| First Drive | Malmo, Sweden | Citroen C4 |

Citroen's all-new C4 hatchback comes well-equipped and is cleaner and greener than ever, but rivals drive better and offer more.

In the Metal

The new C4 looks more substantial than its predecessor, with a higher bonnet and wider stance. The front resembles its C5 relative, and the overall look is more mature and more understated than the outgoing car. It's neat enough, but it lacks the flair you might expect from Citroen; the French firm is probably holding back on the style a bit for the C4's catwalk alternative, the DS4.

Inside, there are comfortable seats, a familiar dashboard and some fairly futuristic instruments - the background colour of which can be adjusted. The boot is massive, to the slight detriment of rear legroom, but four adults can travel in reasonable comfort. Opt for the EGS two-pedal gearbox and there's a useful and deep cubby in the centre console, too. Buttons festoon the dashboard and steering wheel, and Citroen has dropped its unusual fixed-hub steering wheel and scent dispenser that featured in the outgoing car.

What you get for your Money

Prices start at just under £16,000 for the entry-level C4. Citroen has yet to officially announce UK specifications, but every C4 is likely to come with air conditioning, electric windows, ESP stability control and a CD stereo with aux-in connection. The options list features a few firsts in the segment, including a blind-spot assist system, cornering lights and massaging seats.

Among the useful equipment there are some useless - and tremendously annoying - gimmicks. A selectable polyphonic tone system for the indicators, door open, seatbelt and boot open warnings is the worst offender. It's very much a case of just because you can doesn't mean you should...

Driving it

Pulling off without the C4 chirping, chiming and beeping like an amusement arcade is all but impossible. Selecting first in the manual gearbox requires a leap of faith, as it doesn't engage cleanly, though it's infinitely preferable to the EGS two-pedal clutch-less gearbox system. That shifts with all the finesse of a first day learner driver, resulting in nodding passengers with every gearchange. That's disappointing, as choose the right C4 and it's a perfectly competent, comfortable family hatchback. The steering might not be particularly sharp or quick, but the suspension takes the edge off bumps and refinement is acceptable.

The engines are decent too; the diesels are the obvious stars. The 110bhp 1.6-litre turbodiesel with stop start - badged e-HDi - works particularly well in the C4. The 2.0-litre HDi with 150bhp is punchy and refined, but the smaller petrol and diesel engines will be the better sellers. Mate the petrol engine to the EGS gearbox and the C4 is outclassed by its rivals on the road, with the need for revs and those clumsy gearchanges making for jerky progress. A diesel engine with a manual gearbox is the way to go.

Worth Noting

The micro-hybrid label that the e-HDi model wears simply means it has a stop-start system. It does allow the e-HDI to deliver CO₂ emissions of 109g/km. Citroen will better that in near-future models, with sub-100g/km CO₂ expected from the same powertrain.

Summary

Citroen's new C4 brings some luxury car features - as options - to the family hatchback market, but some of the basics are lacking. The quality of materials follows the smaller C3 in now being among the best in its class. The dashboard is littered with buttons for features that few people actually need - the programmable, multi-memory cruise control being a perfect example. The C4 is capable, comfortable, safe and economical, but there are more appealing family hatchbacks available - both to own and drive.