ROAD TEST

By EWAN KENNEDY, Marque Motoring

CITROEN Australia has added the latest generation C4 to its model range.

Initially only one model is coming Downunder, the Shine variant.

Should it be successful it's likely that we will see other models coming here.

The new Citroen C4 Shine is 4355mm long with a 2670mm wheelbase.

It's 1525mm tall and 1800mm wide.

This puts it up against the Kia Seltos, Mazda CX–30, as well as another French car the Peugeot 2008.

STYLING

In a clever move, the new Citroen C4 blends SUV characteristics with hatchback versatility and coupe styling.

It has a wide bonnet, a narrow opening that has Citroen double chevrons in the centre and slim daytime running lights at each end.

There are large multiple headlights in the lower area.

The lower part of the body and the wheel arches are finished in black which adds to the SUV look – well, sort of.

INTERIOR

The dashboard area has the instruments in a squared off binnacle that's shrouded to keep off reflections.

In the centre there's a large rectangular screen for satellite navigation as well as controls for many of the minor functions.

The front passenger has a dashboard tray, effectively a large, sliding drawer with a cushioned opening position to store and hold a tablet (or other object) in place.

Dual–zone climate control with rear centre console air vents make it a pleasant place to travel for all occupants.

INFOTAINMENT

The Citroen C4 has DAB digital radio and a six–speaker sound system.

Sound quality is fine but not what you would call outstanding.

ENGINES/TRANSMISSIONS

Power comes from a three–cylinder, 1.2–litre, turbo–petrol engine with 114 kilowatts of power and 240 Newton–metres of torque.

It drives the front wheels through Citroen's latest eight–speed Efficient Automatic Transmission.

There are three driving modes: Eco, Normal and Sport. We found that Normal gave decent performance, but we did prefer to run it in Sport as we do love driving.

SAFETY

Australasia's independent voice on vehicle safety, ANCAP gave a 4–star safety rating to the Citroen C4 with performance falling short in three of the four key areas of safety assessment.

It achieved scores of 76 per cent for Adult Occupant Protection, 81 per cent for Child Occupant Protection, 57 per cent for Vulnerable Road User Protection and 62 per cent for Safety Assist.

DRIVING

The driver's seat has four–way powered adjustment with manual longitudinal adjustment as well as a massage function.

The front passenger's seat has multi–way manual adjustment, with electric lumbar adjustment so there are plenty of ways to get it just right.

Rear seat legroom is fine, but tall people may touch the roof due to the sloping tail.

Ride comfort is exceptionally good in the manner of all French cars.

The C4 almost seems to float along and only the biggest of bumps and potholes cause it to be slightly upset.

There's a fair bit of body roll, something that Citroens have had for years but it's part of the comfort package and Citroen lovers are happy with that.

Handling is competent enough but is set up more for comfort than sporting feel.

The steering is rather too light and it doesn't respond as quickly as we like.

A colour head–up display projects the main driving information, including speed, into the driver's direct field of vision.

This is so much easier to see when wearing polarising sunglasses as I do.

Could we live with a Citroen C4 as our own car?

Probably, the pluses outweigh the minuses and it's enjoyable to be in something that doesn't look like everything else on the road.

MODEL RANGE

Citroen C4 Shine: $37,990 (automatic)

Note: This price does not include government or dealer delivery charges.

Contact your local Citroen dealer for drive–away prices.