Looking for a family electric car The Citroen e-C4 X could be the one

The use of an x in Citroen's cars' names is not a new thing .

There's already the combustion c five x , And although that can sometimes make our thoughts jump to SUVs and crossovers , Citroen has a different definition .

The x stands for cross design .

So it's essentially the cross between a fastback saloon , a hatchback , and an SUV .

Think of it as a cockapoo of the car world .

What is for sure is when I first got to see the EC 4X in the flesh last year , many of you were as pleased as I was to see something that wasn't an SUV , a return of a saloon .

But is that where the positives end ?

Hopefully , all will be clear by the end of this video , so stay tuned .

And if you do like electric car news and electric mobility , then you're in the right place .

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Citroen may still be willing to be quirky in some of their elements , but what happened to the colors ?

The old Citroen c four cactus used to come in yellow .

It used to come in blue .

Now it's just a bit of a ray of kind of gray and silver and white .

It's all a little bit boring .

That's a bit more like it .

I really like this car finished in red .

I think it looks fantastic contrasting with the chrome and also the gloss black and the matte black that you have at the bottom of the diffuser .

It also looks good with the alloy wheels as well .

It just brings in a bit more color .

It makes it look a bit more interesting .

But surprisingly , when I visited the plant over in Madrid , they wasn't building very many red cars .

I think that's because most people like to go for the safe option , which is a shame because this looks really cool .

The front end is very much unchanged from the e c 4 hatchback inspired SUV , which we featured a lot on the Electroheads channel .

So if you wanna see a full review of that car , then I'll pop it somewhere up here .

But the car has been changed from the b pillar backwards .

So they've changed it from that hatchback to a saloon , and they've extended the boot .

The boot is actually massive .

And , guys , I've got a bit of an apology because when I had a first look at this vehicle in Copenhagen in a showroom kind of battling with 100 of people to look at this vehicle , I muddled up my words , and I said that it was now more practical .

Of course , now being a saloon opening boot over a hatchback boot is not more practical .

But I'll show you that in a moment , and you guys can kind of decide whether it still has some practicality because there is tons of space back there .

But in terms of length , so it's actually now 4.6 meters long .

It's 240 millimeters longer than the Citroen EC 4 , and it's 200 millimeters shorter than the combustion c5x .

In terms of design , I quite like it .

There's definitely a particular target audience for this vehicle , but I really like that Citroen have stuck with what they're very good at doing , and that's creating just big wafty saloon cars .

And we haven't seen one for a while .

So this kind of sits in a segment on its own , and I quite like that .

Around the back is where I'm not too keen on the styling .

To me personally , it just feels a little bit unfinished .

I definitely prefer the styling of the EC 4 .

However , it's probably just the case that I'm not used to saloon cars .

Because if you compare this to the European saloon cars that we don't get in the UK , this looks very similar to that .

So it's gonna be familiar to a lot of people .

It's just not familiar to us .

We're so used to SUVs .

Now let's talk about that boot .

Once more , I'm gonna apologize again .

Yes .

It's not more practical , and there's a few reasons why .

First of all , you do have the boot which impedes on your loading area , so when you're putting items in , it's a little bit more tricky .

Of course , you've also got this part here that you've gotta navigate around .

And somebody did point out in my first look video , it's not dog friendly , which is a real , real shame because do you know what ?

It's massive .

There's 510 liters inside this boot , and that's actually bigger than the MG 5 Estate .

It's just a shame that it's not actually practical to load items in .

But I definitely think that if you're going to the airport and you need to pack your suitcases in it , it's still going to be practical , just some items you might find a little bit tricky .

Prices are rumored to run almost parallel with the existing SUV EC 4 , which is a pleasant surprise , and can see models starting from around £32,000 .

From launch , it's available in 3 trim levels , Sense , shine , and shine plus .

Sense models come with standard 18 inch alloy wheels , keyless entry and start , as well as being equipped with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto .

All Sense models also feature active safety brake , speed limit information , lane keeping assistant , forward collision warning , and driver attention alert .

Building on the standard equipment , Shine models gain Citroen's next generation infotainment and navigation systems seen here .

And they also benefit from head up display , automatic intelligent headlights , as well as a heated steering wheel for added convenience and comfort .

Safety is improved , thanks to an advanced active safety brake , and nighttime and cyclist detection .

Range topping shine plus versions add Alcantara seats , which are heated for the driver and front passenger , and come as as standard with highway driver assist , which includes adaptive cruise control .

Based on these options , the entry car sounds more than equipped for most drivers .

If you're looking for a comfortable electric car , doesn't get much better than this .

Citroen has always had a really big focus on comfort , and they haven't lost that in this new model .

These seats are wonderful .

They're like armchairs , and they now have even more cushioning than ever before .

They're also finished in this leather detail in this model , and I also really like the Alcantara seats that are available for this car .

You can't exactly recline them though , and that is a bit of a complaint of mine because things like the Kia EV 6 will actually recline all the way back so that you can take a nap whilst you're charging .

But this car doesn't do that , and I think that's a real miss point for Citroen .

The quality is fabulous .

You've got a nice soft lever wrapped steering wheel .

You've got a few mix of plastics in the cabin , but none of them are particularly offensive .

Even this center console , it's got some soft touch materials on the outside .

And then even the plastic on the inside , it doesn't feel cheap .

