Citroen C4

[Dumb]

Your relationship with citroen unbelievable. I believe you had problems with your first BX before getting the next, though Xantia was an improvement. The V6 problems just as bad as the BX.

 

Like you I love my BX 16V when it was working fine. But I gave up liking citroen after scraping it after a major accident.

[Toeknee_33]

Unbelievable cos of my dogged refusal to give up on the brand is it?

 

My BXs were 16TRS's. My car dealer friend lent me a used one for a few days. It had no power steering so it was a pig to park. But I was totally, godsmackingly smitten by it, and I refused to return the car to him..haha! The button brakes/soft seats/non-cancelling indicators/the way it floats over every bump on the road...woah! I traded in my Corolla to him and there began my love affair with this French mistress. She would refuse to start when hot ( I would wait around patiently for her to cool down), green oil leaked (or sprayed) everywhere, and the gearlever came off once in my hand when I was changing gears, creating a massive traffic jam on then 2-lane PIE Woodsville flyover. But all this didnt matter to me, cos i loved the way she feels. A year later i bought another one (this time with power steering)and that was thankfully troublefree till the end of her life.

 

Then a few cars later, the Xantia 2.0. It was more reliable then my previous Galant VR. Cos of my work, I drove her up and down Malaysia almost fortnightly. Cruised easy at 160-180kmh. 10-12km/L FC. I could do SIN-Penang in 7 hours flat. But I wanted more power and more refinement.

 

So I got brave.

 

The 3.0 V6 was an excellent car, while it worked. Had all the toys you wished. Elect leather seats, cruise, remote stereo, adjustable (soft or hard) suspension, smooth 194bhp V6 engine. Never need to exceed 2000rpm in everyday traffic, but when pushed, the lazy engine can wake up and deliver a healthy punch. 220kmh cruising was possible on NS Highway. I once kept an aggressive Rex behind me on the ECP all the way from Tanah Merah to NUH, weaving through 8pm evening traffic, reaching speeds up to 180kmh near Marina South. He could not find a way past me..

 

Then all hell broke loose. Things started failing. Repair, fail again. Sigh...after $15k, I gave up....

[Dumb]

Cant stand the look of 16TSR. Xantia and XM look good but I like my BX 16V more.

 

My friend who owned a 16TSR pestered me look at the new citroen which were meant for Australia but go stuck in Singapore - 25 of them only. I went reluctantly. But on the 3rd day, I went to book it. My fren did the same.

 

The driving was pleasurable but the car is problematic.

 

The experience reinforce my prejudice again conti cars. Now stick with jap cars only. Never had any problems with them all these years from a honda to 2 mazdas.

[Furrynadz]

tats why i say b4 and say again

this is a niche brand with an acquired taste

dun have balls , dun buy, stick to yr nissan/toyota and be forever boring

[Dumb]

Always against conti car. It wasn't an acquired taste. I like that car instantly and ignored my prejudice to book it on the 3rd day.

[Jolie888]

... even the new IS250 IMHO is inferior to the C4 comparing driving capabilities and ride comfort.

 

I can't disagree more with you on that.

I have tested both cars recently.

Given a series of tight bends at high speed, the IS250 will beat the C4 hands down in terms of handling and road holding.

BTW the IS250 is RWD and C4 is FWD. In terms of handling and cornering, how can you pit an FWD against an RWD? No fight lah. To even suggest it, would be talking c0ck!

Versus the IS250, the C4 is perhaps only better on ride comfort, that's all.

 

Even between BMW and Mercs (both RWDs), one trades off ride comfort for handling prowess.

It's simply physics. You can approach some form of balance, but you cannot have (or excel in) both. Thus BMWs have always been viewed as drivers' cars, while Mercs are better known for their magic carpet rides.

Edited August 3, 2006 by Jolie888

[Icekhoo]

I was also surprised why the is250 kept on beeping (indicating that the traction control was in action) when I was taking the corners. The SE wasn't at all pleased with what I was doing, but it did not convince me that a car almost double the price of the C4 loses grip so easily.

[Clement]

Hi bro, relax lah! Conti cars vs. Jap cars vs. Korean cars vs. US cars.... the arguments will never end!

 

At the end of the day, a car is a personal choice, so long as one is happy with the car that one has bought, then it is deemed to be a good buy. After all, the person who bought the car is driving it everyday and has to live with it day in day out. Not anyone else.

[Clement]

The experience reinforce my prejudice again conti cars. Now stick with jap cars only. Never had any problems with them all these years from a honda to 2 mazdas.

 

Heh heh...I have the exact same experiences as you with the Citroen. Have given up on French cars, may consider German cars though. But now quite happy with my Jap car.

