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C4 VTR+ 2.0 First Impressions - Review	Please Register to enjoy additional Member Benefits

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shadowake

Sat May 09 2009, 04:54am

OK picked up my C4 last night:

2004 Silver C4 VTR+ 2.0 Manual Hatchback

Had a 25-30 mile drive back home, so plenty of time to get a good first impression.

Styling - Exterior

To be honest I prefer the look of the coupe to the hatchback, but I got the car at a steal of a price and the extra doors will be useful! Anyway I do like the C4, my dad has one, although in a horrible gold/baige colour (no offense to anyone who likes/has this colour)! Anyway the VTR+ model I bought has more 'matching' plastics and nice alloy wheels. A bit plain but still a nice looking car.

7/10

Styling - Interior

OK here's where (for me anyway) the C4 gets really good. With the center mounted speedo and gadgets galore, the C4 looks more like the cockpit of a spaceship than a family hatchback! The VTR+ model I had bought was better equiped than my dads basic model (he's as tight as a crabs [%*^#@!] and bought the cheapest model he could). Anyway six CD changer, bluetooth, premium sound system, rear parking sensors, cruise control, dual zone air con, and lots of things I really need to read than manual to find out what they do! Getting into the car really did feel like chrismas there was so many goodies. The finish looked nice and well put together. the seats were really comfy.

9.5/10

General Drive

The drive was suprisingly smooth. The steering was really light and easy and the suspension gave a much smoother ride than my last car (Peugeot 206). The steering wheel did seem to 'rattle' a bit over rough surfaces though. The 2 litre engine was quiet and the wind noise was, well, none existent. It really did feel like you were sitting away from the outside world! I really like the speed limiter on the motorway, set it to 75mph and didn't have to worry about acidentally speeding! I liked the cruise control, but in the traffic it was a bit redundant, I'll save that until my next 300mile round work trip!

7.5/10

Performance

OK I purposely bought a 2 litre. My dad always complains about his 1.6 not having any 'guts' when it comes to overtaking and I hate slow cars. My old Peugeot 206 1.6 was pretty nippy and before that I had a 3 litre twin turbo Supra, so I didn't want a snail. I had to go for a 'sensible' family car (as the other half put it) so I at least wanted a 2 litre and the NCAP 5 star for the C4 sold it for both of us. Anyway shortly after leaving the dealers I hit the sliproad to join the M6 and I was in second gear coming off the roundabout, so I gave it some beans. It was a strange feeling, I could tell I was going faster than the Peugeot, but it really didn't feel like it. I would have liked a bit more driver feedback from the car. A nice touch was the red flashing limiter to tell me to change gear, a good job because with the engine so quiet, I didn't realise I was revving it so hard! Anyway it felt more 'business man sophisticated' in it's accelleration rater than 'boy racer nuts revving', which wasn't necisarilly a bad thing.

6/10

Overall

Overall I'm please with the car, as a safe familly hatchback with a bit of go it's ideal for what I was after. Anyone looking for pure speed would want to go elsewhere, or take a look at the VTS. But for a quiet refined ride that will put a smile on your face, look no further.

8/10

blueclouduk

Sat May 09 2009, 05:00am

Glad you like the car. Let's hope it is the start of a beautiful friendship.

BigJohnD United Kingdom

Sat May 09 2009, 06:21am

Member No: #82

Joined: Jan 22 2007
Location: Hoylake

Nice, with a lot of extras over the standard VTR+ spec. Is it petrol engined?

You can use the cruise control in traffic, provided you're going fast enough to use the top two gears. The speed limiter is very useful too.

Diesel Dog

Sat May 09 2009, 08:16am

Nice touch that the rev limiter flashes too. Nice one mate.

wozza

Sat May 09 2009, 11:35am

Member No: #2

Joined: Aug 12 2006
Location: Manchester

You could give it a little more oomph with a GSR induction kit and a remap. Would have you sitting well over 150hp that way probably closer to 160. While making a little more noise when you put your foot down but totally silent with normal driving.

shadowake

Sun May 10 2009, 04:26am

BigJohnD wrote ...
Is it petrol engined?

Yeah it's petrol.


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