Liftbacks appear to be having a renaissance of late, with manufacturers such as Peugeot, Polestar and several others all unveiling cars with similar overall profiles.

Citroen has joined that fray, introducing a ‘saloon’ variant of their popular e-C4 hatchback. But is it any good? And can a car not originally designed as a saloon work well visually as one?

That’s what we are here to find out.

Class Bending Looks

It is by no means a bad looking car, though you wouldn’t call it traditionally pretty either. French cars have always had divisive styling, and the e-C4 is no exception. There are hints of French quirkiness peppered across the e-C4 X’s surfaces, with distinctive body lines and unpainted lower panels further cementing that ethos.

But don’t mistake the unusual stylistic choices as Citroen reinventing the styling wheel simply for the sake of it. There are other aspects of the e-C4 X that closely mirrors current design trends. For instance, like many new cars today, it has split DRL and main headlight clusters, the former serving a more cosmetic role rather than having an actual function.

In the ‘X’ transformation, Citroen has grafted the roofline of a liftback onto the hatch-meets-crossover body shell of the original e-C4. The result is a car that looks like a lifted saloon, with quite a bit more cargo capacity than the car it was based on (380L vs 510L).

Surprisingly Sedate Interior

Citroen could have kitted the e-C4 X out with all the latest gizmos and gadgets a la most modern electric cars. And yet they didn’t feel the need to do so. As a result, the e-C4 X is refreshingly simple to use. At least, by modern standards.

The infotainment screen has a good amount of customisability, and you still have physical switchgear for the climate, stereo and drive mode functions. Your gauge cluster and HUD can also be configured to suit your needs.

As compared to its Stellantis stablemates, the e-C4 X is noticeably more comfortable, with its Advanced Comfort Seats probably contributing to a large bit of that. There’s also sufficient head and knee room in both rows, and also excellent connectivity courtesy of two USB ports in the rear, and two in the front.

Sensible in Motion

The electric variants of the C4 fix a fundamental issue with ICE Category A COE cars. They may have comparable power levels, but the instantaneous torque delivery conceals the relative lack of overall power off the line.

This makes the e-C4 X (and the e-C4 for that matter) noticeably more responsive at lower speeds than their petrol cousins. Whilst there’s better overall acceleration, it isn’t overpowered at lower road speeds, making and forward progress feel gradual and smooth.

Which then further builds on Citroen’s slant towards comfort. Both the ICE and EV versions of the C4 are more comfortable than its other platform-mates, no doubt thanks to Citroen’s proprietary progressive hydraulic cushions.

Sensibly Quirky

There’s no escaping from the fact that this is still a very unusual vehicle. But gone are the days where the French are odd simply for the sake of it. The unconventional visuals aside, the e-C4 X is actually a fairly sensibly package all things considered.

The ‘X’ variant also comes with a slightly larger battery (54 kWh versus the 50 kWh of the e-C4), a touch more power, and significantly more range (we returned close to 390 kilometres on a single charge in the real-world). What’s more, being electric, it should be less susceptible to mechanical gremlins typically associated with an equivalent ICE vehicle. And what’s not to like about that?

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