Citroen eC4 2021 - HOW MUCH??

The EC4 brings a dose of Citroen individuality to the EV part of the family hatchback segment. The looks have a crossover vibe, the range is a reasonable 217 miles and the cabin is the most comfortable in the class. If you're fed up with clinical family EVs then here's one that might charm you. Citroen is a company with a reputation for trying to do things differently. Unfortunately though the reality is that it's not always been a company able to do things differently from sister brand Peugeot. In the last few decades a depressing cloak of PSA group conformity has characterized the family offerings from the double chevron mark but gradually things seem to be changing and Citroens are being set apart once more. Firstly with detailed things like air bumps and squashier seats and now with more fundamental engineering. For example of that let's take the subject of this test the EC4. It's all electric which is significant because electrified versions of Peugeot's bigger than supermini sized usually prefer a plug-in petrol electric PHEV drivetrain. PSA apparently now gives its brands a choice between PHEV and BEV and Citroen wants to be different but how different in this case? That's what we're here to find out. Rather interestingly this is one EV that doesn't spear away from rest like a scalded cat. That attribute is a bit pointless. It cuts across this car's laid-back gallic demeanor and it needlessly depletes battery reserves so Citroen hasn't bothered with it here. The EC4 is a bit like Mazda's rival MX-30 in that respect. Not that the EC4 is slow. The 134 bhp electric motor allows 62 miles an hour to be dispatched in 9.7 seconds on the way to a maximum that you'll never bother with of 93 miles an hour. What you'll notice more is the relaxed gait. It's inevitably not as light on its feet through the corners as a combustion engine C4. The weight of the 50 kilowatt hour battery has to tell somewhere. Your driving position is somewhere between that of a family hatch and an SUV and you get a couple of pedals along with a small straightforward gear lever. There's no one pedal driving option like you do get in the Nissan LEAF but there is an extra B mode which gives greater lift off deceleration so boosting the battery's energy harvesting efforts so you can get somewhere close to the claimed 217 mile range figure. The ride is very comfort orientated as you'd expect from a Citroen thanks to their clever progressive hydraulic suspension setup. Now here the car's springs and shock absorbers work in concert with hydraulic compression and rebound stops which are supposed to slow body movement over bumps and tarmac tears. This generation of C4 has been called the most individualistic family car to wear this maker's double chevron badge since Citroen's GS model of the 70s and if you're old enough to remember that car you might recognize elements of it here in the rear three-quarter view. Citroen isn't one of those brands who think that a full EV needs to look radically different from a combustion hatch so you'll struggle to tell this EC4 apart from its combustion engine C4 showroom counterparts unless you happen to notice the badging or the charging flap. Like other C4 variants this one confirms that the delineating line between family hatch and compact SUV design is being even more blurred which many folk in search of a compact hatch will think to be no bad thing. Citroen says the crossover cues aren't there for crossover purposes the higher than focus class average 156 millimeter ride height is there to offer a high vantage point and better all-round visibility. The matte black finished wheel arches aren't for arduous tracks but they're there to prevent supermarket car park dings. There's also plenty of signature Citroen design with stylishly shaped signature lights and chromed chevrons that stretch across the car's width plus there's an air intake grille that features a pattern first seen on the brand's recent 1919 concept car. Overall it's a good looking car designed by the stylist who fashioned Citroen's last truly innovative model the C6. Interesting details are everywhere especially at the back where the rear spoiler splits the tailgate glass and there's some striking use of LED lighting. Let's take a look inside. The dash gets the kind of big 10 inch central touchscreen that's in current vogue and a fully digitalized instrument binnacle. Thankfully the climate controls are separated out from the screen on the center stack. Six interior color schemes are on offer all aimed at making you feel as if you're in your living room apparently. Although it is a pity we don't get some of the more interesting color packages which are offered in Europe. Like other recent Citroen models this one benefits from the installation of the brand's advanced comfort seats which are well sized and generously padded with high density foam which incorporates a thick 15 millimeter layer of textured foam on the surface. We found them both soft and inviting and also pretty supportive through the bends too. Let's take a look in the rear. The EC4 is 4.35 meters long which isn't huge for a focus sized hatch but once inside space is reasonable on the rear seat. The brand claims best in class knee room. We wouldn't quite agree with that. There is a little more room in the back of a rival Volkswagen ID.3 but it'll be fine for a couple of adults on medium length trips and you get a wide range of storage compartments. Out back there's a decently sized 380 liter boot which is exactly the same size as that of the combustion engine model. Citroen includes a twin level boot floor for extra convenience and this split boot floor means that with the panel in its highest position there's no awkward lip to get your heavy objects over. Push forward the 60-40 split rear bench and you can improve the space on offer to 1250 liters. Prices for the EC4 sit in the 31 to 32,500 pound bracket including the 2,500 pound government plug-in car grant and there are three trim levels to choose from. Sense Plus, Shine and as in this case Shine Plus. Obvious rivals include the slightly more expensive Volkswagen ID.3 volume 58 kilowatt hour versions of which offer a slightly longer range than this Citroen and the slightly cheaper Nissan Leaf volume 40 kilowatt hour versions of which can't go