New Citroen C4 and e-C4 details revealed

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Citroen has revealed a few more details on the 3rd generation C4 and its all-electric sibling, the e-C4. Since we’ve already discussed its styling, let’s jump straight to the important bits.

Speaking of which, there’ll be a total of 31 exterior combinations to choose from. There’ll be 7 exterior colors: Polar White, Obsidian Black, Steel Grey, Platinum Grey, Elixir Red, Caramel Brown and Iceland Blue. The 5 color packs include Glossy Black, Metallic Sand, Textured Grey, Anodised Deep Red and Anodised Blue, the latter is exclusive to the e-C4.

These Color Packs, typical of Citroen cars, are made up of colored inserts around the front fog lights and on the Airbump.

The alloy wheel sizes range from 17- to 18-inches. The C4 gets a choice of 18-inch diamond-cut Aeroblade alloy wheels or 18-inch Aeroblade Dark alloy wheels. The e-C4 gets exclusive diamond-cut Crosslight alloy wheels. The lower trims get 16-inch steel wheels with covers.

Buyers get a choice of 6 themes for the interior, including Standard, Urban Grey, Metropolitan Grey, Metropolitan Blue, Hype Black and Hype Red. Features include Advanced Comfort Seats, heating for front & rear seats, a digital instrument cluster, a color Head-Up Display, a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Apple CarPlay & Android Auto connectivity, dual-zone climate control, and wireless smartphone charging.

The new C4 also features ‘Smart Pad Support’ – a retractable support system to hook up a tablet. In addition, Citroen claims that there are no less than 16 storage compartments in the car.

Safety and driver assistance systems include Active Safety Brake, Collision Risk Alert and Post Collision Safety Brake, Blind Spot Monitoring, Lane Departure Warning, Coffee Break Alert, Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go function, Highway Driver Assist, Park Assist, and Trailer Stability Control – part of the optional tow hitch device.

Suspension
As for the suspension, the new C4 with ‘Progressive Hydraulic Cushions’ claims a “magic carpet ride”. Apparently, 20 patents have been filed during the development of this suspension. While conventional suspension systems comprise a shock absorber, a spring and a mechanical stop, the PHC adds two hydraulic stops on either side, one for compression and the other for decompression. The suspension thus works in two stages depending on the applied stresses.

For light compression and decompression, the spring and shock absorber control vertical movements together with no assistance required from the hydraulic stops. During major impacts, the spring and shock absorber work together with the hydraulic compression or decompression stops, which gradually slow the movement to avoid jerks at the end of the range. Unlike a traditional mechanical stop, which absorbs energy but returns a part of it, the hydraulic stop absorbs and dissipates this energy. This means there is no bouncing, Citroen explains.

Powertrains
Moving on to the business end of the story, the new C4 will be available with a choice of 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol and 1.5-litre 4-cylinder diesel engines, available in different tunes: PureTech 100 with 6-speed manual gearbox, PureTech 130 with 6-speed manual or 8-speed automatic, PureTech 155 with 8-speed automatic, BlueHDi 110 with a 6-speed manual, and BlueHDi 130 with an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

The all-electric e-C4 packs an electric motor at the front, developing 100 kW (136 metric hp) and 260 Nm (192 lb-ft) of torque. The 50 kWh lithium-ion battery pack is claimed to deliver a range of up to 350 km (217 mi) as per the WLTP cycle. The e-C4 is claimed to sprint from 0-100 km/h (62 mph) in 9.7 seconds and on to a top speed of 150 km/h (93 mph).

As for charging times, the battery is claimed to take 30 minutes to get to 80% charge via a 100 kW public charging station. With the optional 11 kW three-phase charger and via 32A Wall Box, the battery takes about 5 hours to get juiced up (single-phase takes 7 hours and 30 min). A domestic socket would take anywhere between 15 to 24 hours to recharge the battery.

Last but not least, the new C4 measures 4,360 mm long, 2,032 mm wide (with mirrors extended) and 1,525 mm high. Its wheelbase measures 2,670 mm and the ground clearance is 156 mm.