Citroen C4 PureTech 130 – long-term review

The C4 is the exact opposite of a swan.

You know how a swan’s serene exterior famously masks much furious activity under the surface? The C4, the inverse: furious activity on the surface, elegantly serene below.

Which is to say, though I’m still struggling to fathom the C4's busy exterior design – not least the rear, which m’colleague Ollie Kew accurately describes as ‘the back of three cars, all in one car’ – once you climb on board, away from all the exterior melodrama, things are pleasingly tranquil.

I worried Citroen’s promise of Much Comfort would manifest as loose, floppy road manners, but on first impressions, things are... sophisticated. The ride is exemplary over all but the jaggediest of potholes, refinement is meritorious, the cabin design pleasingly uncluttered. It’s a good car for a busy commute.

That said, there are occasions where the C4’s visual noisiness impinges on its interior tranquility. That split rear screen is far from calm-inducing, obscuring your view of the road – and indeed any patrol vehicles – behind.

Not, of course, that one would be troubling any traffic laws in such a sedate car…