It's not scratchy .

You've got some gloss black and also a mix of the chrome that brings the exterior details into the interior .

It's all just very cohesive , and I love how practical it is as well .

Everything's exactly where you'd find it .

You've got the cruise control on your steering wheel .

You've got most dials for your air conditioning and your climate control .

A start stop button .

You've also got a home button on your big screen , and you've also got a physical volume button .

Now this screen , that's one of the things that is different from the c 4 .

The c 4 got a smaller touch screen , whereas on the c 4 x , it's got the larger touch screen out of the brand's more expensive and larger c 5 x .

There's quite a bit of storage .

You've got a nice cubby hole down the front with some storage underneath this little compartment which separates it , somewhere to pop your mobile phone , which is wireless charging on some of the higher spec models .

However , you've got a little bit of storage in this armrest .

It really could be more , especially considering with electric cars , you don't have a transmission tunnel .

So there should be somewhere that you can place storage underneath this tunnel .

But because this car is set up to also be a petrol and diesel in other markets , it means that you still get this tunnel , and that's a bit of a shame .

There is a little slidey , which gives you some cupholders in there , which is nice .

But , yeah , I feel like they could have taken it even further if this was a dedicated electric car and not just built on a combustion platform .

The only real changes in the back of the cabin is the seats are more reclined , so they give you a more relaxed feel .

But actually , legroom remains the same .

But it's not too bad , and the headroom is okay .

But where this panoramic sunroof sits , there is quite a jut out .

So if you're tall , that is going to impede on your headroom .

And once again , because this is based off a combustion car , unfortunately , it's got a bit of a transmission tunnel as well , which is a shame for an electric car .

In the back here , I've got a USB and US c charge port .

Really like that because it gives you the best of both worlds .

And another little thing that I love about Citroen products is the ISOFIX fitments are behind little zips .

So if you have child seats , fantastic .

If you don't , you don't have to worry about it getting mucky in there .

You've also got a pullout armrest which has got 2 cupholders somewhere to pop your mobile phone , and you've also got a little bit of through loading as well , but it really is tiny .

The e c four x unsurprisingly drives just like the e c four hatch .

Although interestingly , it has a more aerodynamic shape equaling a naught 0.29 co drag efficiency rating .

And this gives it 224 miles of driving figure , which is 5 miles further than the hatchback .

It uses the same powertrain technology , and it's on the CMP platform , which is shared by other Stellantis Group products like the Peugeot e 2,008 .

Therefore , it has a 50 kilowatt hour battery pack , which is still being released in the latest models , squeeze closer to 250 miles for those models , making this e c four x a little behind in technology .

Power comes from a 132 brake horsepower motor , which drives the front wheels .

Nought to 62 miles per hour takes a modest 9.6 6 seconds , but Citroen's focus has always been on comfort rather than power .

Like almost all EVs , the car can recover energy when decelerating or braking .

And there are 3 driving modes , eco , normal , and sport , that can vary in the level of engine power and energy draw from the air conditioning to boost your driving range .

The e c four x has a brake feature , which will amplify the deceleration of the car without pressing the brake pedal .

Like other c fours , this model gets the very clever progressive hydraulic suspension setup .

Essentially , the car's springs and shock absorbers work to slow the body movement over bumps and imperfections on the road .

If you want a car which has power and performance , then this probably isn't going to be your pick of the bunch .

But if you want a comfortable family car , which is going to give you that serenity on long drives , then actually , I think this is a really good option .

That suspension is super comfortable .

It's nice and quiet in here .

There's not much road noise , and it all just makes a very peaceful ride .

My only concern about the EC 4X is it doesn't really feel like a new generation of car .

It is extremely similar to the EC 4 , and it only gets those 5 more miles .

Yes .

It is a heavier vehicle , so it's difficult to get many more miles out of it without increasing the battery size .

But why haven't they increased the battery size ?

I I'm not sure .

It just doesn't feel like a step forward .

It feels like a sideward step .

It's offering something different to the EC 4 in the fact that you get a bigger boot , and it's got a slightly different design .

But in terms of actually being a new generation of electric Citroen , I don't think you can really see it as that .

A little like the warm efforts of the driving range , charging is just okay .

Like the EC4 Hatch , this X model has an onboard 11 kilowatt charger , which can top up from empty in around 7 and a half hours using a 7 kilowatt home wall box .

However , if you want to upgrade your home setup , that could fall to just 5 hours .

Fast charging is capable of speeds up to a 100 kilowatts , achieving 80% charging in around half an hour if you can find a quick enough charger .

This is okay , but models like the VW ID 4 or the Kia EV 6 can accept considerably more .

So if you're relying on rapid charging only , this may not be the model for you .

The EC 4X is a little bit of a funny one .

I can't quite put my finger on who's going to purchase this vehicle .

However , being very similarly priced to the EC 4 , I can imagine that if people wanted the EC 4 , but they wanted just a bit more reclined back , they needed more boot space , then it definitely offers a really good alternative .

Plus , you get those nice extras of the larger infotainment screen and just a slightly more plush interior .

It does tick a lot of boxes , but we're just really not used to cars like this in the UK .

But please , guys , let me know .

Do you like the return of the saloons , or are you an SUV fan ?

Pop it in the comments down below .

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Until next time .

See you later .