The arrival of more balmy conditions is bringing notable improvements to our ë-C4 driving range. Nat Barnes reports.

Citröen ë-C4 Sense Plus:

P11d (BiK): £32,125 (2%) Range: 217 miles Efficiency: 4.03mpkWh Test efficiency: 4.1mpkWh

Peace-of-mind top-ups for the ë-C4 have been rendered redundant with the warmer weather

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The warmer weather has meant many things. The shorts have been dusted off and are out of the wardrobe, the cover is off the barbecue and there’s the annual discussion of whether sun cream can really have a best-before date. 

And there’s the fuel efficiency of my Citröen ë-C4. In all honesty, in all the years of driving ICE cars, beyond using the air conditioning, I can honestly say that I very rarely gave a second thought to the weather’s effect on a car’s fuel economy. Since spring arrived and the temperature started rising, however, it’s almost all I can think about with the ë-C4. I know, I know, I’m thrilling company at dinner parties, honest… 

The reason is that having driven the ë-C4 through chillier winter temperatures, its fuel efficiency rarely deviated from 3.4mpkWh. And yet now I’m regularly achieving 4.1 without even trying. 

It may not sound like much, but a regular journey from my home in Marlow in Bucks to West Sussex demonstrates that it actually is. Driving on the M40 and M25 for a large part of that journey has always meant that it’s not great for efficiency. While the ë-C4 could probably (just about) make it there and back without charging in the winter, I always chose to stop for a quick 15-minute top-up at a local 50kW charger for peace of mind. 

Now though, with that step up in efficiency, not only do I not have to charge en route, but I’m even returning home with around 40 miles of range left – something that never would have been possible before. 

I’ll drill down into more detail about running costs in my next report, but it’s a timely reminder that anyone running a business fleet will need to expect plenty of fluctuation depending on the weather and look at the overall running costs of any EVs throughout the course of a full calendar year, not just during those warmer months. 

More than a quarter of all C4s leaving showrooms are now the ë-C4 as opposed to the petrol and diesel C4 versions

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In keeping with the time theme of my previous report about the clocks going back, the ë-C4 has got me thinking about time.

The reason is that most recently I drove its Stellantis cousin, the Vauxhall Astra plug-in hybrid, and before that I also drove the Peugeot 308 with the same PHEV set-up last summer. Both are very competent cars and dynamically can probably put the ë-C4 in the shade in terms of sheer driving pleasure.

But for all their advantages, neither car will offer a fully electric version like the ë-C4 until 2023, while my fully electric Citröen has now been on sale since early 2021. So, the crucial question is: is it better to be first like the Citröen or better like the Astra and 308 (which will be, by 2023, newer and have a bigger battery and longer range)?

Citröen has improved the range of the e-C4 with a heat pump, but in the meantime it has enjoyed a full two-year sales head start on its in-house rivals – and it’s showing too. More than a quarter of all C4s leaving showrooms are now the ë-C4 as opposed to the petrol and diesel C4 versions, which is no small figure – especially when you remember that every manufacturer has crucial CO2 targets to meet.

Plus, for those after an electric hatchback, there’s not an awful lot of choice on the market unless you want to go for a crossover, so the chances are that quite a few of those ë-C4 customers are probably new to Citröen too.

Yes, there’s a lot less brand loyalty these days, particularly with electric cars, but that’s a hefty competitive advantage in my view – and one that the ë-C4 fully deserves.

Storm Eunice took its toll on our long-termer

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Spring has arrived and so has my new Citröen ë-C4 long-termer. It’s no surprise that Fleet World is adding another EV to the fleet. Research by insurance firm Willis Towers Watson showed that just over a third of UK companies now give their staff the option to drive an electric or hybrid vehicle.

While that may not sound like a high number, it’s actually double the same figure for 2020 and there’s little doubt that business drivers are pushing that EV demand. In fact, the BVRLA estimates that by 2025, the vehicle rental, leasing and fleet industry will be responsible for 80% of sales in the UK.

Never mind the rises though, it’s more the falls I’m worried about. The ë-C4 unfortunately bore the brunt of Storm Eunice as our neighbour’s tree fell on it putting a dent in the rear wing and roof while on our driveway. In fact, it could have been so much worse.

Normally I back up to our house for charging purposes, but a full charge and laziness on my part after a short journey, meant by sheer fluke I’d parked facing forwards instead. If it had been the other way, the tree would have hit the bonnet and gone through the windscreen.

As it was, the rear wing bore the not-inconsiderable weight of the tree and held it up, preventing it from falling any further. It was only when removing the tree and discovering just how heavy it was, that the strength of the Citröen’s bodywork really came to light. Not something I’d recommend you check yourself…

Citröen kindly swapped us into a regular petrol C4 for a few days while KT21SXN went in for repairs which just underlined how much we’d altered our driving habits to suit electric power. Quite aside from the reminder of changing gear with a manual gearbox, the loss of any regenerative braking when going downhill was certainly an eye-opener at first. And, as much as I’m not the biggest fan of technology, even I had to admit that I’d especially missed the ë-C4’s keyless go compared to the C4’s traditional ignition key and lock.

In the meantime though, we’re looking forward to some spring motoring miles back under electric power.