Edited August 3, 2006 by Clement

[Kcseah]

JC & C have taken over the distribution of Citroen. Hope they will to a better job. Like the shape of C4 but not really the inner part.

[Tintam]

Agree with Clement it's down to personal preferences, and maybe more.

 

Am driving a C4 now. Hope to provide a simple comparison below against my previous ride, the 7th gen Civic VTi:

 

City driving / start-stop traffic - prefer Civic

Highway driving / >60 km/h - prefer C4

Refinement, space - Civic

Comfort, ambience - C4

Gentle on drivers - Civic

Rewards keen drivers - C4

$ sense - Civic

Something different but reasonable $ - C4

 

It's basically down to individual desire, driving style, and local traffic conditions. Unmistakably, Jap cars are better suited to local conditions. My Civic did require some servicing too - a/c compressor broke down after 8 months - and heard firsthand of reliability issue with the CVT gearbox.

 

Hence, life is like a box of chocolates...

[Clement]

Wah! I salute you man! Dare to take the plunge by switching from a Honda Civic to a Citroen C4. I really admire your courage, bravery and guts as I was a former Citroen owner who switched to a Jap car.

 

You will definitely enjoy driving the car (when it is not having problems). It is a well known fact that when you buy a Citroen, it is not a matter of whether you will get any problems with the car, it is more a matter of how many problems you will get with the car. Good luck to you!

 

But as a consolation, things are looking better as it is confirmed that JC&C will be taking over the Citroen dealership in S'pore. You had better hope and pray that their after sales service is better than Advance.

[Hutan]

bro Clement, i'm sorry abt ur very bad exp on C4, but seem like others owner enjoy his ride too, so, i will say it's really depend to u luck ?

 

C4...here i go

[Clement]

Nothing moves me like a Citroen, even today. I still feel a flutter when I see one on the road. Its an acquired taste for sure, but once you love it, its for life. My dream car is a restored DS or CX. I would love to have another hydropneumatically sprung Cit (any Cit without the oil/air suspension is not a real Cit but a Pug clone, including the C4, no offence). But I need time to gather my courage...

 

Yes, I must reluctantly agree with you. The DS and CX are two of the most beautiful cars ever made. The C3, C4 and Xsara cannot match the hydropneumatic suspension of these cars. The GS that I once drove, had a magic carpet ride quality that few cars even today can match. The only problem was that once the hydraulic "sphere" failed, the ride quality becomes really terrible, even worse than that of a pick-up truck.

 

Perhaps I will get an older Citroen when I am retired and have lots of time to DIY the car when they break down. Heh heh heh... wishful thinking. I am still allergic to Citroen and will be for a long long time...I admit that I have no courage and guts man!

[Toeknee_33]

Oh yeah..the magic carpet ride..the unflappable handling..sigh..oh how I miss them...

 

Btw, the hydraulic spheres on the older cars can be recharged (only 1 workshop in Sg can do that). On my previous Citroens, I do that every 20000km, so Voila! Magic carpet ride all the time!! Beats having to worry about deteriorating shock absorbers in normal cars..haha!

[Clement]

C4...here i go

 

Do report on your ownership experience with the C4 on this forum. I don't particularly like the auto transmission as it is not very smooth. Have fun with your C4!

[Clement]

Btw, the hydraulic spheres on the older cars can be recharged (only 1 workshop in Sg can do that). On my previous Citroens, I do that every 20000km, so Voila! Magic carpet ride all the time!!

 

I have not heard of the recharging of the spheres. Interesting news. I would usually buy spare spheres from Kian Hua. Which workshop can do it?

 

Beats having to worry about deteriorating shock absorbers in normal cars..haha!

 

Heh heh...yeah also no messy brake fluids to worry about. The suspension system is also the car brake system. The green hydraulic fluid is also the brake fluid. And for the G and GS, even does not need radiator coolant as it is air-cooled engine. Tends to overheat easily when stuck in a traffic jam though.

 

But the annoying thing is that everytime u start the car, must rev and wait for the suspension to raise the car up before you can drive off. Some ppl stare at my car when it is doing that at the car park. And once, when there was a flood, I jacked the car up to the max height and passed through the flood waters while other cars got their engines flooded with water.

 

The older hydropneumatic Citroens apparently can run only on three wheels. One rear wheel missing also can drive one. There was a demo on TV I think.

 

Plus the stupid horn sound, like someone letting go of gas. Must press the stalk some more, no horn button on the steering wheel which has only one arm which is off centre at about 4 o'clock position. Plus no power steering (G and GS model) means that u must use bull force when you are parking the car.

 

Sigh... the older Citroens really bring back many fond and not-so-fond memeories for me. Are we the only 2 ex-hydropneumatic Citroen owners here in MCF?

[Furrynadz]

not really