The Citroën C4 is a car positioned as the successor to the Citroën Xsara, with first-generation production starting in September 2004. For two generations it was a compact family car; the third, released in June 2020, was redesigned as a coupé crossover SUV.
Citroën C4 at a glance
| Maker | Citroën, France, Spain and Argentina |
|---|---|
| First generation | B5, production from September 2004 |
| Public debut | Paris Motor Show, 2004 |
| Bodies | five-door hatchback and three-door coupé |
| Platform | Peugeot 307 floorpan |
| Design team | Donato Coco, Jean-Pierre Ploué, Bertrand Rapatel |
| Drag coefficient | Cd 0.28 for the saloon |
| Boot | 352 litres, 1,200 litres with the rear seat folded |
| Suspension | MacPherson struts front, torsion beam and torsion bars rear |
| Third generation | from June 2020, a coupé crossover SUV |
Based on one source (English Wikipedia).
History of the Citroën C4
2004: two bodies, one front
The C4 was unveiled at the 2004 Paris Motor Show after going on sale on 2 September 2004. The design was created by a team including Donato Coco, Jean-Pierre Ploué and Bertrand Rapatel, and built on the floor of the Peugeot 307. It was offered from the start as a five-door hatchback and a three-door coupé, which shared a front end whose grille was formed from virtual extensions of the central crest. The saloon was much more rounded and reached a drag coefficient of 0.28, while the coupé was more angular, with its rear split into two parts including the lights; its rear window recalled the Honda CR-X of the early 1990s and the last three-door Mazda 323C. The boot held 352 litres, or 1,200 with the rear seat folded, and the car had laminated side windows.
Technology as a selling point
The C4’s main selling point was equipment: lane departure warning on the top Exclusive model, directional headlights, a perfume dispenser in the ventilation system, a translucent dashboard, a glass roof, ESP and a fixed-hub steering wheel that let the driver use several functions without moving their hands. The fixed hub also allowed the first production use of a shaped driver airbag, which could spread the load over a wider area in a crash, and the car had a centrally mounted translucent LCD speedometer. It did without Citroën’s Hydractive suspension, reserved for the C5 and C6, and dropped the self-steering rear axle of the Xsara and ZX in favour of MacPherson struts and a torsion beam.
Saloons and factories
The saloon version was manufactured in Argentina, where it sat alongside the five-door and the imported three-door, and exported to Brazil and Hungary as the C4 Pallas and to Spain, Turkey and Greece as the C4 Sedan. A longer four-door with a different rear end was built and sold in China as the Citroën C-Triomphe, and a panel van based on the coupé bodyshell was available in some markets including Ireland.
Facelifts and a new kind of C4
A facelifted C4 was presented at the 2008 Moscow International Automobile Salon, with a larger trapezoid air intake, a redesigned grille and minor changes at the back. The third generation arrived in June 2020 as a coupé SUV, abandoning the traditional hatchback and saloon bodies of the C-segment.
Design and features
- Fixed-hub steering wheel: controls stay still as the rim turns, and the airbag can be shaped.
- Lane departure warning: offered on the Exclusive version.
- Directional headlights and glass roof: technology and light in a family car.
- Low drag: a coefficient of 0.28 for the saloon.
- Two characters: a rounded five-door and an angular three-door coupé.
Citroën C4 versions
- Five-door hatchback (2004): the rounded saloon body.
- Three-door coupé (2004): the angular body with a split rear.
- C4 Pallas / C4 Sedan: Argentine-built four-door for South America and Europe.
- C-Triomphe: a longer Chinese saloon.
- Panel van: coupé-based commercial version for some markets.
- Third generation (2020): coupé crossover SUV.
The C4 replaced the Xsara, and the family versions are the Xsara Picasso and the C4 Aircross. More cars are in the Citroën collection.
Video: ZF-Praxistest 2011 – Platz 8 für den Citroen C4
Video by ZFfriedrichshafen on YouTube.
Sources
- Citroën C4, English Wikipedia: design, bodies, technology, saloons, facelift
