Citroen C4 Review 2025

When people find it difficult to easily pigeonhole cars into one type or another, they risk being overlooked when it comes to consumers spending their money. If one's a bit taller and chunkier than other hatchbacks but less rugged than typical SUVs, what do they compare it with? Read our full Citroen C4 review to find out if this in-between model should be on your shortlist.

What exactly is the Citroen C4? It's maker categorises it as a family-sized hatchback, pitching it against the common or garden Ford Focus and the ubiquitous Volkswagen Golf.

Yet with its slightly raised ride height and plastic body cladding it has a whiff of SUV coupe about it, meaning it's valid to consider the Citroen as an alternative to jacked-up cars such the Kia XCeed and Renault Arkana.

While it might not be immediately obvious what kind of car it is, the Citroen C4 does have an ace up its sleeve. Like other models in the Citroen range, it puts a strong emphasis on relaxation, with Advanced Comfort seats and clever Progressive Hydraulic Cushion Suspension.

Unlike other Citroen models, with the C4 it's actually very convincing — it's very comfortable, even if you opt for the fully electric Citroen e-C4 version with its heavy batteries.

A significant facelift for 2025 made some surprisingly noticeable changes to styling of the C4's front and rear, helping incorporate Citroen's latest brand identity. That's a new badge, to you and me. Whether or not it's an improvement is up for debate — we reckon it'll still prove divisive. 

All Citroen C4 models are powered by the same 1.2-litre Putretech three-cylinder petrol engine as a wide range of other models produced by its Stellantis parent company. Diesel fans may lament the demise of the BlueHDi option as might those who enjoy greater degrees of power — the 155PS petrol has also fallen by the wayside.

You have the choice of the 131PS Puretech 130 petrol or a pair of mild hybrids. On the latter front, there are two — the Hybrid 100 (with 101PS) and the Hybrid 136, with a matching PS power output. 

A flipside of the C4's comfortable approach is that it's not as fun to drive as a Ford Focus or SEAT Leon. The high-riding C4 will lean quite a lot in corners but it feels safe and assured, plus the tyres provide plenty of grip. You'll be thankful of the soft suspension as soon as you clout a pothole — and all C4s are fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels so you can't even ruin the ride with extra-big wheel options.

All Citroen C4 models are well-equipped with even the most affordable You trim (Citroen gives it an exclamation mark but we're ignoring that) featuring LED headlights, a 10.0-inch multimedia touchscreen including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a whole host of driver-assistance tech including a city braking that'll slam the anchors on if it detects an impending collision.

Plus trim adds a head-up display, a reversing camera a tablet holder for the front-seat passenger, a bigger digital instrument cluster and 3D navigation. The range-topping Max trim gets a more advanced still parking assistance system, adaptive cruise control, high beam assist, heated front seats and visual tweaks including tinted rear windows, gold-cooloured trim elements and chromed lower sill plates.

No matter which Citroen C4 model you opt for, it represents excellent value for money. Prices start from around £22,000, which is far less than a Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus, and around the same kind of money as Kia's also-a-bit-niche XCeed. 

If you're looking for a family car with the agility of a ballet dancer, the Citroen C4 isn't it. Carry too much speed into a corner and it runs wide, while leaning over like a cruise liner in the process.

Still it's not the kind of car you buy for sports car-like handling.

It's easy to drive around town, although rearward visibility is stunted a bit by the two-part tailgate glass. At least all models come with rear parking sensors and most feature a reversing camera.

The best thing about the Citroen C4 is the ride quality. All models come with 18-inch alloy wheels and relatively chunky tyres — a good thing if you don't want to lose your fillings — as well as the brand's trick Hydraulic Cushion Suspension. These replace traditional bump stops with hydraulic dampers to further absorb jolts in the road.

It's a system which has been used with mixed success in other models but, in the C4, it's superb. We wouldn't recommend bouncing over potholes for the fun of it but it soaks up the roughest of road surfaces and dials out jitteriness.

