Spent the day yesterday with Citroen, driving the new C4. As a rival to the likes of the Astra and Golf, it’s a decent enough car with strong diesel engines. The measure of it will truly come in the new year when the next generation Focus goes on sale, which many in the industry are widely expecting to take things to a new level. Anyway, the fastest versions of the C4 are the 1.6-litre 155bhp petrol and 2.0-litre 150bhp diesel, which both hit 60mph from a standing start in about 8.5 seconds. The company says that will be it for performance from the C4, because of the eagerly anticipated arrival next summer of the DS4 (pictured). Echoing the relationship of the smaller C3 and DS3 siblings, the DS4 should be sportier and edgier than the standard C4. My fear is that it might not be; all we’ve got to go on at the moment is this picture, which reveals that externally the car doesn’t look dramatically different to the C4. It’s certainly a lot less bold than the DS3 with its contrasting colours and ‘floating’ design for the roof. I hope I’m wrong. I also hope the designers pay a bit more attention to the practicalities of driving and owning the car. The DS3 has no cupholder, a cardinal sin these days. The DS4 will come with a range of petrol and diesel engines when the car is launched, but top of the pile for hot-hatch fans is likely to be the 200bhp petrol unit, which should offer a 0-60mph time of around six seconds.
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