Citroen has reinvented the family hatchback, turning it into an SUV coupe and introducing a version of an electric car for the first time. For days in a deep test we discover the Citroën e-C4 50kWh Shine Plus
We’re looking at whether Citroen has finally got the right recipe for its new family of four-wheel drive hatchbacks and SUV coupes, and to see how well the battery-powered version does against its small electric competitors .
Citroen e-C4 design and engine
Did you know that
Citroen has been working with electric cars for nearly 30 years?
I’ve been aware that the French company has been selling electric pickups and MPVs for a while now, and it turns out that battery-powered AX and Saxo hatchbacks have been around since the early 1990s, although they sold in small numbers.
Besides Peugeot, it also teamed up with Mitsubishi to bring back the i-MiEV city car badge as the C-Zero in 2010.
Although those earlier efforts at mobility were zero-emissions, you probably wouldn’t want to own any of them, given their high prices and short ranges.
But all that has now changed, with the arrival of the Citroën e-C4, the brand’s first “proper” electric car in the modern era.
The reinvented Citroen e-C4 is the crossroads of the hatchback, coupe and SUV family, and is available with regular petrol and diesel, but it’s the electric version that interests me the most.
Based on the same foundations as the Peugeot e-2008 and Vauxhall Mokka-e, the Citroen e-C4 has a single electric motor with 134 horsepower and a 50 kWh battery, which officially promises a range of 217 miles.
There’s nothing special about those numbers – for similar money, the VW ID 3 is more robust and can go far between charges – but it’s broadly in line with what other small electric cars have to offer, valued at around £30,000.
And when you combine that knowledge with that striking, coupe-like appearance, and the promise of exceptional comfort (something Citroen is making a very special effort to offer these days), the Citroën e-C4 becomes a very attractive proposition.
Of the three trim levels available on the e-C4 (the cheapest one starts at £33,395), I’d go for the Shine Plus range, with the understanding that you get heaps of gadgets for a lot of money.
Its list price is £34,995, so it’s still a chance to get a £2,500 government scholarship.
The only additional cost was £545 for the Platinum Gray metallic paint.
Standard equipment includes keyless entry, adaptive cruise control, heated front seats, leather upholstery, heated steering wheel, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, 18-inch alloy wheels and a head-up display.
Furthermore, there is a new pop-up tablet holder integrated into the dashboard in front of the front passenger.
August 17, 2021 – Citroen e-C4 safety and security test
Among the many driver aids and safety features that come standard on the Citroen e-C4 in our test version
is a package called Highway Driver Assist, which is a driver assistance service on motorways, and includes adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane keep assist (LKA). ) to make sailing along highways and A-road technology safer and more comfortable.
The former matches your speed automatically to the speed of the vehicle ahead, unless you change lanes, while the latter helps maintain your position in the lane, including by interfering with steering inputs if you attempt to cross a white line without signaling.
This system adjusts the car’s speed automatically so that drivers don’t have to shift gears, but I don’t like pressing the “LKA off” button right away on any trip out of town, because on some cars this function can be intrusive and annoying.
But Citroen surprised me when I used LKA on a regular basis in the Citroen e-C4 concept car.
LKA off is not just a precaution.
He actively guides the car along its track, although of course I still have to keep my hands on the steering wheel.
Steering isn’t quite as smooth as I’d do it myself, and I tend to take a series of little bites at long highway bends, but I can sail for miles without doing anything other than keeping an eye on what’s going on around me and changing lanes when necessary, and that makes a huge difference in the way I You feel it at the end of a long journey.
The ACC system continues to operate in traffic jams on the highway, helping to avoid any possibility of a car being hit from behind by inattention.
These functions are useful during operation via the controls on the steering wheel, there is a separate button on the dashboard, and if you want to deactivate the LKA completely – which is still sometimes necessary, although it is better judged than some Other cars, I prefer to use it while navigating winding country roads, but it is never a challenge to me.
In some cars, you may not want this level of electronic interference.
But it fits the Citroen e-C4, which, with its light steering and soft suspension, anyway.
It’s not hard to imagine how fully self-driving cars feel, and I’ve never experienced that feeling before.
July 27, 2021 – Citroen e-C4 Picnic in the park
Every opportunity I had, I’d hop into a Citroen e-C4 concept, head to a major park for a 50-mile round trip. I especially enjoy these relatively short trips out of town, because I don’t have to worry about electric range, I’m not always sure the battery has been recently replenished. And with the Citroen e-C4 being an electric car and therefore no harmful emissions on the road, I really feel that my environmental conscience is clear.
