Citroen C4 - Interior, design and technology
Citroen’s latest family face helps the C4 stand out, but its infotainment and interior technology isn’t all that impressive
When Citroen unveiled the striking Oli Concept in 2022, it claimed its design would soon filter down into production cars. This is clearly evident in the C4’s more rigid bodywork, angular LED lighting layout and the new Citroen badge, which sits prominently on the nose. While design is a matter of taste, there’s no doubt the latest Citroen C4 stands out from the crowd, while neatly adhering to the brand’s identity at the same time.
What is the Citroen C4 like inside?
It seems like most of the effort went into tweaking the exterior, though, because inside it’s virtually unchanged, aside from a new Citroen badge on the steering wheel, fresh bolstering for the seats and a fresh seat insert design.
What is the interior quality like?
The fit and finish help make the C4 feel plusher than a Dacia, but not quite up to the standard of a Volkswagen T-Roc, with a swathe of hard scratchy plastic on the dash the main offender. The key touchpoints, such as the gear selector (used across many Stellantis cars) and the leather steering wheel (standard on the C4), do help to lift the interior appeal somewhat. It seems well constructed, too, and during our tests, we didn’t uncover any annoying rattles or loose trim. On Max-trimmed cars, there’s a hidden drawer in the dash that can hold small laptops, tablets, or act as a secondary glovebox.
Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment
The 10-inch central touchscreen remains standard on all models, although it features an updated infotainment system that is simple enough to operate on the move. Air-vent controls no longer feature on the side – these are now reserved for the physical controls that have thankfully been retained in the centre on the dash. Items such as the ‘Application Drawer’ sub-menu are a bit of a faff, with it weirdly featuring the sat-nav as the bottom item.
The integrated nav itself isn’t the smoothest system, either, with the narrow, widescreen display not really an ideal size to display the map clearly. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity is standard-fit, providing a welcome alternative. As part of the Connect Plus Pack, our car also featured ChatGPT as a voice-recognition feature. But we found this less than useful, with several frustrating misunderstandings.
Opt for the base-spec You or mid-range Plus and you’ll get a five-inch colour screen for the driver – top-spec Max cars get a seven-inch instrument cluster instead. We wouldn’t base our buying decision on this, though, because they offer the same usability and features.