With the BlueHDi diesels and Puretech 155 binned off, every new combustion-engined Citroen C4 has a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol motor with or without mild hybrid electrical assistance, sending drive to the front wheels.

Doing without is the Puretech 130 which produces 131PS and 170Nm of torque which are sufficient for a 9.4-second 0-62mph acceleration time and a 124mph top speed. An eight-speed automatic gearbox is standard-fit with no manual alternative.

Three-cylinder engines aren't known for their refinement, and sure enough, the three-pot here does pass some vibrations through the cabin. It doesn't sound particularly happy when the revs get high, either. 

Despite its name suggesting otherwise, the Hybrid 100 is a mild rather than self-charging hybrid, so don't expect it to be able to trundle for a handful of miles without the engine turning itself on at all. Engine and electric motor together produce 101PS and 151Nm of torque resulting in a 119mph top speed and a respectable 10.7-second 0-62mph time.

Next up is the Hybrid 136, a punchier version of the same arrangement producing 136PS and 170Nm of torque. It's brisk enough for most with 0-62mph time of 8.0 seconds and a top speed of 130mph. 

Both of the Hybrid-badged Citroen C4s are fitted with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission feels lethargic thanks to rather leisurely responses when it's shifting up or kicking down. 

It will be interesting to see whether the facelifted Citroen C4 is brought in front of the crash-testing experts for a second time given that when launched in 2021 it scored four stars, missing out on the highest rating by one.

Not that it's lacking appropriate kit. The standard Active Safety Brake uses a camera to monitor the road ahead and will apply the brakes if it senses that you're about to hit another car. Active Safety Brake 2.0, which is standard on higher-priced C4s, adds radar detection and can detect a potential collision in the dark.

All models come with cruise control and a speed limiter, while LED headlights give a clear view of the road ahead when driving in the dark.

As is fast-becoming the norm due to EU regulations, there's a speed limit warning which you'll need to turn off every time you start the car, should you not want it on. And you probably won't want it on because the system often gets the signposted limit wrong, causing it to moan at you even when you're not speeding.

Disappointingly — but not at all uncommon — the Citroen C4 uses a puncture repair kit instead of a spare wheel.

Puretech 130 and Hybrid 136 versions of the Citroen C4 can tow a braked trailer weighing up to 1200kg, while the Hybrid 100 is capped at 1000kg.

Jump in the Citroen C4's driver's seat and you'll sit higher than you would in a Volkswagen Golf but don't expect to see over hedgerows or look down on other traffic. There's loads of room in the front — even the tallest of adults should be able to get comfortable quickly. 

You'll also now sink into the sumptuous Advanced Comfort Seats, which have been upgraded for 2025 to include an extra 15mm of padding.

All C4 models provide manual height adjustment on the driver's seat, although you'll need to upgrade to at least the Plus to have height adjustment for the passenger seat as well. Electric seats are no longer available. Boo.

The back is spacious enough, particularly for kids. The coupe-like roofline limits headroom slightly but most passengers will manage to sit comfortably without banging their head. There's also a lump in the floor which can get in the if you want to carry three passengers — you'd be better looking at the bigger C5 Aircross, with its three individual rear seats, if it's going to prove too significant a nuisance.

Capable of lugging 380 litres of luggage, the Citroen C4's boot is roughly the same size as a Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf, but there are better alternatives if you need to carry a trunk full of stuff such as the Skoda Scala which can lug up to 467 litres of cargo. Once the C4's split-folding rear seat is lowered the overall capacity increases to 1250 litres.

Access is helped by an adjustable boot floor which reduces the height difference to the loading lip for hoisting things in and out.

Citroen's clearly made an effort to lift the cabin in the C4 in terms of perceived quality. While good it still doesn't feel as well-finished as the Mazda 3's impressive interior. The Citroen's dashboard uses harder, scratchier plastics, while its door bins feel a bit flimsy.

