Citroen C4 - Lost In Transmission

This French hatchback is largely likeable, but its clunky robotized gearbox takes much of the shine off

It’s amazing the difference a gearbox makes. Drive a good one (BMW’s 8-speed automatics or Volkwagen’s dual-clutch transmissions come to mind), and it’ll positively flatter what would otherwise be an extraordinarily pedestrian engine or chassis.

Drive a lackluster one, and it’s likely to loom large over everything about the car. Thankfully these days, truly bad gearboxes are pretty uncommon – most are simply average. A bad one, then, is a bit of a rarity, which makes the gearbox used in the Citroen C4 so unusual. Then again, Citroen has always done things differently.

Citroen C4 - Lost In Transmission

The gearbox in question, used across the face lifted C4 model range (which returns to Singapore after a two-year absence), is a 6-speed “EGS” robotized manual gearbox. Such gearboxes work in much the same way as a regular manual, but the clutch is controlled by the car’s electronic brain. And we can’t help but wonder in this case if said brain came from the Victorian era.

There’s a yawning delay as the clutch engages/disengages, resulting in an almighty lurch as the gearbox swops ratios around. More than that, low-speed modulation is difficult, making parking (especially in smaller spaces) particularly harrowing. It’s difficult to guess exactly how much throttle to apply, or if the clutch will decide to close fully, shunting you backwards into a pillar or worse, someone else’s vehicle.

The gearbox also seems to be perpetually caught in the wrong gear. It drops gears at odd moments (going down even the mildest inclines, for instance) and hangs onto ratios for no apparent reason.

Twin power: The 110bhp diesel is surprisingly punchy and frugal, while the 156bhp petrol engine is good as always

In all fairness, it is possible to drive around it – by lifting off the throttle just before shifts as you would in a regular manual or by simply engaging the manual override. The latter makes anticipation simpler and nullifies our gripe about the C4 always being in the wrong gear… which sort of defeats the purpose of buying an automatic in the first place.

Of course, Citroen might argue that a robotized manual suffers less frictional losses, and therefore, returns better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions, but the penalties to smoothness are just too great.

Cruiser control: Decently comfortable, but driving fanatics will be disappointed

And that’s a crying shame, because the C4 is thoroughly decent in just about every other department, although the more red-blooded driving fanatic might find issue with the disconcerting roll and the car’s lack of grip.

For everyone else, however, the C4 bears more than a passing resemblance to its chic-er (and pricier by around $20k) cousin, the DS4. It “copies” a few DS interior design cues, too, including the sculpted instrument cluster cowl with “floating” speedometer, digital tachometer and a gear lever supposedly inspired by aircraft throttles.

Even one of the two engines on offer here is shared with the DS4 – the familiar 1.6-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder with 156bhp. It’s starting to show its age, displaying less keenness to rev than more modern offerings, but still has more than enough zip when the need arises.

Electric feel: Digital temperature control is another nice feature borrowed from the chic DS4

More interesting, however, is the addition of a 1.6-litre diesel with 110bhp. It carries Citroen’s eco-friendly “Airdream” badge, emitting just 109g/km of CO2 (eligible for a $15k CEVS rebate), and the claim is it’ll return 23.8km per liter. It’s also (surprisingly enough) non-anaemic, so don’t let its 12.9sec century sprint timing fool you. The motor gets noticeably strangled the harder you work it, but in the lower registers, where most people do their driving, there’s a very beefy 270Nm of torque to be had from 1750rpm.

Whichever propellant option you choose, the C4 has a fairly good selection of standard equipment, including a full-length panoramic roof, rain-sensing wipers, Bluetooth telephony and cruise control. Pay a $5,000 premium for the petrol version (over the $144,988 diesel), and that’ll net you larger 17-inch wheels, switchable colors for the instrument cluster, and interior ambient lighting.

Driven to distraction: Robotized manual gearbox delivers huge lurches between gearchanges

Yet, for all the C4’s merits, it’s hard not to bring up that gearbox – a particularly fat fly in an otherwise quite likeable ointment. A switch to a conventional automatic would no doubt engender far more positive reactions to it, but until then, the EGS-equipped C4 remains strictly one for the convinced.

Automatic for the people

Admittedly, we don’t have much evidence beyond the anecdotal (i.e. peering into parked cars) but from what we gather, the automatic gearbox traditionally hasn’t found much favor in Europe and we think it’s due to how much it costs. Hence the reason Citroen is still sticking largely to automated manuals and ageing 4-speed automatics.

Citroen C4 back

Traditionally an optional extra for mid-market cars, a 4-speed automatic is a 4,500 euro (S$7,474) up-charge in the C4’s case. And given that the C4’s base price on the continent is 18,100 euros, this is a considerable chunk of change.

It’s no wonder the Europeans would rather suffer the inconvenience of rowing through the gears themselves than fork over the better part of a month’s pay just for the relative convenience of the car doing it for them.