Citroën ë-C4 X or ë-C4: what do you get and which do you choose?

With the C4 X, Citroën shows an old-fashioned stubborn side again. The Citroën C4 X is a sister model to the C4 and although its X addition may suggest otherwise, it is very different from a rougher crossover version of the C4. After all, the Citroën C4 is already a crossover by nature. No, the C4 X has a completely different shape than the C4. Where the Citroën C4 is a crossover with a relatively steeply sloping roofline and a hatchback hatch, the Citroën C4 X is a crossover with … a sedan butt. Time to park them next to each other.

Unlike the ë-C4, the C4-X is a sedan!

Form

Up to roughly the B-pillar, the Citroën C4 X is almost the same as the C4, but everything is different behind it. The roofline of the new C4 X continues a bit further to the rear before it overflows into the rear window. Unlike the C4, the C4 X does not have a fifth door, but a real sedan butt with a fairly short flap that opens separately from the rear window. That makes the Citroën C4 X a kind of sedan crossover, a car whose concept reminds us somewhat of that of the Volvo S60 Cross Country of yesteryear and the Dacia Logan Stepway, which was never delivered in the Netherlands. That the Citroën C4 X and C4 are brothers of each other is also evident everywhere. In addition to appearances, they also share their technical basis with each other. Although the sedan buttocks make the C4 X no less than 24 centimeters longer than the C4 X, the two cars share the well-known CMP basis that you will find under many Stellantis products. The wheelbase of both the Citroën C4 X and C4 is 2.67 meters.

Room

A spacious luggage compartment is hidden behind the sedan hatch of the Citroën C4 X. The C4 X swallows a whopping 510 litres, considerably more than the C4 which kicks it up to 380 litres. If you throw the back seat of the Citroën C4 X flat, you can drive no less than 1,360 liters of stuff from A to B. Even with the rear seats folded down, the C4 lags behind its X brother. That is because it stops at 1,250 liters. An important difference, however, is that the luggage compartment of the C4 is more accessible due to the larger flap and that you can also store larger objects in that crossover that do not fit through the relatively small loading opening of the C4 X.

More luggage space for the ë-C4 X, but the passage is smaller.

engines

The fact that the C4 and C4 X belong to the same model family is also evident from the engines available in the cars. Both models have the well-known 1.2 Puretech petrol engines and da 1.5 BlueHDi diesels. But not in the Netherlands! Where the Citroën C4 in the Netherlands is available with both combustion engines and as an electric ë-C4, Citroën only supplies the C4 X as an electric ë-C4. For a Citroën C4 X with petrol or diesel machines, you therefore have to go to the import market.

The electric powertrains of the two electric C4 flavors are identical. Both the Citroën ë-C4 and the ë-C4 X have a 136 hp and 260 Nm strong electric motor on the front axle that draws its zest for life from a 50 kWh battery. That hardware gives the ë-C4 a range of 357 kilometers.

Inside, the two hardly differ from each other.

Performance

Thanks to its more aerodynamic shape, the ë-C4 X goes further on a full charge, but the difference is negligible at 3 kilometers. The two French EVs are also equal in terms of charging times and charging capacity. Fast charging is possible up to 100 kW, which means that an empty battery pack can be charged to 80 percent full in 30 minutes. The ë-C4 and ë-C4 X also hardly differ when it comes to sprint times. In the first you buzz in 9.7 seconds to a speed of 100 km / h. The ë-C4 X completes the same sprint in 9.5 seconds. Both cars have a top speed of 150 km/h. With a car weight of 1,559 kilograms, the ë-C4 X is less than 25 kilograms heavier than the ë-C4. Not bad for almost 25 centimeters more car. You also do not have to leave one electric Citroën in front of the other for the maximum towing weight, because they are not allowed to pull either.

Prices and equipment

As close as the two C4 variants are to each other in terms of technology, the prices of the two EVs are also close to each other. The electric Citroën ë-C4 has a starting price of €40,240 in the Netherlands, the electric ë-C4 X is only €600 more expensive at €40,840. So you not only get more sheet metal, but also more luggage space in return. The versions of the two C4s are also the same. For example, Citroën supplies both models as a Fee, as a Feel Pack and as a Shine.

The equipment of those versions hardly differs per model. The Feel versions are completely identical to each other, but with the Feel Pack we find a small difference. For example, the ë-C4 Feel Pack has a reversing camera with Top Rear Vision that releases a 180-degree view from behind the car. The ë-C4 X Feel Pack also has a reversing camera, but without Top Rear Vision. Top Rear Vision is standard on the Shine with the ë-C4 X. Furthermore, the paint color Iceland Blue is reserved for the ë-C4, the free colors Polar White, Platinum Grey, Perla Nera Black and Steel Gray are otherwise the same.

To elect

The question of questions: if you had to go for one of the two, which would it be? Can you have the quirky design of the Citroën ë-C4 X and does its larger luggage compartment appeal to you, or would you rather go for the electric ë-C4 because of its appearance or because of its more accessible luggage compartment?