quite as far. You might also be looking at comparatively priced compact EV hatch models like the Kia e-Niro, the Hyundai Ioniq electric and the BMW i3 and of course there are plenty of compact EV hatches in this segment at about this price point too. But the Citroen's quirky appeal might just take your fancy and if it does you'll be pleased to find that even the base Sense Plus model comes pretty well kitted out. Tick off full LED headlights, front fog lamps, power folding mirrors and 18-inch alloy wheels. Inside there's a 10-inch high-resolution touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration plus a DAB radio and Bluetooth. Also included is Citroen Connect Now with TomTom Live services. These services include live traffic and destination information, fuel pricing and weather information as well as speed camera and danger zone alerts. With the base trim level also you'll get a head-up display, LED interior lighting, an electrochrome auto dimming rear view mirror and the rear parking camera along with the brand's innovative smart pad support Citroen tablet computer holder for front seat passengers. Moving up to the mid-range Shine trim level gets you dark tinted rear windows, keyless entry and start, automatic high beam headlights, front and rear parking sensors and a heated steering wheel as standard. Plus there's more camera safety tech which we'll talk about in a minute. At the top of the range this Shine Plus model provides audio files with Citroen's premium hi-fi system featuring uprated speakers and the addition of a subwoofer. The feeling of opulence on board is enhanced with a hype black interior ambience, black sienna leather and textile upholstery, intricate zephyr grey stitching, driver seat electric adjustment and heated front seats. For added comfort out on the road a highway driver assist system uses camera technology to adapt the speed and the direction of the vehicle under certain driving conditions. Further technological additions include four USB sockets and a wireless smartphone charging pad. Across the range a nice optional touch you might want to consider is the full HD camera built into the rear view mirror which can take photos or videos stored on a 16 gigabyte memory card. Ah yes options, bear in mind you're almost certainly going to need to pay your dealer more for your choice of paint colour, we have obsidian black metallic here. If you have access to a three-phase power supply you might also want to look at paying an extra 300 pounds for the brand's 11 kilowatt three-phase on-board charger. As for other extras well the key one is probably the opening glazed sunroof, you can also specify a four-way electrically powered driver's seat with an electric lumbar adjustment and massage function. Additionally there's the 40 city park pack which gives you park assist to steer you into spaces, a 360 vision surround view camera and various tablet mounts. As for safety well Citroen boasts of the fact that this car offers no fewer than 20 different driver assistance features. All models get active safety brake, autonomous braking, forward collision warning, speed limit information, lane keeping assist and driver attention alert. The shine and shine plus variants add to this with Citroen's safety pack plus package which includes adaptive cruise control and active blind spot detection. You might struggle to replicate the claimed 217 mile range figure we quoted earlier unless you habitually drive like Miss Marple but that's hardly an issue that's exclusive to Citroen when it comes to EV mileage claims. We've found that in urban use it's much easier to get closer to the target figure. The EC4 is fitted with an 11 kilowatt charger which can charge from empty in around seven and a half hours using a 32 amp home wall box. It also has a 100 kilowatt fast charger which can achieve an 80 percent charge in around half an hour using a public fast charger. At the time of this test in spring 2021 all customers were being offered a Podpoint solo smart charger included in the price. As usual with an electric car you can control your charging via your smartphone and you can take advantage of lower cost off-peak electricity tariffs. What about other financial considerations? Well the insurance group for all variants is rated and regular service intervals come around every 16 000 miles or every 12 months depending on which comes sooner. For many owners that'll mean a visit to the dealer once a year and there are plenty of Citroen outlets to choose from so you should never be too far from one. So you can budget ahead the French maker offers its Citroen maintenance scheme which lets you pay either a one-off fee or monthly installments to cover the cost of the routine upkeep of your car for as long as three years and 35 000 miles. Every EC4 comes with a three-year and 60 000 mile warranty and there's also Europe-wide breakdown assistance included from new for the first year you own the car. Looking at the longer term you also have a 12-year guarantee against rust and 36 months cover for any paintwork defects although that doesn't include stone chips and other wear and tear damage. As for residual values well uh that was once a real issue with the Citroen brand these days though they're pretty competitive after three years and 20 000 miles with this EC4 Shine Plus variant depreciation is rated at 49 percent. You might not be quite ready to make the step from family hatch to SUV and you might also not be quite ready to make the step from combustion engine to full electric. This Citroen EC4 makes either of those seismic steps a good deal more palatable to folk wavering on the edge of a crossover culture or a nightly charging regime. Most of the visual cues associated with an SUV and enough driving range to make the switch from combustion to EV realistic enough to consider. Let's be honest all of that isn't going to be enough to allow this car to outsell the two family hatch EV models it's primarily targeted at but the EC4 has a much more individualistic charismatic feel than either of those two cars. It's a proper Citroen which means it's interesting it's stylish and extremely comfortable and a proper Citroen is something we always welcome. If you're looking for a wider choice than the EV part of the family hatchback segment then you should welcome it too.