27 Jul 06
Another piece of technology which got in the way was the automatic wiper system. These things are fine when they work properly, but you really need a manual flick-wipe function as well to act as a back-up. The C4 lacks this, although the later PSA system as used in the Peugeot 407 does include a flick wipe. I did like the steerable headlights, though - very DS - and the automatically-folding door mirrors. But will they still work in 15 years' time?
By now, you'll have sensed an ambivalence towards the C4. There were times I drove it when it all gelled together, and its engine proved quite a gutsy, revvy thing once fully loosened up - although the rate of rev build-up was hard to fathom from a quick glance at the coarsely-calibrated, bar-graph LCD tachometer. A proper moving needle conveys so much more of the information you want about engine speed; by contrast the digital speedometer was excellent, because the main thing you want to know is the exact speed at any one time.
But there were things which stood between the C4 and the convincing fast hatchback it could so easily be. One reason for the liveliness was short-legged gearing, about 20mph/1000rpm in top, but this made for a busy cruise despite the impressively low wind noise. Why can't this top-range petrol C4 have a six-speed gearbox, like the old Peugeot 306 GTI-6 had? And both the ride (too stiff-legged, and hated along with the high waistline by rear-seat passengers) and those infernally snatchy brakes let it down. On the plus side, the interior finish was excellent with flock lining for the storage compartments and good-quality leather and fabric for the seats, and the styling always drew interest.
With a few wrongs righted, the C4 VTS could be a worthy adjunct to Citroen's C4 WRC campaign next year. As it is, and even though I really wanted to like the C4, it doesn't quite hit the spot as a convincing fast hatch. If you want a C4 in its optimum guise, you need a five-door 2.0 HDI instead.
