New Citroen e-C4 2025 review: updated EV is more appealing than ever
The Citroen e-C4 offers plenty of space and comfort for an eye-catching price
Verdict
The Citroen e-C4 was always something of an under-appreciated car in its segment; its superb comfort and impressive space set it apart from many of the alternatives. Now, following a mid-life facelift, all of that remains but at a significantly lower asking price. Citroen’s latest electric cars, including the superb e-C3, are really going punchy on the numbers, yet there’s a huge amount to like about them beyond value, too. The e-C4 just got a whole lot more appealing.
However you approach it, £5,600 is a lot of cash to lose. It’s not the sort of loose change that falls down the back of the sofa, and if a bill dropped through your letter box demanding you to pay up, chances are you’d be, to put it mildly, a little bit miffed.
Yet the new Citroen e-C4 has somehow managed to lose exactly that amount – but in a very good way. The five-door hatchback, plus the saloon-bodied e-C4 X, have dropped by £5,600 compared to the pre-facelift model. As a result, the range now kicks off from £26,295.
That’s £600 less than the cheapest Vauxhall Corsa Electric; a car which sits in the segment below when it comes to size. Similar levels of discounts will come to the petrol and hybrid Citroens, too, so the entry-level petrol C4 starts from £22,295.
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But this isn’t purely a price reduction, because Citroen has made a few tweaks to update the e-C4 package overall, too. From the outside, the facelift model can be singled out from its predecessor with a new front-end design, bringing in headlights which bear a resemblance to the e-C3’s. It’s a successful overhaul, though we’re not convinced the new Citroen badge sits on the nose as gracefully as the old one, which flowed neatly into chrome strips on either side.
Around the back, the more blocky lighting graphics and Citroen lettering add a fresher appearance. All trim levels get the same set of 18-inch alloy wheels, while a couple of colours have been added to the exterior palette.
Inside, not a huge amount has changed, at least on first glance. The dashboard design looks like it did before – and retains the physical climate dials and buttons – and there’s a new chevron logo on the steering wheel.
But the key change makes itself present as soon as you sit on it; the seats take on Citroen’s latest ‘Advanced Comfort’ tech; essentially using a mix of traditional seat cushions and memory foam padding in selected areas to deliver as much support for the driver as possible. The key change for the new model is that the latest version of the seats come with better side support than before; previously it felt like you’d need to beef up your core strength and cling onto the steering wheel every time you went around a roundabout slightly too quickly.
Also new is a revised seven-inch digital driver’s display. The sharper, brighter screen fills out the space ahead of the driver better than the old 5.5-inch unit, which is still fitted to the base ‘You’ trim level. There’s plenty of space inside, too with reasonable rear head room and lots of knee room. A 380-litre boot is on the lower end of average for a car of this size, however.
Much like the cabin, there’s little new to note with the e-C4’s mechanical make-up either; the only real change is the introduction of vehicle-to-load (V2L) tech, which lets the e-C4 power external electrical devices from its battery pack. In the case of the battery itself, the options remain the same as before; a choice of 50kWh and 54kWh units, which deliver a range of 222 and 254 miles (WLTP) respectively. The smaller battery gets a 134bhp motor, while the longer range model gets a boost to 154bhp. Both offer up an identical 260Nm of torque.
We drove the latter in its revised guise, and the driving experience is much the same as before – except with the pleasing feeling that it all costs the best part of six grand less. And a very pleasing drive it is, too; tying in with those Advanced Comfort seats are Citroen’s hydraulic bump stops, which allow for a softer suspension setup while maintaining body control over harsher surfaces.
The result of this is that the C4 is the smoothest riding car in its class. Why every other brand is so focussed on sportiness often baffles us, because every time we drive the e-C4 we just feel instantly at ease. It’s very soothing to drive. Light steering means that it isn’t particularly fun, but that’s clearly a quality that is very far removed from what Citroen aimed to achieve in the first place.
While we’ve found this powertrain to not deliver the goods when it comes to motorway efficiency, at lower speeds it proved to be superbly economical. Our time behind the wheel included just one brief jaunt up to 70mph, with the rest of the time spent around town or on gentle A and B-roads. Even so, the 5.0 miles/kWh the e-C4 achieved is an excellent return, and translates into a real-world range of 270 miles. While this is an optimistic rating for what most buyers might achieve (especially as the weather was mild during our time behind the wheel) it still gives a clear indication of the e-C4’s potential.
For the money, it’s not even like you really need to skimp on tech, either. The ‘You’ trim comes with alloy wheels, LED front and rear lights, a 5.5-inch driver’s display and 10-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, plus rear parking sensors and plenty more. The ‘You’ model is only available with the less powerful motor and small battery, while the ‘Plus’ can be paired with either, and adds a reversing camera, the larger driver’s display, built-in sat-nav and driver’s seat lumbar adjustment.
The ‘Max’ model is only offered with the most powerful motor, and is the only model in the lineup to break the £30,000-barrier. This model gains plusher seat upholstery, a heated steering wheel and door mirrors, an adjustable boot floor and front parking sensors. The ‘Max’ also gets the most comprehensive safety assist tech, introducing blind-spot warning, adaptive cruise control and a pedestrian braking system that gains radar detection to spot hazards at night.
| Model: | Citroen e-C4 Max |
| Price: | £30,150 |
| Powertrain: | 54kWh battery, 1x e-motor |
| Power/torque: | 154bhp/260Nm |
| Transmission: | Single-speed automatic, front-wheel drive |
| 0-62mph: | 9.2 seconds |
| Top speed: | 93mph |
| Range: | 254 miles |
| Charging: | 100kW (20-80% in 30 mins) |
| Size (L/W/H): | 4,355/1,800/1,520mm |
| On sale: | Now |
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