Citroen C4X (public relations)
Price:
NIS 164,000
Competitors:
Toyota Corolla, Skoda Octavia, Hyundai Elantra
We liked:
ride comfort, passenger compartment, spaciousness, trunk
We didn't like:
performance, gearbox
Score:
8/10
since the big Citroen boom in 1987 with the dizzying success of the BX thanks to the correction of the tax benefit that adjusted the volume of its engine, Citroen did not experience great success in Israel in the field of family cars or compact family cars.
The way the car market took shape from the 1990s onwards with the entry of the Japanese and then the Koreans significantly crowded the ranks, and for the Europeans, despite their advantages, it was much more difficult to face a diverse market that was more and more captivated by the magic of Japanese and Korean reliability.
But there was another element, Citroen that focused on the European market just didn't put a classic three-box sedan like Mr. Israeli liked to like, so even with cars that kept getting better, it always had to play with one hand tied behind its back.
But now it returns to that configuration and with a twist that is a new-old trick in the automotive world.
Take a compact family car, add a separate trunk and here you have a sedan as it is.
How did the surgery go?
The tail transplant is going well (photo: Ronan Topelberg)
Design:
In contrast to the multitude of very problematic buttock transplants that we have become accustomed to seeing in the automotive industry, in which a tin box was affixed to the hatchback car for the rear, here the business seems to be packaged in a much more homogeneous way.
It's strange to describe a car when you start from the end, but as they say in editions - the new and the main ones first.
The rest of the car is the nice look of the C4, which is a compact-crossover supplier.
She received the biggest compliment from a passerby during the coffee break "from a distance she looks like a Mercedes".
On the other hand, it's already very hot at noon in the Jordan Valley and it does come from afar...
Passenger compartment:
The passenger compartment is also a C4 in the driver's area.
The quality of materials is good, even slightly above the average for the group, but you will feel it mainly in the most comfortable seats you can find today in the family category and come in a combination of fabric and leather.
There is good visibility to the front thanks to the higher than usual driving position, bad to the rear due to the very high tail.
Its height also makes it easier to get in and out compared to average height families.
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A high-quality and useful driver's environment, the seats are excellent (Photo: Ronan Topelberg)
The engineering is good, there is a good amount of storage compartments including some bonuses such as a drawer above the glove box and an integral tablet stand in front of the passenger.
It is easy to maintain the car's regular operation even without rummaging through the multimedia screen thanks to maintaining the volume button and physical air conditioning controls.
We are definitely grateful for two things;
The button to cancel the engine bleeding system at a stop is buried in the menu and requires entry every time you start a trip to cancel this evil derivation.
And the second thing is that we have not found a way to regularly display the car's fuel consumption, this is due to a very small digital dashboard that the car is equipped with.
A spacious rear seat, the comfort here is also excellent (Photo: Ronan Topelberg)
We said the main addition to the C4X is the extra trunk, but that's not entirely accurate.
She gets another bonus in the form of improved living conditions in the back seat.
There, in addition to excellent legroom, there is also a slight increase in headroom due to the possibility of starting the roof's descent back at a later stage.
The backrest angle of the seat is also now more moderate, which should provide higher sitting comfort over time.
As in the front, the seat here is also very comfortable with more generous padding than usual.
There are also air conditioning ports and a charging socket, so these points are also added to its credit.
But you will enjoy all of this only after you overcome a relatively high entrance threshold for a family house.
Trunk:
The main dish here is a volume of 510 liters, thanks to the 25 cm added to the overall length. This puts it in a good place at the top of the family-sedan class. The plastic of the rear bumper. It's also disappointing to find that they didn't really put thought into a variety of storage and anchoring options or smart solutions. Basic lighting in the cabin ceiling and four anchoring rings, that's all it has to offer.
510 liters of trunk, but what about some storage solutions? (Photo: Kenan Cohen)
Performance:
The C4X is powered by the Stellentis Group's generic power unit for small petrol engines - a 1.2-litre, turbocharged three-cylinder.
It has 130 hp and 23.4 kg. This sounds like a reasonable arrangement for a relatively light car of 1,364 kg, but in reality the engine is thin, anything that is not a relaxed cruise is accompanied by noise and at the end of the strain gauge there is also a tremor. The 8-speed planetary gearbox is reasonable, but At slow speed it is indecisive and unpleasant in its combinations and in demanding sections it was too hesitant in its responses.
Fuel consumption:
The combined consumption in our road test was 14 km per liter.
A very good figure for a family woman who has to make an effort on the uphills and winding roads of the back of the mountain.
The general ride comfort is excellent, it's a shame that it was impossible to give up the 18-inch rims (Photo: Ronan Topelberg)
Comfort and handling:
ride comfort is one of the first associations when you say "Citroen" and the C4X does not embarrass the firm.
The hydraulic shock absorbers with the progressive action perfectly filter asphalt waves, potholes and ruts.
They even allowed her to navigate one bumpy trail our way with exceptional ease.
What is going to annoy her is the compulsion to fit her 18-inch rims that introduce all the small disturbances that a smaller rim with a higher cut swallows.
The behavior of the road greets a calm and relaxed ride.
The steering wheel is precise and the grip is high, but nothing here connects and translates into something that is fun to drive.
Even when you increase the speed or push it beyond the limit of good taste - it will not surprise and the driver will not be surprised.
One of the things that really appeals to you is an unnatural feeling on the brake pedal, not that 99% of drivers 99% of the time will find it disturbing, and anyway it has nothing to do with the power of the stop itself.
The road behavior is calibrated to the safe and distinctly calm side (photo: Ronan Toppelberg)
The bottom line
Citroen returned to the family market with a car that is very suitable for the spirit of the times in the car market.
After years of dominance in the Corolla-Octavia-Elantra-Grand Coupe fields, there's a car with an interesting twist that fuses a high driving position with the preferred sedan configuration.
It has a well-equipped and well-made passenger cabin, excellent space in the back and a spacious trunk (with the exception of its structure).
Its weaknesses are in the area of the propulsion unit and the lack of propulsion, but this can also be said about most of its competitors.
What's more, its challenge in the market is twofold.
In front of the private customer at NIS 164,000 it is already in the price segment of the valued Octavia, the Elantra which is more economical than it and the more sought after Corolla, its arrival with a refreshing offering to a fundamentally conservative market will not be easy.
By the way, precisely in the vehicle fleets there it is about NIS 4,000-6,000 more expensive than the competitors' base versions, one can see an interest in the customers who are entitled to choose their compact car due to the variety it brings to the landscape.
In such a case and depending on the monthly payment, it is a price difference that, when broken down into value-of-use prices and monthly cost, is definitely taken into account.
Will it become a common spectacle? (Photo: Ronen Topelberg)
On the technical side: Citroen C4X gasoline
Engine, drive:
gasoline, 3 cylinders, turbo, front
power/torque:
23.4/130
transmission:
automatic, 8 gears
Dimensions:
length (m):
4.6
width (m):
1.8
height (m):
1.52
base Wheels (m):
2.67
Trunk (liters):
510
Performance:
0-100 acceleration (seconds):
10.9
Top speed (km/h):
200
Fuel consumption (test):
14 km per liter
Safety:
Crash test score European:
4 stars (for C4)
Active safety:
Lane departure correction, automatic braking, integrated adaptive cruise control, sign recognition, vehicle warning in "dead zone"
Air pollution:
12/15
Warranty:
5 years/120,000 km
vehicle
Vehicle tests
Tags
Citroen
family
family car