The supposedly more practical sibling of the C4 hatchback, the e-C4 X marries a saloon body to a raised chassis and offers a choice of hybrid or electric powertrains. It’s long been an awkward thing to pigeon-hole, and Citroen is all too aware of that.
The company is also aware that the C4 X hasn’t necessarily flown out of showrooms. With such an odd position in the market, sales have been a little sluggish, so the strange Citroen has been updated, getting the same new front end and interior tweaks as the revised C4 in a bid to make it more appealing. This is our first taste of the new model and we’re testing it in the electric ‘e-C4 X’ form we expect to be most appealing to buyers.
What does the new Citroen e-C4 X look like?
The e-C4 X is a bit of an oddity in the car market, with a saloon car’s body on SUV-like underpinnings, but it looks remarkably cohesive. And like the e-C4 on which it’s based, the car has had a front-end makeover, gaining a new nose with Citroen’s new retro-inspired logo. There’s a new grille design, too, echoing the Citroen chevrons in the glossy black plastic, while there are fragmented LED light clusters at the front and rear. Citroen has also added little plastic strips to the lower bumpers, with glossy black ones denoting the two lower trim levels, while gold denotes the range-topping Max tested here. But customers can swap those strips for other colours if they so wish.
A look inside the Citroen e-C4 X
While Citroen has made fundamental changes to the e-C4 X’s exterior, the cabin has not really changed very much. The only obvious differences are the arrival of a new digital instrument display, which is significantly bigger than the one that went before, and some slightly different seats with a bit more lateral support, but otherwise it’s more of the same.
That means it still feels a little cheap in places, with some crummy plastics in evidence, but the overall design is pretty smart, with some fabric-trimmed parts lightening the mood somewhat. But while the plastics may be cheap, that’s because the e-C4 X is quite cheap, and what’s more important is that most of the touchpoints, such as the steering wheel and gear selector, feel more upmarket than some of the panels. And all of it is bolted together pretty well.
Obviously, the forward cabin is shared with the C4, but the rear part of the cabin is not. There’s a bit more space in the back of the e-C4 X than in the comparable C4 models, with slightly more legroom and headroom, thanks to the different roofline. The e-C4 is comfortable enough for four, but the e-C4 X is that fraction more commodious for taller rear-seat passengers.
And it has considerably more boot space. Where the e-C4 has a 380-litre boot, the e-C4 X’s 510-litre luggage volume sounds far more useful. But the devil is in the detail, not the figures, and the e-C4 X’s saloon body counts against it. Where the e-C4 has a proper tailgate that leaves a wide aperture through which to load things, the e-C4 X has a letterbox-style opening that limits the boot’s usefulness.
The Citroen e-C4 X’s on-board technology
With so few major changes to the e-C4 X’s interior, the focus shifts to the technology on board. The bigger instrument display is a notable improvement, primarily because the old car’s display was quite compact, and also because the new one has a more modern display and a clearer layout. It’s still complemented by a head-up display that’s projected onto a thick old-school screen that pops out of the dashboard, rather than onto the windscreen. It feels a bit like a blast from the past but having such a feature in such a well-priced car is a boon.
The other new tech feature of the e-C4 X is found in the touchscreen, where Citroen has combined its latest operating system with AI voice assistant tech, accessed by saying “Hello Citroen.” In truth, the system is quite clunky and not all that useful, but in that it matches the touchscreen itself, which has some awkward menus and sluggish response times. It looks fresh enough, but it is far from the most impressive system on the market.
It has plenty of features, though, including the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration technology, navigation and media controls. So, while it might not always be the easiest thing to use, it does at least do everything owners will ask of it.
How safe is the Citroen e-C4 X?
Neither the new-look Citroen C4 X, nor the C4 models, have been assessed by Euro NCAP, the European independent safety organisation. But the previous-generation C4 was tested, and it achieved a respectable but not entirely impressive four-star rating. That said, the rating was achieved without the safety pack that was standard for right-hand-drive cars, and a better rating may have been achieved with that fitted.
The new e-C4 X has plenty of standard safety equipment. From autonomous emergency braking to rear parking sensors, and from a reversing camera to speed limit warning technology, it’s all there to help keep you out of trouble. And though the speed limit warning system is particularly irritating, especially when it’s inaccurate, you can access the settings easily enough via a shortcut button on the dashboard that takes you to the appropriate touchscreen menus.
How many child seats can you fit in a Citroen e-C4 X?
