2005 Citroen C4 VTR+ from UK and Ireland - Comments

After owning the car for 6 months the cruise control started switching itself off after it had been running for either a few minutes or a few seconds.

At approx 9 months small blisters appeared under the paint on either side of the colour coded spoiler.

To start with the car is a real head-turner, especially in the coupe version. If possible make sure you order a colour coded spoiler as it makes the car. I have noticed some coupe's have black spoilers regardless of the car colour. Always specify that you want it to match your car!!! When mine went back to get the spoiler replaced due to the blistering paint, they tried to tell me that they were all black now!!! I don't think so!!! Believe me, that's complete nonsense. Just be aware of this.

The cabin is roomy and spacious, unlike both the Ford and Vauxhall which I found to be claustrophobic. Night driving is especially good as the interior looks stunning as it lights up beautifully. The inside of the doors are also something which stands out as being more refined, especially in comparison with the Astra which I felt had a cheapness about it. The Focus I felt was much the same. With there being no dials in the C4 it makes many other cars appear out-dated and boring. They don't say the C4's alive with technology for nothing!!

The electro-chrome rear-view mirror is a real bonus and something that you don't want to be without once you have one.

As far as comfort goes the sports seats are some of the best that I have come across. You really appreciate them, especially if you try the seats in the Vauxhall which are very poor in comparison.

After about 2 or 3 thousand miles the engine started to loosen up and it really does go when you put the foot down. At the moment I am getting 56.4 mpg which is excellent.

I had extras such as the security pack, disc changer, rear parking sensor, supaguard, mats, mud flaps etc and the total cost of the car was still unbelievable.

The scented air fresheners are brilliant and a really nice touch. This is what I really love about this car. Thought has gone into even the smallest detail.

One thing that I saw on television, (I think it was Fifth Gear!) and that was the 'sloppy gearbox'. Never heard such nonsense. You have this image of the gearstick flapping about and nothing could be further from the truth. The gearstick on mine is perfectly good.

Good review. Glad someone else seems to agree with me about the Focus / Astra - took a look at both before I got my C4 and to be honest despite the motoring press going on about the great build quality of the new focus it didn't look that great to me. Added to that it had a dull and outdated interior. The Astra coupe seemed better, but was so claustrophobic and no visibility out of the rear windows.

Agree with the nice little touches like the scented air freshener. Another nice feature is that the windows do up with the central locking which is pretty useful.

As for the gearbox you are right it is perfectly fine. The only thing I would say is that if you are driving the car hard you do notice the gearbox isn't perfect which makes very fast accurate gear changes a tad difficult (an area where I hear the Focus is better) but for ordinary driving I really don't think you will notice too much.

Own one myself and I know what is meant by the sloppy gearbox its not very precise and well it doesn't like to be changed quickly.

If you have driven a focus the gear change feels lovely by comparison so smooth and precise in comparison to the rather cruddy box in the citroen, but most citroen / Pug boxes are the same just a marque trait.

Black spoilers actually look better from the rear as it blends into the rear section more with the tinted windows on the VTS anyway.

Its also not exactly black it's a graphite colour the same as is found on the windscreen trim and the A and B pillars if you have a VTS.

Plus the body coloured ones I have seen just don't look as nice in my opinion the black one is actually much more subtle you don't take as much notice of it as you would think.

Did you try the new Honda Civic? It encompasses all of your views about technology although it's a much better (in my opinion) car...

And better looking too....

And its depreciation not being anything like the C4...

I would like to ask a question : isn't the speedo being in the middle of the dashboard distracting? Personally I like to know when I break the speed limit so I can stop, rather than having to look left all the time :-)

Personally this would drive me nuts. Or rather did drive me nuts when I test drove one.

The new civic looks awful.

The triangle exhausts and the rear window etc looks rubbish. Mix that with the whole chrome front light things and I find it looks awful. Its not so bad at the front, but from the back it looks naff.

Depreciation is also actually not that much different according to a few things I have seen for £15k you can get a C4 VTS which will be worth nearly £7 in 3 years the same price civic which only comes with a 1.8 is worth nearly £7k in 4 years too. So I know which I would rather have the higher spec quicker more comfortable care and lose the same amount of money.

Speedo in the middle is not bad at all its always in your vision resulting in you knowing how fast your always going if your so bothered about going over the limit though that's where the C4's speed limiter comes in it won't let you go any faster until you click the button on the bottom of the gas pedal. Even if you had to look left least your eyes are still towards the windscreen rather than looking down away from it like you usually have to with most speedo's.

Id take the C4 over the civic anyday myself better looking mines had hardly any worthwhile problems dealers have been fine. My only comment is if the civic looked better to the masses why did the C4 win world car design of the year and hatch back of the year? And the civic came a fair way down those lists.

Near enough everyone I know and on many forums online seems to say the civic is different, but I have not seen many people that say they love the design where as I have had people commenting on my C4 saying how nice it is etc and how nicely it drives. Let my uncle have a go in it he had been and tried various other cars including the civic. He now has a C4 VTS sat on his drive.

