compliment in a budget hybrid.
It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. The refinement of the car in general is no better than adequate, so while the C4 is better than the C4 X on that front, there’s a bit of wind and road noise at higher speeds, and the six-speed automatic transmission isn’t great. It regularly ties itself in knots with the two motors, spoiling some of the smoothness and leaving you wondering whether it will ever just let the car accelerate.
Driving the Citroen C4
Despite the best efforts of the gearbox, the C4 Hybrid is a fairly pleasant car to drive around in. Citroen has clearly decided sportiness is not its cup of tea, so the focus is very much on comfort and relaxation, with soft ‘Advanced Comfort’ suspension fitted as standard to every example.
And unlike the C4 X, which struggles to live up to the billing, the C4 feels pretty compliant. It isn’t as good as Citroen claims, but it soaks up most bumps fairly well, particularly at higher speeds. It’s great on the motorway, and it’s no less comfortable than any of its rivals around town.
Yet despite the softness, it’s fairly nimble. Not in a sporty way - the body leans way too much for it to be considered sporty - but it moves in a controlled way, the steering is light enough for manoeuvring in town and the car feels pretty agile. It doesn’t really enjoy being thrown into corners on fast roads, partly because feel for what’s going on is in short supply, but it turns keenly enough and it’s as lively as any conventional hatchback around town. Even the brakes, which are normally an Achilles’ heel of hybrids (and are a real issue for the C4 X) are powerful and smooth enough, although they do sometimes conspire with the transmission to make stops more abrupt than you might have meant.
However, pretty much every judgement we’ve just passed applies solely to the C4 Hybrid. While the e-C4 has much the same chassis set-up on paper, it behaves completely differently and loses much of the charm that sets the hybrid apart from its rivals. Where the C4 Hybrid feels light and perky, the e-C4 has squidgy handling and a sharp ride, which is entirely the wrong way around.
The steering, for example, is numb in both the hybrid and the e-C4, but at least it feels willing in the Hybrid. The e-C4 turns grudgingly at times, and the brakes are lifeless and soft. It’s as though the extra weight of the battery has made it somehow dumpy.
And the weight has clearly impacted the suspension, too, because while we’d like the ride to be soft, the e-C4 turns out to be quite jiggly and unsettled. It isn’t as disastrous as the ride in the e-C4 X (which for some reason is worse as a hybrid than as an EV), but it’s nowhere near as composed and as calm as the ride in the C4 Hybrid. Even at higher speeds, it never quite relaxes.
The reasons you’d buy a Citroen C4
For all the C4’s qualities - and there are plenty of them - it seems destined to remain something of an unconventional choice. But just because it’s unconventional doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy one. The C4 is a funky and efficient alternative to the grey fug of family hatchbacks, and it should be applauded for that alone. But the fact it’s expected to offer a very competitively priced alternative to the conventional cars in this class puts it ahead of many rivals - if only for the few who are brave enough to be a bit different.
Ask us anything about the Citroen C4
Should you want to know more about the Citroen C4, any other Citroen, or even any other car, then why not head to our Ask Us Anything page? Our experts are at your disposal to answer any automotive question you’ve ever wanted to know the answer to, and they’ll come back to you completely free of charge. What’s not to like?
