The Citroën C4 is today the only diesel compact accessible for less than €25,000. But is that enough to make this 1.5 BlueHDi 110 a relevant alternative to the 1.2 PureTech 100 petrol, which is even much cheaper? We got behind the wheel of this build to check it out.
Car tested: Citroën C4 BlueHDi 110 hp Feel Pack
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From€27,400
no bonus |
Two diesel versions in a compact sedan? For a long time, this might have seemed banal, even insufficient. Today, however, in the vast Stellantis group, the C4 is the only one to offer such a choice. This quirky Citroën is not content with the only BlueHDi 130, associated with an eight-speed automatic transmission and present in its distant cousins Peugeot 308, Opel Astra or DS 4. Here, we also find a 110 hp version of the same four- 1.5 cylinders, with a six-speed manual transmission and a price much softer than for the expensive 130 hp EAT8 variant. But can these arguments be enough to make us forget the lack of love of which diesel is the victim today? Only a test could allow us to be sure.
Citroen C4 BlueHDi 110 price
This “first price” diesel is available from the entry-level Live finish. This allows it to start from €24,100, with an unattractive presentation: 16-inch hubcaps, black and white mini-screen worthy of an old portable console… Better to spend at least €26,600 to upgrade to the C4 Feel, which adds a large 10-inch color touch screen with Mirror Screen function, an electric parking brake, automatic air conditioning or rear parking assistance. Without forgetting 18-inch rims with a more flattering design, even if they remain in sheet metal. So that they are finally in alloy, it is necessary to pass to the third level, Feel Pack, that of our specimen of test. This also gives access to the BlueHDi 130 EAT8. The difference between the two diesels reaches €3,000 at the same level of equipment, knowing that the two will always be separated by their type of gearbox. But it is above all the comparison with the PureTech 100 petrol that hurts the BlueHDi 110. Without the slightest difference in equipment, you will indeed save no less than €2,300 on purchase by favoring unleaded.
Driving
With such a financial gap, the access diesel C4 will only be of interest to very large riders. Fortunately, traveling hundreds of kilometers on board is not a punishment. Even if the adjustments appear a little firmer than on the petrol versions, as for the BlueHDi 130, the suspensions with hydraulic stops favor softness above all else. No other compact offers such softness, accentuated by seats with quilted covering from the third level of Feel Pack finish. In return, it will be necessary to accept an almost non-existent lateral support and fairly ample body movements, which will make lovers of a little dynamic driving run away. The ears are also less pampered than the vertebrae. Restarts of Stop & Start are never forgotten, and accelerations are accompanied by a very present dull rumble.
However, the vibrations remain fairly contained, and discretion returns at a stabilized pace. Even if it evolves in a very different “musical” register, more acute and playful, the PureTech 100 is not necessarily much more discreet while offering less good times with its 45 Nm less torque. But the 80 km/h limit in force in many French departments does not suit the BlueHDi 110. It indeed moves at 1,300 rpm at this speed, whereas it only really wakes up at 1500 rpm. It is therefore useless to hope to overtake a truck without falling one or two gears. An operation that the gearbox control, not very precise, does not necessarily make very pleasant.
In absolute terms, the performances are also nothing transcendent. On the other hand, there remains an area in which diesel remains unbeatable: that of consumption. If we had to settle for any 6.2 l/100 km at the end of our test, it was by integrating the many stops and starts and round trips of a photo shoot. Under the same conditions, the PureTech 110 exceeded 7.5 l/100 km. The diesel is thus the only one that can easily go below 6 l/100 km, including on the highway, or even under 5 l/100 km while keeping a light foot. Unfortunately, with a liter of diesel today at around €1.69 and a liter of unleaded 95-E10 at €1.73*, the BlueHDi 100 would only allow you to save 8 cents every 100 km, assuming an average difference of 2 l/100 km. Suffice to say that the €2,300 additional cost on purchase will be almost impossible to compensate for at the pump.
* Price on Friday February 4 according to the ecologie.gouv.fr website
On board
Competetion
As mentioned in the preamble, compact diesels at this power level are rare. Main rival of the C4, the Skoda Scala has even removed diesel from its diet. As for the Peugeot 308, DS 4 and Opel Astra cousins, they are all limited to the more expensive Blue HDI 130. Another follower of low prices in the vast Stellantis galaxy, the Fiat Tipo also only offers its 1.6 Multijet in a 130 hp version. Add to it a now imposed Cross adventurer look and you will have to pay a minimum of €27,490… without taking into account the many discounts that the model is customary for.
If the Renault Mégane 4 and Seat Leon receive a 115 hp diesel, they are unable to offer as good a price-equipment ratio as the C4 BlueHDi. Excluding a Limited Limited series, the French starts at only €29,650 in the Intens finish, and the Spanish starts at €26,100 with a fairly basic endowment. But this Citroën with its adventurous look will also have to be wary of “real” SUVs, like the Peugeot 2008, which has the same CMP base as it and offers the same BlueHDi 110 from €25,850.
Find the balance sheet, the equipment and the technical sheet on the next page…
