What’s it like?
The Citroen C4 launched initially as a replacement for the Xsara midsized hatchback, but by its second generation it had evolved into a smoother, more grown-up machine. A typical five-door family vehicle of the time, which shared parts with the related Peugeot 308, the C4 was up against the Ford Focus, Opel Astra, Renault Megane, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30 and Honda Civic, among many more rivals.
Which model to go for?
The first thing to note here is that there were two related, but totally distinct, model lines in the Citroen portfolio that also wore C4 badging, The first was the C4 Picasso, which was a people carrier, and the second was the funky C4 Cactus, which was a crossover-SUV. These are not considered part of this C4’s family, so we are focusing purely on the hatchback here.
Citroen did actually do a four-door version of the Mk2 C4, but it was only sold outside of Europe, so the hatch is the only body choice you have. And you will also primarily be looking at a diesel model, all using the 1.6-litre HDi engine here in Ireland – there was a 150hp 2.0-litre HDi, but that’s incredibly rare, to the point of being non-existent.
Your choices are therefore the 90- or the 115hp variants, which both offer adequate performance and reasonable real-world economy. Gearboxes on this generation of C4 were either a manual, an automated manual (EGS) or a full automatic (EAT6), with these generally being six-speed units.
Towards the end of the C4’s life, the turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder PureTech petrol engine arrived, and you can find a few of these on our used market, usually in 130hp specification, if you don’t fancy a diesel.
Does anything go wrong?
Sadly, at this point in the company’s history, Citroen’s reliability record wasn’t faultless, and so earlier models can be prone to issues. Mainly, these are electrical gremlins in the cabin, but there are two problems to look out for. The first is that 1.2-litre PureTech petrol engine – it’s one of the versions of the three-cylinder fitted with the ill-fated wet-belt timing system, and these can be prone to expensive, almost certainly terminal (in cars of this age) failures. The diesels, meanwhile, had the typical issues with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) clogging up in low-usage cars. Essentially, if you want a second-hand Mk2 C4, get the best possible example with the most spotless history you can find.
As evidence of the C4’s fragility, Citroen issued 12 recalls for this car during its life cycle. These were for a defective gas generator in the front airbags; insufficient lubrication of the vacuum pump; premature wear to the teeth of the timing belt; damage to the vacuum pump caused by material abrasion of the cog belt, affecting braking; absent ballast in the rear of the vehicle, affecting directional stability; control software issues leading to possible engine overheating; loose screws anchoring the alternator and air-conditioning compressor; an incorrectly positioned power terminal on the starter motor; a poorly secured cable in the bonnet catch; a possible fuel leak from the fuel rail in the engine; a potential oil leak from the turbocharger leading to a fire risk, even with the engine switched off; and an overheating electrical connection on the fuel heater after repeated use in sub-zero temperatures.