Against all odds, I found myself switching to sporty driving mode on some of the country roads I cover along the way, because it makes the Citroen e-C4 feel really energized. When my car first arrived, I seem to remember describing its performance as “perfectly fit,” but that was a disservice; It’s more powerful. It’s probably just my imagination, but my car feels like it got faster, too.
July 7, 2021 – Shipping Test
Charging the Citroën e-C4 at home proved not to bother me at all, despite the fact that my tiny 3kW charging box in my garage isn’t exactly fast. I appreciate the fact that the charging port is located on the back of the car, as it is more convenient for those who prefer to go back to parking spaces, and the cable from my charging box has no problem reaching it.
And unlike some electric cars, charging begins almost immediately after the cable is plugged in, and there’s a neat little indicator light next to the port that flashes green to show electricity is flowing and turns solid green when done. Meanwhile, the battery status and expected charging time are displayed on the car’s digital instrument panel, so there is no doubt about whether the process is working as it should.
The fact that the charging port (along with the doors) automatically unlocks when I approach the car with the key in my pocket is also helpful; I had no trouble unplugging the cable, at least not yet. I just have to resist the temptation to go out to check progress halfway, because that would halt the process, for obvious reasons. There is a phone app that can keep me updated remotely, but I haven’t been able to fully understand that yet.
Citroen e-C4 long term
With the battery fully charged (which takes about 12 hours from less than 10%), I saw a set range of about 215 miles in eco mode, or 205 miles in normal mode. This was consistent with what I wanted from electric credit, no matter what kind of driving I was doing.
But the reality is somewhat different. I’ve taken many trips that have involved a mix of highways and country roads, and it takes between 140 and 160 miles to charge. Which is a little disappointing, given that the official range is 217 miles. And I’m not really sure how confident I am in the range readings either. At 70 mph on the highway, the number drops at an alarming speed; It can go 50 miles when I only go 25 miles.
I’ve also noticed that the numeric doesn’t seem to match the small ‘fuel’ graph; The latter always indicates that there is a little more charge in the battery compared to the battery. I had a nine-mile range left before any warning message came up telling me it was time to recharge, so I suspect the key reading is wrong on the side of caution and there is still a decent amount of electric juice left in reserve at that point. Better to tell the truth, though.
Aside from the limitations in usability with its less impressive range, I find the Citroen e-C4 to be a great companion on out-of-town trips. On the highway it was much smoother than it is around town, and aside from a bit of wind noise, the Citroen e-C4 is pleasantly quiet and comfortable at 70mph. And there’s not much fun, but the Citroën e-C4 glides along uneven country roads with such a quiet poise that I can’t help but love Citroën’s approach. In a way, it reminds me of the Audi E-tron I ran in 2019. Which is a good thing, given that the Citroen e-C4 is half the price of an Audi.
June 17, 2021 – Driving Mode
At first, I found that with the seat height adjusted it felt right, I raised it several degrees from its lowest position to provide a good 4WD-like view, and had to stoop when getting in and out of my head from that relatively low ceiling. Likewise, any side-to-side movement over the bumps would cause my head to make painful contact with the hard, sharp-edged plastic knob above the door. Why is there a knob in there that’s a mystery I might solve another day…
The obvious solution was to lower the seat a bit. But the problem is that only the back of the seat base can be lowered; You can’t adjust the front part separately, like some other cars. And the more I lowered the seat, the more I felt as if I was stuck in a hole. But overall I found the middle floor comfortable enough, but I would prefer the seat base to be less inclined.
This sitting position brings my elbows close to the armrests. It took me a while to figure out why I felt especially pain in my right elbow after long flights; That was because it was coming into contact with the very thinly padded armrest on the door, which was exacerbated by the fact that I was subconsciously propping myself up in the corners, since the seats don’t offer much lateral support. And I sometimes had to remind myself not to let my arms fall too much while driving.
However, these issues don’t spoil the friendliness of an affair. In general, I got along well with the e-C4 test car and still found it very tolerable, thanks primarily to its great quietness and comfort.
A neighbor who is very interested in electric cars recently expressed an interest in it, because he was looking to trade in his car and wanted something with an extra ride. I took him for a run in my car and he was just as impressed as I am with the way it adapts to urban rock.
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