2006 Citroen C4 VTS from UK and Ireland - Comments

Took collection of my brand new c4 v.t.s. and the lumbar support was broken on collection.

Loud bang, power steering failure within one hour from collection.

Citroen assist failed to provide me with a vehicle.

Car repaired next day returned to me with a deep scratch on rev counter cover.

Rear wiper arm broke.

Spoiler surface blistering.

Steering shudder during breaking due to oil leak from blown engine gasket, oil running down on to wheels.

Car back at dealers engine stripped down, new engine block on order.

Bought the car on 09/03/06, had driven it only until 29/03/06, have not seen it since, and it is now 14/04/06 and have not been given clear indication as to when it will be ready.

When I had it it was a pleasure to drive with good handling especially when cornering on winding roads.

The seats are very comfortable and hold you in position.

The interior build quality, appearance is second to none, although the glove compartment door is flimsey.

Rear view is limited due to the bar across back window.

Well, apart from the chance of the care being faulty, I would place my bet money on you being the main reason of the engine failure. I mean, a sports car is not infailible, and just because you have a 170BHP car doesn't mean you should always go at 7000rpm. It's not the car that makes a pilot / driver.

I was interested in one of these a while ago (the VTS model) but I'm glad I went with a nearly new impreza after reading your review. Even after the testdrive and finding it gutless I wanted one cos the way it looked. But having owned an impreza before testdrive the drop in performance was too much. They are very nice cars though, shame about your story with the reliability.

They're completely different cars and well the Impreza depending on the model isn't that fast its clio 182 pace in all fairness in fact there are points where the clio will catch up.

The impreza though handles much better. But just the image it has puts me off owning one. Great cars that have been wrecked and still the original models look beter they still can't beat the look of the 22b in my eyes.

But one is a hatchback with a 180bhp naturally aspirated 2 litre inline 4 the other is a saloon with 4wd and a turbo charged flat four. You cannot compare them.

Even so the impreza has got extrememly ugly recently and the C4 just looks great. Personally though I don't think I will have another C4 next time not because of the problems I had as they have not been major, but because I just want a nice big fat american V8. Theres just no replacement for displacment plus the fact the noise they make is worth the fuel alone.

Not sure I understood your wording at first, are you trying to say the Impreza has the pace of a Clio 182? You may be right, the Impreza 20R with 170bhp, the Clio would be a bit quicker, but a WRX upwards, you're being silly. It would be outpaced 0-60, 0-100, 50-70, 30-70, you name it. Stick that engine in an old hatch like a nova and it would be different, but not a fat heavy modern Clio.

Getting back to the VTS, you can compare them to Impreza's because even though they're totally different, I like them both, you just have to compare their great aspects. I knew the VTS was only 170bhp compared to my 260bhp Impreza, but man it didn't even feel like 120bhp. Very smart cars that with moderate tuning would have lots to give.

Clio 182 0- 60.3 seconds EVO and numerous magazines tested it at. WRX is only slightly quicker. Due to 4wd transmission losses and the fact it's a heavy car, the clios can stick with them. Considering the Clio weighs less than 1100kg, they are rather lightweight when you think they have 169bhp per tonne. Evo tested them - I think 50-70 you will find the Clio is faster, and once on a rolling start, from 30 up the Impreza won't lose the Clio until it gets to silly speeds. Plus the fact clio can stop quicker etc. I don't own a Clio, it was just a choice I was thinking of when I got my C4.

And depends on the WRX. Some of them were only 215bhp. They just feel faster cause of the torque the turbo gives, rather than the linear power you get from the clio. The Impreza's do pull away once you get to the higher speeds where the extra power comes into play, but at lower speeds there's not much in it except launch due to the 4wd.

And the VTS is 180bhp, but usually produces a little more. But still 8+ seconds to 60 and doesn't handle as well as either of the other 2 cars mentioned. Clios were so much fun to drive - incredibly chuckable. There's a reason they were regarded as one of the best performance cars on the road.

Nearly 1100kgs for a supermini? Not so long ago, small hatch's were 800-900kgs! And don't forget the Clio won't have 182bhp at the wheels, FWD cars suffer losses too, not as much, but then the Impreza has more bhp too lose, and it isn't such a big weight difference as I thought it might be. And theres other factors like gearing that give cars good launch and midrange.

The only way to know for sure is a race, but none of the Clio 172/182s I've seen have been willing to, granted I haven't seen that many.

The 172 cup weighs in at around 1030kg if I remember rightly. 0-60 in around 6.3 seconds. Impreza's are faster, but there's not much in it once rolling to be honest. And there's a few people over on the cliosport site that I am sure would be willing to prove to you just how little difference there is between pace. Take into account power to the wheels figures though, and you're looking around a 22% transmission loss versus a 13% for the Clio roughly.

So 233bhp ish to the wheels in a 285bhp WRX, and around 162bhp to the wheels in a Clio with nearly a 500kg weight difference. It makes sense that there is not much difference between them to be honest, until higher speeds where weight isn't so much of an issue and power is.

500kgs? The 2004 impreza I have is 1395kgs. (and that's heavy compared to 90s ones) so about 365kgs to be true.

I'm sorry, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't these comments supposed to be about the C4 and not every other car going? Myself and my niece had a look at a C4 today and it was just gorgeous, beautiful curves and stylish throughout, of course when I check it out I will worry immensely about the glove compartment!! Give us the comments about this car not the others, use their site for that!

Don't worry so much about the glove compartment. My C4 comments are here.

http://www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_89543.html

And the glove compartment was fixed and has never been a problem since. Basically, it is easily fixable and at no cost, just a service.

It sounds to me like you thrashed your C4 to death, most likely when the engine was cold, hence all the problems.

This is a follow up to the original review.

The part (engine block) is on back order and it keeps being postponed (note a comment made by another review regarding back orders) never turns up when they say it will.

Citroen customer relations are not at all interested. Spoken to like I am a nuisance or a naughty boy for having complained.

Went to remove items from the car the other day. A sad sight, many of the parts taken off including the wheel arches, and other bits are stored in the boot and on the back seat. I think it will remain there for some time! I have now rejected the vehicle!

Just in the process of getting rid of my C4 2.0 diesel coupe VTS. Lovely car to look at, nice to drive when it's working, but boy the problems just keep coming one after the other. From fairly "minor" issues like the CD auto changer locking up, to paint blistering on the spoiler (common problem) and the infamous "depollution system" warning constantly re-occurring.

In addition the front seat cover wore a hole in after 30K miles (apparently Citroen call this fair wear and tear) and now the wheel bearings have gone after 40K mile. I don't know about you, but to my mind it's shoddy quality of the original build.

All the promises of quality at Citroen having been improved is false from my experience. I may just have a dud, but looking over the Internet would suggest otherwise.

The dealer was fine until the warranty ran out, now it's all at my cost and I'm not impressed.

Before you ask, I've never hammered the car or driven it hard. I'm well past that nonsense.

It's just such a shame because I really fell in love with the design - just a pity they couldn't improve the quality.