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Let the jokes begin that the Citroen C4 is a shed and that anything built in the land of protests should be as good as spoiled beer? I would say let’s take another look at the French Golf.

I’m not necessarily a fan of the Citroen C4, unless we’re talking about the coupe edition, which looks quite stylish. Although the C4 hatchback looks like a smaller, cheaper C6, which isn’t necessarily bad. Launched in 2004 as the successor to the dubious Xsara, the Citroen C4 was developed alongside the Peugeot 307, and they had to storm the European market, which at the time was dominated by the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra H, and VW Golf V.

So, the Citroen C4 was never a popular car here in Europe, not with it’s competitors of it’s time. And anyway, the Citroen C4 wasn’t the haute couture type of car that was to become a trendsetter after a few generations; it was rather a simple, entry-level car. Sure, you still have the Citroen-style steering wheel, which is too weird for me, and the speedometer is up on the dashboard, like in the Scenic or Yaris, but otherwise, it’s a normal car. 

Like the Astra H, the Citroen C4 I started off pretty poorly in terms of reliability, but over the years, it turned out to be a mediocre car in terms of reliability, not a total disaster.

Yes, maybe back in 2005 it didn’t compare to the Golf in terms of reliability, but in 2024 the C4 might be more reliable than a Golf V. Like a nerd who went about his life and didn’t venture out and lived exactly within societies bounds and who ended up living like the head of the class from high school who spent his 20s floating in alcohol and drugs and now tries to lead a normal life. No, the Citroen C4 isn’t Forrest Gump because it’s not that brilliant, but the Golf V might be Jenny at the end of the movie. At the end of her career, with all possible diseases.

Citroen C4 Engines

Petrol

• 1.4 MPI ET3 of 87 horsepower – A relatively robust engine but suffers from incontinence and at some point in its life, it will need piston rings. The question is whether it’s still worth it to replace them or if you should just go on with oil top-ups. Basically any small petrol engine of this era. 


• 1.6 MPI TU5 and EP6 of 108 horsepower and 120 horsepower – The TU5 engine available until 2008 is just another naturally aspirated 4 cylinder 1.6 petrol engine about which I don’t have much to comment. Yes, it has a penchant for spark plugs like I have for the new season of “Graham Norton Show”, but that’s about it. I’ll talk about the 120 horsepower version below.


• 1.6 Turbo EP6DT of 156 horsepower – This is because both the 120 horsepower and 156 horsepower engines are the same VTi engine, the only difference being that one has a turbocharger and the other doesn’t. Developed in collaboration with BMW, this engine was supposed to go into Minis and BMWs as well, but due to reliability issues, it was quickly withdrawn. Sure, the French worked on it more, and the next generations of THP engines are okay in terms of reliability, but here we’re talking about the first generation and the infamous timing chain and oil consumption issues. Personally, I’d say pass.


• 2.0 MPI EW10 of 136, 140, and 177 horsepower – Now we’re talking about serious stuff! The legendary EW10 engine is a million-kilometer engine and still trudges on through Africa and South America. All you have to do is change the oil and timing chain on time, and you won’t have any worries with this engine.

Diesel

• 1.6 HDi DV6 of 90 and 109 horsepower – I’ve already talked so many times about this failure of an engine, which unfortunately is also the most popular engine on the Citroen C4. Be very careful with the oil filter in front of the turbo because it clogs and it will wreck the turbo, but also with the injectors and the particulate filter, AND BETTER YET, AVOID THIS ENGINE ALTOGETHER.


• 2.0 HDi DW10 of 136 and 140 horsepower – Yes, it’s more reliable than that trash called 1.6 HDi, but when I think that a dual-mass flywheel and a clutch cost more than a 2006 Citroen C4’s overall worth, any perverse transversal thought crosses my mind. But if you really want a diesel, at least make an effort and go for this one.

Citroen C4 Reliability Issues

• The highlight is the dashboard, which is actually not as sturdy as it seems. Either it’s fallen off or it hangs by a thread of hope like a college graduate entering the job market for the first time and seeing that nobody hires him, or it got stuck closed.


• The windshield wipers are another highlight of the Citroen C4, in the sense that they never work as they should, but only as they want.


• Citroen C4 melts radiators just like any show featuring Jimmy Fallon melts my intelligence. 


• It’s a Citroen, so it has a lot of technology, so you’ll have constant issues on the electrical side. Nothing that leaves you stranded, but you’ll never have a 100% functional car.


• What’s the deal with Citroen C4 and the appetite for clutches??


• Oh yes, there’s a manual gearbox, an automatic gearbox, and a robotized gearbox. And we know from other brands just how good the idea of a robotized gearbox is. It just doesn’t work.

Citroen C4 Verdict

The Citroen C4 is just another hatchback from the 2005 era, which europeans wanted very little and bought even less. Yes, it has a rather poor reputation thanks to the 1.6 diesel engine, but otherwise, it’s not a bad car. Sure, nobody wakes up in the morning with a burning desire to buy a Citroen C4, but if you want a hatchback from 2005 and you have 2000 euros with you, it might be at the top of your list. Just avoid that diesel mess of an engine.

Which engines do I recommend? For petrol, definitely the 1.6 MPI with 108 horsepower from the previous generation. And for diesel, the 2.0 HDi with 136 horsepower. Anything but the 1.6 HDi.