I am in the lucky position of having the choice for a company car of a Citroen C4 2.0 HDi VTR+ or a Civic 1.8 SE. I actually like both cars and it is a very hard decision to make. I think the Civic looks great from the front, but have to agree with the previous comment that the rear of the Honda looks naff. Triangular exhaust pipes and lots of clear plastic is going to date very quickly. The C4 looks good all round and I think it will stand the test of time. Not so much the Coupe version though.

The interior of the Civic is (in my opinion) an absolute gem. It's so well laid out and so much better than a normal car. The build quality is also better than the C4. I was very disappointed after I opened the C4 glovebox as it was extremely flimsy. However the C4 has a nice interior and is also well laid out and better than a run of the mill Focus or Astra. The Specification offered in the Citroen is also better than the Civic.

After lots of hours deciding I went for the C4 with a promised 52 MPG. Got to wait 6 weeks to get it. Fingers crossed I have made the right decision.

Get yourself over to possibly one of the only fairly busy C4 forums around then can give you the run down of any problems to expect etc.

http://citroenpicasso.org.uk/citroen/

And I disagree I think the coupe will age rather well personally.

The speedo in the centre of the dashboard is perfect. I don't find it distracting at all and I still have a view of the road in front of me, unlike when I look through a steering wheel to look at a speedo on other cars.

In terms of taste, the C4 coupe will outlast all other cars in its category. Let's face it, the French have taste!

I have the misfortune to own a C4. Ever since day 1 the car has made unwanted noises while driving, breaking and backing up. That is why I have decided to sell my C4 back to the Citroen-dealer and buy a Focus instead.

And this is why people with said cars should join owners forums.

Then you would know that it's a common issue, and one that has a fix by Citroen in which the rear calipers, pads and discs are replaced.

Not only that, but any car with disc brakes is always going to squeak a bit, it's just normal can't be avoided.

So I'm gonna post up http://citroenpicasso.org.uk/citroen/ as it has a good C4 section with some people who know all the issues with the car.

I too had the noise, and now my car is totally noise free and has been perfect motoring, with very little noise from anything for the last 6 months.

But enjoy the Focus. It has a worse ride, much more uncomfortable seats, and is totally boring and ugly. Its only saving graces are the nice gear change and the handling. Which means it is a little more chuckable. But driven the same, there's very little difference in them.

I rented one of these for a few days last month and loved it. It reminds me of an old school Citroen - quirky, "different" and very pleasant to drive. Certainly aesthetically it's in a different league to the Focus, Astra or Golf, and nobody makes diesel engines as linear, smooth and inoffensive as the French. It makes VW's bigger, less powerful 1.9 TDI engine sound and feel agricultural and ancient.

The hire car I drove had 11,000 hard driven miles on it, and still drove like new. Everything worked, nothing rattled or squeaked and all controls were taut and precise. It seems Citroen have massively improved their quality control as well.

Great car, and a welcome breath of fresh air in a class of talented, but incredibly boring tin-box clones. Out at the ragged edge it's not as composed a handler as the Focus most probably, but who drives a 1.6 diesel hatchback in a way that they'd even notice?

I can't imagine why anyone would choose a citroen car over a honda. Citroen is a budget car manufacturer whereas honda tends to cater toward the premium marque sector. I would go for the honda in the blink of an eye.

Citroen cars are poorer quality, count on reliability problems in the first few years.

Tend to agree with the last comment. Also earlier the depreciation was compared in a very odd way. The new civic with the diesel engine in it is in a different league in terms of residuals compared to any citreon.

French cars are nice cars to drive, I don't pretend they aren't, but when you look at actually owning one it is a different story. The French took ages to offer a 3 year warranty like the other manufacturers because they simply aren't very reliable, and don't expect them to follow suit and bump it upto 5 years anytime soon.

The Civic might be a more "Upmarket" car. It really isn't that great though. My friend has had to refuse his due to ongoing problems the dealer has been unable to fix.

My C4 on the other hand. Still going like a champ and my Citroen is older and had no rattles. Unlike his Civic. Heard of this happening to a few of them now too.

They really are not that great. You also realise Citroen have also improved their reliability hugely over the last few years. Now one of the most reliable cars you car own. Ahead of every single European brand 2 years in a row and also ahead of a few of the Japanese brands. 3 years ago they were near the bottom, but a lot can change in that time.

People think Citroen and automatically it gets lumped into the badly built, rubbish car. And they just aren't anymore. The C4 is no worse than the Focus, Civic in terms of build. But with more individuality. What can I say I am not a sheep.

And while the Civic keeps it's money better you have to realise that Citroen sell the cars cheaper. Do the maths and compare like for like with how much you have to really pay for each and the figures are not that disimilar.

Plus at the end of the day... the civic is an ugly car. Especially the Type R which looks like it has driven through the Halfords Ripspeed section and come out with most of the bits on the shelves.

There is no "might" about it. The Honda is in a different league than the Citroen. We shouldn't even compare the two.