Having relaunched its brand identify already, Citroen will now focus on creating vehicles that combine serenity for the driver alongside responsibility for the planet – according to CEO Vincent Cobée. The E-C4 X is intended to exemplify these principles. It is billed as a four-door fastback with SUV attitude and will be Citroen's first ‘only available as an EV' car to launch in the UK – with a price expected to be just under £32,000. Will the offer of advanced comfort seats and suspension be enough to persuade British drivers to opt for this forward-looking design?
The exterior looks are distinctive and offer a drag coefficient of only 0.29 Cx. As a result, the 50kWh battery and 100kW motor combine to offer a WLTP range of up to 222 miles. It supports up to 100kW power input when connected to a rapid charger and can refill to 80% in around 30 minutes – with a full charge from a 7kW home charger taking a little under 8 hours.
The front-end of the EV features Citroen’s distinctive bonnet-wide chrome chevrons that flow into dual-height front lights, featuring Citroen’s LED Vision lighting technology. At the back, new LED lights echo the front light signature, picking up on the sculpted lines of the boot opening.
The e-C4 X is 4.6 metres long, enabling Citroen to argue that its Advanced Comfort Programme is particularly noticeable when riding in the rear – claiming best-in-class rear passenger knee room of 198mm and a more reclined (27-degree) rear seatback. This, plus an exterior width of 1,800mm should allow three people to comfortably sit side-by-side, with a total of 1,380mm of width at the shoulders and 1,440mm at the elbows.
The attention to practicality continues to the extra-wide boot, offering offers 510-litres of useful load space. There is a high and wide opening for easy access, and additional storage under the boot floor – including a convenient place to store the Mode 3 charging cable that is supplied as standard with all trim levels. However, this is not a hatchback, which is curious given the vehicle's fastback shape.
The new Citroen e-C4 X Electric launches in the UK with a choice of three trim levels: ‘Sense’, ‘Shine’ and ‘Shine Plus’. Open for orders now, the car's first customer deliveries are scheduled for spring 2023.
The Stellantis plant in Madrid that will be producing these cars has a theoretical capacity of around 100,000 cars a year, with vastly reduced CO2 emissions during the build process – in large part thanks to the fact that the plant itself is almost completely covered in solar panels.
Citroen has confirmed that its intention is to reduce harmful emissions by 50%, to achieve a ‘Number One' ranking in terms of customer satisfaction – and to do all of this while increasing profitability.
Cobée has laid out an ambitious plan to combine serenity with responsibility – and he believes that this will generate increased business for Citroen.
Alongside building ever-greener new cars, he's also pushing forward with a plan to allow owners to buy reconditioned replacement parts from Citroen themselves – with a guaranteed match based on your car's VIN number. Drivers can then choose branded new replacements, alternative replacements or even refreshed parts from other vehicles. That should certainly find enthusiastic support among the various EU bodies that are pushing forward legislation to make all products more repairable in the future.