Citroen C4 (2005-) Review

On the road

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Two crucial points. The C4 is a better drive than a 307, despite sharing so many genes. But it is a little less fun than a Ford Focus, the car that still leads the compact hatchback pack. Softer springing, and dampers recalibrated for suppleness without letting the body float or lurch, are the key to the 307-trumping; the C4 moves along the road in typical French fashion, soaking up humps and dips effectively, yet it still steers accurately and moves tidily into a turn. It needs quite a big initial steering input (that's its biggest minus point relative to a Focus), but after that it feels responsive and has enough grip to keep the front wheels biting without drifting wide. This strong stability also means that the rear wheels won't step out of line if you decelerate in a corner, something which will please those who have been frightened by the Xsara VTS's no-warning antics here. Naturally, the sporty C4 VTS is a little firmer on its suspension and sharper in its steering, but it's still a smooth, easy drive - helped by the quick, light, accurate gearshift common to all C4s.

Using the switchgear in the steering wheel's centre is simple enough - it's just a thumbspan away. That thumb can then control the stereo, the computer and display screen, the cruise control and speed-limiter device, and heater air recirculation plus voice activation if fitted. Just behind the steering wheel is a pod-mounted rev-counter whose scale glows red as the limit approaches, while the central LCD display includes the speedometer and everything else.

As for the 'lane-departure warning', it vibrates the right or left side of your seat cushion to wake you up if you're dozing off and are wandering over a lane-dividing line. Activating the indicator disables the vibrator, or you can switch it off. The speed-limiter, developed in response to the French police's increasingly draconian attentions to speeds above the posted limit, uses the drive-by-wire throttle to limit the C4 to a pre-set speed, which you can exceed only by pressing hard against a resistance in the pedal. That way, you can use the accelerator as a footrest and save your ankle muscles.

The C4 is quite easy to see out of for a modern, thick-pillared car, but optional front and rear parking sensors help identify its extremities. The Coupé is easier to reverse-park with its rear window heading well below the waistline. Night driving is made easier with the optional steerable headlights - an idea pioneered by Citroen in the DS four decades ago.

The best all-round C4 here is the 2.0 HDi, which uses the (PSA-built) engine also found in a Focus 2.0 TDCi. It's a particularly gutsy and responsive unit, able to cruise serenely or squirt past slower traffic with a push of the right foot in typical modern-diesel fashion. Its six-speed gearbox gives it very long legs, and there is little response lag when accelerating from low revs. There are a couple of 1.6-litre HDi diesels too, of which weve only driven the more powerful 110bhp version. It is less responsive than the 2.0-litre version, but a surprisingly capable and strong performer given its limited cubic capacity.

By comparison the 2.0 petrol C4, tested by us in manual guise, needs to be worked harder and can get boomy at high revs - over 5500rpm, which is far beyond the diesel's range. The 1.6-litre petrol engine is smoother and quieter, and doesn't feel as if it has a 28bhp power deficit especially when it adds a burst of energy as it passes the 3000rpm mark.

The 180bhp unit in the VTS has a different character again. It's the engine already seen in the Peugeot 206 GTi 180, with continuously-variable valve timing, a free-flowing cylinder head and a peaky power delivery. It's smooth enough at low speeds but lights up around 4000rpm, passing the torque peak at 4750rpm and delivering maximum power at 7000rpm. That said, its performance figures are brisk rather than blistering: 0-62mph takes 8.4 seconds, but the VTS will run to an impressive 141mph helped by a low aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.28.