This post was originally published on Autocar
French firm’s new, comfort-first family hatchback has echoes of a 1970s great
The funky-looking Citroën C4 has been one of the French brand’s best-sellers in the UK since its third generation arrived in 2021. A big departure in terms of design and quality from the car it replaced, the third C4 was claimed to pick up on Citroën’s long tradition of innovation in the hatchback segment.But is it really that innovative? You’ll need a pretty long memory to recall a genuinely groundbreaking Citroën family hatchback. It’s more than 50 years since the critically acclaimed GS won European Car of the Year in 1971, a gong that Citroën has won only twice since. The BX, ZX and Xsara that came later had plenty of fans throughout the following decades, but it’s definitely the aura of the GS that Citroën is now referencing with a new C4 that puts comfort and efficiency first.This is a car that has been inspired by its customers, says Citroën. An amalgam of typical hatchback and compact SUV design, it’s claimed to have a bold, high-rising but tapering outline, a roomy, versatile and relaxing interior and plenty of options for individual customer configurability.Now, four years after its launch, the C4 has been given a facelift to bring it up to date with a swath of new and updated rivals in the bulging C-segment.While most of the time spent was on updating its interior and giving it a fresh look, underneath Citroën has fettled the C4’s offerings, ditching its diesel and entry-level petrol powertrains along with the option of a manual gearbox. Left are the two hybrid options and a single pure-petrol powertrain, which can each be paired with three trim levels.