In this day and age of political correctness and bland homogenisation it is vastly pleasing to know that there is a car manufacturer like Citroen that is still willing to make utterly baffling cars that make no sense, look weird and don’t have a single feature that approaches “sensible” in any way. Or, at least if it does, it is put in the wrong place.
Thank you Citroen. And thank you for the brilliantly odd DS4, whatever the hell it is supposed to be.
Outside
Likes: Wonderfully Citroen nose and ‘almost’ conventional hatch styling add to the fantastic sense of confusion that surrounds the DS4. Rear doors with the hidden handle and non-functional windows may well be utterly impractical and an ergonomic nightmare, but they do look cool. The fantastic crease that runs from the rear door into the taillight is just brilliant…
Dislikes: Raised ride height looks odd. Big windscreen that stretches into the roof may make for a wonderfully open, airy interior, but looks like the vehicular equivalent of a receding hairline…
Inside
Likes: Beautifully detailed and well made from high quality materials. Comfortable seats with excellent lateral support. Clean and classy looking. Brilliant visibility.
Dislikes: Ergonomically mental. Tiny monochrome info screen in centre of dash is too small to show enough to be of use. Stereo almost completely the opposite of ‘easy to use and intuitive’. High seating position feels unnatural in such a sporty car. Almost literally no rear leg room.
Under the bonnet
Likes: Brilliant little 147kW/275Nm, 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo feels strong and unbreakable. It is also a revvy little beast that charges eagerly to the redline. It’s a manual, which is nice for a change! Six-speed unit is a nice shifter too.
Dislikes: Revs drop off quickly, making it a bit of an effort in heavy traffic.
On the road
Likes: A fantastic, feral little corner terrier. Dives into corners hard and fast and comes out equally eagerly. Very little in the way of FWD histrionics. Steering is nicely weighted and has good feel and feedback (surprisingly for a French car…). Rear end feels glued to the road.
Dislikes: Ride a wee bit firm around town and has a tendency to get flustered over broken surfaces. But even that isn’t really noticeable.
Verdict
A fantastically fun bigger brother to the even more fun DS3, the DS4 offers similar thrills, but in a more grown-up kind of way. Which is as it should be.
What is oddly confusing about the DS4 though, is what exactly Citroen are wanting it to be? The eager performance, manual transmission and sharp handling suggest a Hot Hatch, while the jacked up ride height and high, upright seating position suggest Crossover leanings. The weirdo rear doors with the fixed windows and chest-crushing point that gets you EVERY DAMN TIME and the utter lack of anything in the way of rear legroom are just plain baffling…
Still, that said, the excellent handling, decent ride and eager engine make up for a lot of the confusion and the fantastic looks make up for the stupid rear doors. Carrying only one passenger makes up for the rear leg room thing, although if you want to carry more adults, they aren’t going to ask for a ride again…
At the end of the day, it is a Citroen; they have traditionally been baffling and slightly odd, so it is good to see this being incorporated into the modern designs.
Enjoy the engine and the handling, revel in the confused stares, and take pleasure from the fact that no one will ask you to be the sober driver and use your car, because nobody wants to hop in the back.
Price: $48,990
Engine: 1.6-litre inline four-cylinder petrol
Power/torque: 147kW/275Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual
0-100km/h: 7.9 seconds
Fuel consumption: 6.4L/100km
CO2 emissions: 149g/km
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