Citroen e-C4 review: reliability & safety rating

The Citroen e-C4 is a bit too new to have accrued any real-world reliability data just yet. Its underpinnings are now pretty familiar to us, however; the same mechanicals feature underneath just about every other electric car from the wider Stellantis group, including the Peugeot e-2008 and Vauxhall Mokka Electric, as well as the DS 3 E-Tense and forthcoming Jeep Avenger.

Citroen e-C4 reliability & problems

There's no reliability data available for the new C4 or the e-C4 specifically, but in the 2022 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, Citroen climbed the overall rankings to finish an admirable 13th out of 29 manufacturers – having sat close to the bottom the previous year. 

Things are clearly on the up, then, with customers praising their cars’ running costs (an obvious e-C4 strong point) as well as servicing costs and practicality. The brand posted lower scores for infotainment and smartphone technology – something Citroen will hope to see improve by fitting its newer ‘My Citroën Drive Plus’ system to higher-spec e-C4s.

Given the fact that the only two Citroens that featured in the 2022 Driver Power survey’s Top 75 Cars to Own were the petrol and diesel-powered C3 (25th) and C3 Aircross (46th) – neither of which have been built on Citroen’s most modern platform – we reckon the e-C4 will be a safe enough choice when it comes to reliability.

Safety

The e-C4 received a four-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests in early 2021, with a 76% rating for adult occupant protection and 83% for child protection. It gets a good amount of safety and driver assistance systems: all get the 'Safety Pack Plus' option that adds traffic-sign recognition, driver attention warning, lane-departure detection, forward collision warning and improved autonomous emergency braking.