The C4X is a quirky, interesting car that knows exactly what it must do as a family choice. Even better with a (whisper it) diesel engine up front.
This was a fun week for me. A little vindication always feels good, doesn’t it? Well, I got me some of that while driving a Citroën C4X with … drums rolling please … a diesel engine.
Yes, a diesel engine. Remember those? The best technology for long journeys ever created by car manufacturers, which politicians made sure they demonized, so they could push a fundamentally unreachable, unimplementable green agenda.
That agenda, as is becoming perfectly clear, will never save the planet, but instead deepen some troublesome issues. The need for rare metals, slave labour, an enormous charging infrastructure and, very soon, nuclear power to maintain it – do any of these ring a bell?
Anyway, I had the C4X booked with Citroën when two very interesting pieces of news came to my attention. First, Mercedes quietly announced it was pushing back its demise of combustion engines and instead pour money into their development, as battery electric vehicle take-up is not as strong as expected.
The German manufacturer is not, after all, going fully electric by 2030, and made sure it was clear they will keep manufacturing ICE systems well into the next decade. Eleven percent of all Mercedes sold last year were BEV; that number rises to 19% if you include hybrids. Seems only logical to admit it is not possible to sell exclusively these types of cars in a little under seven years’ time.
I honestly just don’t know why it took them so long to figure this out and the market seems to agree, as Mercedes’ stock rose by 5% following the announcement. More constructors will have to do the same if they want to survive. If they insist on this 100% electric nonsense, they will be building nothing at all pretty soon.
Second, Akio Toyoda, the Toyota chairman and former CEO, a man who never understood the whole electric car hypocrisy and always spoke loudly about his disagreement on them being the solution the planet needs, made quite an interesting statement by saying he would rather buy credits to abide by governments’ rules regarding emissions, than put money into research and development of a technology that will simply never make the numbers politicians want.
‘Customer demand comes first’ is Toyoda’s guideline and he knows a thing or two about efficient cars that people actually want, as the latest generation Prius has just been named the most efficient car in the world. Surprise, surprise, it’s not a BEV, but a hybrid.
It, therefore, felt just right to be driving a diesel car for this week’s text. And, before I write anything else, I am going to write this: I collected the car at Citroën with a range of 800km displaying on the dashboard. I immediately drove 310km to and from where I had to go. When I parked at home, the available range was 700 km. Yes, this old-tech car our dear governors do not want us to buy goes more than 1000km on a single tank of fuel. Non-stop. No nonsense. Fabulous.
The C4X is Citroën’s second X model after the C5X and, just like its bigger brother, it is a kind of hatchback-saloon-suv-coupé that breaks the traditional industry moulds and tries to be a lot of things to a lot of people, with mostly successful results. The brand itself calls its X models a ‘crossroads of different universes’ and they are not wrong.
Its unconventional styling and Citroën’s typical quirkiness definitely draw some attention from fellow motorists. One curious thing is that sometimes the C4X looks bigger than it actually is, sometimes smaller. Still today, I am not sure if it’s a big car or a small one, compared to its peers. But then again … what peers?
Anyway, it has its own personality and though it has that sloping coupe roofline, there is loads of space inside and all the other makings of a pretty good family car: comfort, good boot capacity at 510 litres, lots of safety kit and entertainment features aplenty. Ah … and 1000km of range, so you don’t have to plan for a lengthy recharge every two days or so.
That comes courtesy of a 1.5 litre, four-cylinder HDi engine putting 130 horsepower on the road through an 8-speed automatic, the only transmission available, and a rather good one too, suiting the car to perfection.
The 10-inch central screen encompasses all the features you expect from a modern car and although it needs a few seconds to get going, it is then satisfyingly responsive. Apple Car Play? Check. Android Auto? Check. All good, tech-wise.
Being a Citroën, you can count on a comfort-led approach to chassis tuning and there is nothing wrong with that. The C4X is a great companion for long journeys and/or for short urban trips. The steering is light, if a bit numb, the seats look and feel good and there are actual buttons for some important functions, which is a plus in my book.
For €34,000, it is also good value for money, especially if you consider the incredible, real world state-of-the-art technology you end up with: a diesel engine. You will love it, believe me. And it may just be the future of the automotive industry (wink). Just ask Mercedes. Or Toyota.
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