As is customary for cars of this kind of size, the e-C4 X has two ISOFIX child seat mounting points in the rear, with one in each of the outermost rear seats. Access to those back seats isn’t always easy, thanks to the relatively low roofline, but there’s plenty of space inside the e-C4 X cabin, and even bulky child seats will fit in there with ample space.
How far will the Citroen e-C4 X go on a charge?
The e-C4 X is offered with a choice of two electric powertrains. The basic Plus version gets a 50kWh battery and a 136hp electric motor, while the more upmarket Max tested here comes with a larger and more modern 54kWh battery and a 156hp electric motor. Both drive the front wheels, and though there isn’t much difference in battery size, there is a more noticeable difference in range than you might expect.
Where the 50kWh battery manages up to 373 kilometres on the official economy test, the 54kWh battery ups that to 436km in spite of its more powerful motor. In the real world, you probably won’t achieve those figures - we managed a real-world range of around 320km over a mixture of roads on our test - but the 54kWh option is at least usable for more than just flitting around town.
Especially as the extra power gives the e-C4 X Max a bit more straight-line speed. Neither car is exactly fast, but the 156hp motor gives the big Citroen more punch when you’re pulling away from the lights. It isn’t that there’s a problem with the 136hp motor in the Plus model per se - it’s just about quick enough to keep up with traffic - but the Max’s motor makes it feel perkier.
Speaking of speed, the charge times are relatively good, too. With 100kW charging capability, the e-C4 X can be topped up from 10 to 80 per cent in less than half an hour, assuming you plug into a charger that’s powerful enough, while charging from 0-100 per cent using a domestic 7.4kW wallbox will take around seven-and-a-half hours. That means there’s no problem recharging the battery on your drive overnight, leaving the car fully charged and ready to go in the morning.
So far, so good, but with no twin-motor, all-wheel-drive option, some buyers might feel the extra ride height has been wasted, while refinement is arguably not quite as good as it should be thanks to a motor that whines and whistles from time to time. It’s still less noisy than a combustion engine, but it isn’t as whisper quiet as you might expect. Especially at higher speeds, where the motor’s whistle is joined by quite a lot of wind noise.
Driving the Citroen e-C4 X
While the Citroen C4 is at its best in hybrid form, rather than with purely electric power under the bonnet, the C4 X works the other way around. The e-C4 X is much more pleasant to drive than the C4 Hybrid.
Citroen’s focus on comfort has seen it fit the C4 X models with its soft suspension, which has a very different impact depending on which version you choose. Go for the hybrid and you’ll find the ride quite loud and lumpen, thanks to suspension that feels much too soft and too slow to react. But the electric version is much more composed, soaking up the bumps more quickly and more effectively, if not always that brilliantly. Although it’s fine at higher speeds, it isn’t quite as settled as you might hope around town.
And the way the car handles is equally different depending on the powertrain. While the e-C4 X is quite soft and squidgy - all the controls feel a bit woolly, occasionally even rubbery - the Hybrid feels loose and vague and generally disconnected. The brakes are by far the worst bit, with their inability to provide consistent braking force even when your foot maintains exactly the same pressure on the pedal. But there’s no such problem in the e-C4 X.
It isn’t exciting in any way, what with that softness and the progressive body lean that plagues it in corners, but it’s consistent and easy to drive, which is the most crucial consideration in a car like this. However, driving about around town is easier in the e-C4, thanks to its slightly more compact dimensions. And though rear visibility is better in the e-C4 X, which does not have a spoiler running through its rear window, it’s harder to work out where the car’s extremities might be.
How much does the Citroen e-C4 X cost in Ireland?
Citroen has not yet put the new-shape e-C4 X on sale in Ireland, so prices have not yet been announced, but we’re expecting the e-C4 X’s price tag to remain every bit as competitive as before and roughly match those of the equivalent e-C4. We’ll update this page when we get more information.
The reasons you’d buy a Citroen e-C4 X
Unlike the e-C4, which doesn’t feel as cohesive as the conventional, fossil-fuelled C4, the electric version of the C4 X is by far the better choice. Yes, it has its foibles, including the oddly large but awkward boot, and it’s nowhere near as comfortable as Citroen would have you believe, but it should be well priced, interior space is good and the electric range is acceptable, if not amazing. It’s set to remain a niche proposition that will be overlooked by many, but if you’ve fallen for the style and the concept, the car is just about strong enough to back it up.
Ask us anything about the Citroen e-C4 X
Should there be anything else you’d like to know about the e-C4 X, the Citroen C4, or any other car on sale in Ireland, why not head over to our Ask Us Anything page? There, you can pose your question completely free of charge, and our team of experts will get to work answering it for you.
