New Citroën C4: a very interesting hybrid offer

Launched in 2020, the Citroën C4 will arrive in 2025 with a significantly refreshed version, featuring a completely new front end and a modernised rear end. Above all, the chevron-headlined compact sedan will reduce its engine range by abandoning diesel and focusing on electrification.

An expanded electrified offer

The CAFE standards, which come into force at the beginning of the year, will inevitably reshuffle the cards on the car market, with electric engines and hybrids becoming even more popular if manufacturers are to meet the very difficult 81 gram threshold. To do this, the brands will have to have a sales mix of around 25% electric engines, which is a high target in a market currently blocked at 17%.

For the C4, Citroën has therefore revised the range of engines available, putting an end to diesel engines and offering only hybrids in two power ratings (100 and 136 hp) and two electric versions (136 and 156 hp), the 1.2 turbo engine of 130 hp is still available, but only in a call version, which is also heavily penalised (898 € in 2025).

If the electric offers on the C4 are convincing, with the best autonomy of cars built on the CMP platform for the C4, the hybrid versions are without doubt extremely accomplished versions that have many qualities.

A perfectly adapted hybrid offer

Based on the 1.2 Turbo petrol engine, the Citroën C4 hybrids are equipped with a new 6-speed automatic gearbox, a 21 hp peak electric motor for urban acceleration and a small 0.42 kWh battery that recharges very quickly.

This has a double benefit:

• It reduces city consumption by up to 45% to just over 4 litres per 100 compared to almost 8 with the 130 bhp 1.2 Turbo engine.

• It also reduces CO² emissions and avoids any penalty as the C4 Hybrid is approved at 106 grams and therefore avoids any penalty, which is remarkable as an equivalent Renault Arkana MHEV 130 is approved at 130 grams and therefore has a significant penalty.

With a penalty of 0, when it is almost 900 € for the thermal versions, the C4 Hybrid quickly takes the advantage over its thermal sister, as the difference between the two is only 2000 €, which is reduced to 1100 € after the penalty and quickly disappears with the fuel savings achieved. All the more so as the C4 hybrid is 136 mpg more efficient than the equivalent C4 petrol, with 1 to 2 seconds better on all indicators.

In conclusion, more powerful, more efficient, less greedy, not much more expensive with a difference quickly profitable, the Citroën C4 Hybrid has serious assets to assert for those for whom autonomy is a question on a daily basis. It will soon be tested on Passionnément Citroën in its restyled version to see what the restyling brings, apart from the styling changes. In any case, although the electric versions are relevant and remarkably efficient, the C4's hybrid engines should be the most convincing in practice.