It's a lovely day today, isn't it? And I've got some great cars with me today. This is the Citroën ë-C4, which has a very funny...
pronunciation. It's the electric version of the C4, and considering we've got the Peugeot e-2008 as our longterm, it's a comparison that we have to do.
I'm not going to call myself a Citrophile, but I'll admit that most of the cars in my all-time top 100 are Citroëns.
That's because of cars like the GS, the CX, or the Méhari. Such nice and quirky cars they were. That's right, were.
The last few decades, it all became much more mainstream. You had the lovely BX and the pretty decent Xantia after that.
But let's be honest here. The C5 wasn't bad, but it didn't have any taste. No quirky features or anything.
With this C4 however, Citroën is going back to their roots. It's as quirky as they come nowadays. And it's filled with features that remind...
you of the past. Take the windows at the back over here. That reminds me of the CX and GS.
They've also installed a spoiler, which splits the rear window in half. That reminds me of the coupé-version of the first C4.
At the front, you've got very typical chrome strips which meet in a Citroën-logo, and then there's the headlight arrangement.
With those LED-lights, which look great. Also, it's a crossover with a coupé-roof. It's been done before, but it's still pretty special.
Back in 2005, Ssangyong released the Actyon, and everybody fell over laughing. However, when BMW released the X6 one year later,
and everybody was amazed. That's how things go I guess. Anyway, it looks very good on here.
The interior isn't as outgoing as the exterior. It's not boring or anything, because it does look nice, but it's not as outspoken as the body.
It's got a decent display as a instrument cluster. It doesn't have that nice three-dimensional system from the Peugeot however.
It's still neat though. The infotainment screen is nice and wide, which I like. Just like the physical buttons, which are always nice to see.
There's even an aluminium switch for the driving direction. That reminds me of DS, like it's an expensive brand.
Other than that, it's a nice and spacious car. Which is quite remarkable really, because it's on the same platform as the Peugeot,
but it's got a longer wheelbase. Because of that, the legroom in the back is much better. Also, despite the sloped roof, the headroom is decent as well.
The boot is pretty good as well, bigger than in the Peugeot. Other than that, the interior is nice and practical.
It's got some nice details as well. Take these blue strips for example, which you can find on the sides and in the nose as well. They tell...
this isn't just a C4, it's an electrical one. As if you didn't know already.
Speaking of electricity, both cars have the same electric drivetrain. Powered by the same 136 horsepower electric motor...
which also produce 260 Nm of torque. Both have battery packs of only 50 kWh, which isn't a lot. And that's something you'll notice in this car.
This won't go down in history as the car with the best range. Admittedly, the weather conditions are terrible for electric cars,
but today the thaw has set in, so it's not too cold today. So if you were already thinking our video's aren't live, you're right.
It's the first day after the first cold wave of january, and I've driven this car for the past week with minus five.
And that really kills your range, it's terrible. We were shooting pictures with these cars a few days ago, and I was constantly suffering from...
range anxiety. And I don't often get that. I only get nervous when I've got ten minutes of oxygen left when I'm on the moon.
That's how close it was. It often came close to empty. Theoretically, this car should be able to do 300 km on a single charge.
When I started it up this morning, fully charged, it had an indicated range of 306 kilometres. I've been driving for about twenty kilometres now...
and I only have 230 kilometres left. That means it has lost 70 kilometres in 20 kilometres. Right.
Right, you'll be visiting charging stations pretty often, and there are lots of possibilities as well.
It's able to three-phase charge up to 11 kW and quickcharge up to 100 kW, which is pretty rapid. And you're going to need it.
But it's a Citroën, so you're probably curious about the drive. Well, even though it's not a CX or DS, it's incredibly comfortable.
It's got that typical soft and French comfort. Also, it's incredibly quiet. Sure, it's electric, but you barely hear wind- and tire noises either.
It's a truly lovely and comfortable car to drive.
With 136 horsepower, it's not a race car. Not an electric car which will beat any petrol car at the traffic lights, but it's powerful enough to...
move all of the weight. The handling is good, the steering feels light but tight at the same time, so the drive is very good too.
