Citroen aims at sedan fans with new C4 X compact

MADRID -- Citroen has expanded its presence in the compact segment with the C4 X, a coupe-style four-door available with a full-electric drivetrain, in addition to gasoline and diesel engines.

Notably, Citroen is selling only the electric version in 14 European countries, most in northern Europe, including Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. 

The C4 X, with a larger trunk (510 liters) than the C4 hatchback (380 liters), is aimed at families, ride-hailing and taxi services, and business customers, CEO Vincent Cobee said at a media event here last week. 

It joins a recent trend of fastback- and coupe-style compact cars in Europe, including the Renault Arkana, Peugeot 408, Volkswagen Taigo and Toyota C-HR. 

Of those, only the 408 is classified as a compact car, while the rest are SUVs or crossovers. Nevertheless, Citroen executives said that they consider the Arkana -- which has been a surprise hit for Renault -- to be the C4 X’s main competition.

The C4 X earns its "X" designation, a letter often used to designate crossovers or SUVs, with styling cues such as black plastic cladding and prominent wheel arches, as well as ground clearance of 156 mm (6.1 inches) and an "eye position" of 1220 mm. In comparison, a Peugeot 308 has ground clearance of 140 mm. 

"It has the elevated seating position of an SUV combined with the elegant design of a sedan," Cobee said.

According to Citroen, the C4 X slots in between the midsize C5 X and the C4. The C4 starts at 24,950 euros; the C4 X at 27,650 euros; and the C5 X at 36,400 euros. Sales volumes from the C4 X are expected to be additive; Citroen executives said they do not expect it will cannibalize sales from the C4. 

The C4 X differs from the C4 from the C-pillar rearward, with all the extra length used to increase the roofline and cargo space. It is 4600 mm long, 240 mm longer than the C4. 

Cobee said the reason Citroen is selling the C4 X as an electric-only model in many countries is because they can support a threshold of at least one-third EVs for the full-electric C4 model. 

"It’s a demonstration of our EV competence in major European markets," he said. 

That mix, he says, will give the C4 X an overall 50-50 split between electric and gasoline/diesel versions. Currently about 35 percent of all C4s are full electric.

The electric C4 X has a range of 360 km (224 miles) from a 50-kilowatt-hour battery. A 100-kilowatt motor gives a 0-100 kph (0-62 mph) time of 9.5 seconds in Sport mode (there are also Eco and Normal driving modes). 

With Citroen’s progressive damping suspension and thickly padded foam seats, the emphasis is on comfortable cruising rather than at-the-limit handling, Citroen executives say. Top speed is 150 kph (93 mph).

That is an advantage for one key target market: Taxi and ride-hailing drivers who will be driving a car loaded with passengers and luggage on rough city streets. They will likely opt for the full-electric version, as it will allow access to low- or zero-emission zones.

In fact, Citroen says the majority of customers, especially in France, will be business users, whether professional drivers or those with a company car allowance.

Other engine choices include a 1.2-liter, three-cylinder gasoline engine with 100 hp or 130 hp; and a 1.5-liter, four-cylinder diesel with 130 hp. Those engines are expected to be sales leaders outside of Western Europe, especially in North Africa and Turkey.

The C4 X is expressly designed to appeal to buyers in those markets, who prefer sedans over hatchbacks for privacy and climate reasons -- opening a large hatchback in windy, hot weather would let dust into the passenger compartment and air-conditioning to escape. 

Citroen expects the C4 X to appeal to both compact hatchback and crossover buyers, although it will officially compete in the compact hatchback segment, where the C4 was in eighth place in the first half of 2022 with 34,866 sales, a 12 percent increase over 2021 in a segment that was down 19 percent overall.

The segment was led by the VW Golf, with 89,684 sales, followed by the Toyota Corolla (73,188), Skoda Octavia (46,857) and 308 (43,289) from Stellantis sibling brand Peugeot. (The Peugeot is built on a different platform, EMP2, from the C4 family, which is on an extended version of the CMP architecture.)

The C4 X’s internal combustion options top out at 36,850 euros for a fully loaded diesel model, but from there it is a significant jump to 41,900 euros for the base EV model, exclusive of incentives. Other full-electric options in the segment include the C4 hatchback (39,700 euros in France) VW ID3 (46,750), Renault Megane E-Tech (39,000 euros), and MG4 (28,990 euros).

The car that Citroen expects to be the C4 X’s main combustion engine rival, the Renault Arkana, starts at 31,800 euros in France. Other coupe/fastbacks are the Taigo (24,940 euros) and Peugeot 408 (37,350 euros).