Citroen’s face-lifted C4 offers a slice of French flair

SINGAPORE, April 11 — Without risking our toes by dipping into the subjective reasoning of what makes something cool, style is generally something you have to pay for. It’s closely related to but not the same thing as good design, but suffice to say you might pay more for an Apple product when a Xiaomi can do the same things.

It’s the same for cars, where you can expect to shell out more for anything Continental, or in a more pronounced example, something like a Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan or a Mini five-door.

Affordable style

The French have made a niche of offering cool-looking cars at sub-luxury prices and the face-lifted C4 hatchback is an exact example of that.

It’s had the mandatory updates for a face-lifted machine: More figured headlamp design with an updated ‘sweep’ of LED daytime running lights, 3D-effect tail lamps.

At the same time, it’s also had a significant change to its drivetrain. The old model had a 1.6-litre, 156bhp engine with a jerky, single-clutch automated gearbox. That’s changed to a less powerful, but COE Category A-friendly 1.2-litre turbo unit with a conventional six-speed gearbox.

The small three-cylinder engine is gutsy and has a stirring sound to it, plus the C4 itself is rather light, so it does a good impression of a warm hatch thanks to the engine’s punch and decent handling.

For a small hatchback, the front has decent room, but rear passenger space is limited. — Handout via TODAY

Motoring, French style

But in the classic automotive caricature of Gallic or Latin origin cars, there are some rough edges that dilute the experience. The suspension has a tendency to fall into undulations, and the gearbox, while much better than the previous type, still drops in the occasional jerk.

For a small hatchback, the front has decent room, but rear passenger space is limited. There are niceties like a keyless entry/start system and touchscreen infotainment system that can stream Bluetooth tunes to drown out the complaints of the rear occupants.

But when it comes down to it, the C4 still has classic French lines (different and unique) in a package that’s compact in size and price.

It’s not hard to see why some might find the Citroen’s blend of more style for less cash a proposition that’s hard to pass up.

Citroen C4

Engine: 1,395cc, in-line three, 130hp, 230Nm

Performance: 197kmh, 0-100kmh: 11.5s, 4.9L/100km, 113g/km CO2 — TODAY