You can drive it in Eco-mode, Normal-mode or Dynamic-mode. When you put it in Normal, like I've done, and put it in B,
regenerative braking becomes more intense. It also works in Eco-mode. And if you're used to driving it, you can use that to one-pedal drive...
most of the time. Not to a full stop however, it's not strong enough for that, but you can use it pretty much any time.
The funny thing however, is that you've got to press the button everything you start the car. If it was up to me, it would always...
brake regeneratively, and if you don't want that, you'd turn B-mode off. But it's not up to me, maybe it's something for the future.
People still have to get used to electric cars I suppose.
A fun detail is that this ë-C4 is right inbetween two era's, because it's got a regular USB-port over here and in the back, whilst there's...
an USB-C-port over here. Very handy, in case you've got the wrong cable with you. Those days are gone now.
The Citroën ë-C4 is built in the CMP-platform, which is the new compact modular platform by Stellantis.
You'll find it in cars from Opel, Peugeot and maybe even Fiat in the future. And this e-2008 is no exception, our longterm which you've...
seen before. We've been driving since the end of last summer. And a lot of things I've said about the Citroën, apply to this as well.
The range for example. This car set off in Amsterdam this morning, drove around 50 kilometres to get here, and the range has been...
decreased by almost 100 km. There's only 176 kilometres left of the 276 it started with this morning.
So it's clear that low temperatures are killing for the range and efficiency of electric cars.
It's funny that both cars are on the same platform, because the cars are very different.
The Citroën is a car with a strange mission. It's supposed to replace the C4, which disappeared from the price lists about two years ago.
It's also supposed to replace the C4 Cactus, which was dangling inbetween the B- and C-segment. And therefore, the new C4 is...
dangling between them as well. However, this Peugeot e-2008 is a clear B-segment car. Albeit a raised one, a raised 208.
That means that it's a tad more compact because of the wheelbase. It's shorter, it's narrower and a tad higher than the Citroën.
And on the inside, it's more compact as well. When I sit in the back, I can barely fit in with my 1.90 m.
There's no space left in here. Also, the boot can only hold 380 litres, which is 30 litres less than in the Citroën. Despite the straight shapes.
So in total, it's a smaller car. A tad less grown-up than the Citroën. On the other hand, the interior in the Peugeot is much nicer.
I've said it before, but I really love Peugeot-interiors. The dials in front of me are so nice. I'd almost call them premium.
The screen is nice and wide in here as well, because it's pretty much the same. Flip-switches, the gear lever, it's art. I really love the way it looks.
There's nothing wrong with the Citroën, but this is a whole other level when it comes to quality experience. Despite the fact that it...
doesn't have leather upholstery, and the Citroën does.
When it comes to the drive, the cars are very close. In my mind, there's slightly more tire noises coming from the Peugeot, but that...
could be the tires. It's nice and quiet, with slightly stiffer springs than the Citroën. But it's a tiny difference.
It feels a tad sportier, a tad more dynamic than the Citroën. Not focused on comfortable as much.
Despite that however, it's a very comfortable car with nice handling and a good seating position.
The funny thing is that this engine seems more dynamic and sporty than in the Citroën, despite being the same engine.
It's quicker from 0-100 km/h too. That could be because the Peugeot is lighter than the Citroën,
only around 100 kg. That's probably because of the smaller size. Also, it has all kinds of USB-ports as well.
You won't be surprised by the conclusion that it's incredibly close. I mean, they're pretty much the same beneath the skin.
The way they're tuned are slightly different. The Citroën is clearly aimed at comfort whilst the Peugeot is a tad more dynamic.
It's more dynamic when it comes to performance as well, which probably is because it's lighter.
The Citroën feels more grown-up, because it's bigger. It's almost like a C-segment car, because it actually is.
For the same price as well, so it's more value for money. Also, it looks more interesting, so I'm leaning towards the...
Citroën as the winner. What it's going to be definitively, you'll have to read in the magazine. There are still lots of tests to do.
It can still go any way. But do read the magazine, you'll find out soon enough.