There’s no better way to assess a vehicle’s qualities — its roadholding, fuel consumption, dynamic performance and comfort — than a long journey.
And when Citroën delivered a new C4 Hdi to the Mail & Guardian, a quick 1 200km round trip to St Lucia did exactly this.
Launched in March this year along with two 1,6 litre petrol derivatives and a super-quick 2,0 VTS Coupé, the Hdi at launch was hogged by our fellow motoring colleagues, and with good reason. This Citroën is chic, classy and roomy.
The low-rake windscreen brags a drag coefficient of just 0,29. Tasteful use of chrome chevrons on the front of the car give this Citroën its customary signature as well as some aggression.
The front doors are broad, allowing easy access to the height adjustable front seats, while leg room for rear passengers is generous.
The external mirrors, although smallish, offer good rear visibility, and make up for the small rear-view mirror. They also house the side indicators, which are highly visible to the driver and other road users. The boot is generous and contains a full-size steel spare wheel.
But the interior is a sight to behold, with no less than three liquid crystal displays (LCD). The first is the rev counter, which is positioned directly behind the two-spoke steering wheel. Amusingly, it changes its soft orange background light to red when the rev limit is attained, although, with plenty of grunt from the 1,6 litre common rail diesel motor which is force fed its diet with the aid of a turbocharger, this rarely happens.
Then there’s the centre console unit, which displays fuel consumption, radio settings, trip meter, average speed and ambient temperature, while the large dash-mounted unit displays your speed as well as range in huge digits. The contrast of the LCD can be changed to suit the conditions, however, the visibility for nervous passengers and back seat drivers can slow down your average speed considerably.
The suspension on the C4 consists of McPherson-type suspension at the front and a flexible transverse beam at the rear, and even on rather low 55-series Michelins boasting a width of 205mm, the ride is incredibly smooth, and body roll in the tight corners to St Lucia were handled with great ease. The numerous imperfections and potholes in the Pongola and Hluhluwe areas were handled with ease too, while the KwaZulu-Natal traffic official who chose to cruise at a ridiculous 45kph in the dead of night gave us an ideal opportunity to test the brakes.
With ABS (anti-lock braking system), emergency braking assistance and EBD (electronic brake force distribution) and discs on all wheels, our emergency stop, accompanied by auto activation of the hazard lights, was accomplished with a minimum of fuss. If that had failed, no doubt the side impact protection beams, seat belt pre-tensioners, collapsible steering column and energy absorbing bumpers would have seen to our safety. There is also the traction control for wet or slippery road conditions and six air bags.
Unique to this standard of vehicle is the C4’s controls for audio and speed — they’re cleverly mounted on the central steering console, but don’t move as the steering wheel is turned, which means you soon become accustomed to their use and position, and rarely have to take your eyes off the road when changing stations, the volume, or adjusting the digital speed control.
The heart of the C4 Hdi consists of a transversely mounted 1 560cc, four-cylinder mill which pushes out a respectable 83kW at 4 000rpm, while torque is a very healthy 240Nm, made at the same rpm. This engine is remarkable for its verve, and for the temporary torque increase of 20Nm made available by the over-boost function. Normal boost is set at 1 650 bars.
This is coupled to five well-chosen ratios driving the front wheels, and sees the oil burner accelerate from standstill to 100kph in 11,2 seconds, while Citroën’s claimed top speed of 192kph seems accurate enough.
The C4 has few drawbacks, one of these being that there’s no room to the left of the clutch to rest the left foot.
On the plus side, there’s a cute refillable air-freshener built in to the top vent of the dash, while an efficient air-conditioner makes long trips a pleasure. The seats are comfortable and the non-stop run to St Lucia and back delivered driver and passenger in a refreshed state.
Consumption is good at 6,4 litres per 100km and realistically the C4 should cover more than 800km from its 60 litre tank on the long haul, although an experienced driver could exceed that quite generously.
At R194 995, the C4 Hdi is not cheap, but with its bulging standard fitment list which includes central locking, electronic external mirrors, follow-me-home lights, tyre pressure indicator and CD/radio combo, buyers of this full import won’t be disappointed with its performance or comfort. It attained 35 out of 37 points in Euro NCAP testing and offers excellent value.