FIRSTDRIVE CITROËN C4: IT HASN'T been the best of times in Ireland for French brand Citroën. Once part of the Gowan Group, poor performance in Ireland lead to the brand being taken over and a rethink of the strategy of Citroën in Ireland.
You had to feel sorry for those who had lost their jobs and were blamed for the sluggish sales when it was the firm’s own disastrous discounting policy as well as the actions of a number of its dealers, who were subsequently charged with price-fixing, which contributed to the brand’s demise in Ireland.
There is a lot of catching up to do. With a market share of just 1.21 per cent and a rather muted response to new models such as the DS3 (only 28 units sold so far this year), the brand has once again resisted the temptation to offer their cars as slashed prices, a policy which might still leave Renault in Ireland with egg on their faces.
And you can’t blame Citroën’s range either. They enjoyed a much better time in Ireland a number of years back with a vastly inferior range. The current C5 model is a genuinely superb car, but this writer must confess that it lies way outside his stream-of-consciousness.
The DS range is showing promise but many object to the use of this name for what will be a quite cartoon-like range of cars. And while it is nice to be good at niche, Citroën really needs to get more bums in the seats of their mainstream cars. With the C3 proving to be pretty forgettable, the C4 really needs to do something to make us sit up and pay attention, especially if Renault continue with their policy of putting people in Méganes for the price of a supermini.
First impressions of the new car are of one that looks better built, has a more mature style and it certainly has improved in terms of visible quality. You can feel this too. It is only marginally larger than the model it replaces, but it has a much larger boot – the largest in its class at 408 litres.
The interior, in particular, is a marked improvement over the car it replaces. There are better plastics, huge improvements in sounds insulation and smaller details are better finished. The French firm couldn’t resist adding some quirky, if annoying, features, such as the ability to alter the sound of the indicators. Yes folks, somebody, somewhere got paid to do that.
The brand makes no secret about the fact that this car is aimed squarely at an older market. In the UK, of which Ireland appears to be something of a suburb for marketing purposes, the average age of the C4 buyer is 57.
With its comfy seats, inoffensive styling and cuddly suspension, you can see why this buyer would love the C4. That was something that you could label the current C4 with but this new one is much better.
Sure enough, this isn’t a sports car, but neither is it a basic Volkswagen Golf. Compared to the previous incarnation, the steering is sharper, the car leans less and there is a less fragile feel overall. It is just a much better car. We see this as offering more of a Volkswagen Golf experience than the Ford Focus, but with greater levels of standard kit and a cheaper price tag.
THE ENGINE choices for Ireland are pretty obvious in that you get a choice of power outputs from a 1.6-litre diesel, with 90 and 110hp, (with a further version arriving) and the e-HDi boasting Stop and Start technology, which is not only clever because it is mated to a diesel engine, but clever because it works lightning fast.
But while the 90hp version gets a five-speed manual and the 110hp version a six-speed manual, the e-HDi gets the EGS clutchless automatic and still has CO2 emissions of 109g/km, which is less than both manual versions. Emissions of later variants are
set to drop as low as 99g/km. These low emissions have been helped by the fact that the car is 90kg lighter than the previous model.
The official retail launch date will be January 2011 although dealers will have display and demo vehicles in their showrooms in December.
Prices will be announced on November 1st along with exact line up details, but they are set to follow the specification and badging of the UK market.
Citroën Ireland are hoping to offer the entry-level 90hp HDi model for just under €20,000 which is how much this model starts in France. Other models, such as the 2.0-litre 150hp HDi and the 1.6-litre 120hp petrol models will also be available, but most likely as special order models.
It is very difficult to make an impact in this very crowded segment that is dominated by the Focus and the Golf. Renault have now come close with their Mégane, although most would feel that these sales won’t last. Without a very aggressive pricing policy for C4, this vastly improved, very worthy car might struggle to make an impression. However, we would mark it for consideration.
Factfile
Citroën C4 1.6 Hdi 90hp
Engine: 1560cc 4-cylinder diesel putting out 90hp and 230Nm of torque
Performance: Maximum speed: 180km/h 0-100km/h: 12.9 seconds
Fuel Economy: 4.2l/100km
CO2 Emissions: 110g/km
Motor Tax Band: A
Annual Road Tax: €104
Price
Expected to be around €19,900