All that said most of the things you regularly touch feel well-finished. There are plenty of glossy black finishes which resonates with the current fashion for what makes a premium car ambience, but this kind of material does mark easily.

If you want a truly upmarket finish you'll have to look at cars like the BMW X2 instead and pay a lot more money in the process.

The Citroen C4 comes with a 10.0-inch multimedia display which is standard across the range. It's a modern widescreen display with sharp graphics. Pleasingly it's not entirely reliant on touchscreen operation — there are a few physical shortcut buttons to useful features as well as a knob for adjusting the volume.

It's not quite as easy to operate as the Mazda 3 with its rotary controller between the front seats but it's pretty good.

You don't have to pay extra for Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, which is another bonus. These smartphone connectivity functions mean you can browse your podcasts or use third-party navigation apps on the move. We often find that Google Maps is better than integral navigation systems and the Citroen C4's no exception.

In fact, the entry-level C4s don't get nav at all but that's not a huge concern if you've got a smartphone with plenty of data each month.

From the 2025 facelift there's ChatGPT AI integration, our main experience of which was it getting triggered accidentally several times by idle conversation between the car's occupants, causing a graphic to appear and block the navigation instructions. Not ideal.

Entry-level models comes with 5.0-inch digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, upgraded to a 7.0-inch display on other C4s. There's nothing particularly fancy about either setup — don't expect Audi's Virtual Cockpit levels of functionality — but they have clear readouts telling you how fast you're going.

What more could you ask for?

You'll pay around £22,000 for the base-model Citroen C4 You which ticks all the boxes for a lot of people, although you can only have it with the Hybrid 100 drive option. The C4 Plus gets the choice of either the PureTech 130 or Hybrid 136 alternatives and starts at just over £23,000. Even the range-topping Max doesn't cost that much at around £25,000. 

These prices put the Citroen C4 roughly in line with the Skoda Scala, and a lot lower than the Ford Focus, for something arguably much more interesting. It's also significantly cheaper than premium alternatives such as the Volkswagen Golf. 

You could save even more and buy a nearly new example of the pre-facelift car if you're not fussed by the styling changes — or actively dislike them. As the other tweaks to the car don't fundamentally alter it you don't have much to lose but quite a bit to gain in terms of savings. 

All Citroen C4 models will be fairly cheap to run. The Hybrid 100 and 136 aren't far off the pre-facelift diesels in terms of efficiency, both quoting WLTP Combined cycle figures of 51.1-62.1mpg, with CO2 emissions rated at 107-125g/km depending on specification.

The Puretech 130 isn't too far behind at 44.9-50.7mpg and CO2 emissions of 131-142g/km. 

In terms of 2024-25 Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates, the latest Hybrid models will cost between £195 and £220 for the first year, the Puretech 130 £270 regardless of trim level.

Facelifted versions of the combustion-engined Citroen C4 are available in a trio of trim levels labelled You, Plus and Max.

Among the kit that's standard on the Citroen C4 You are automatic LED daytime-running and headlights, automatic wipers, 18-inch bi-tone alloy wheels, Advanced Comfort Suspension and rear parking sensors.

Inside you'll benefit from a 10.0-inch multimedia touchscreen to access DAB radio as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity, an electronic parking brake and dual-zone climate control for the air conditioning.

Additionally there's Citroen’s Standard Safety Pack with video-assisted Active Safety Brake, Speed Limit Information, Lane Keeping Assist and Driver Attention Alert plus Forward Collision Warning.

Upgrade to a Citroen C4 Plus to add a reversing camera, a larger driver's instrument display screen with an additional head-up display, an integral navigation system plus a tablet computer holder.

Range-topping Citroen C4 Max models additionally feature with dark-tinted rear privacy windows, automatic high beam headlights, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, supplementary front and side parking sensors, a heated steering wheel, a rear seat central armrest with ski hatch and heated front seats.