Citroen C4 Spacetourer Review (2018-present)
Citroen C4 SpaceTourer cars for sale
3.0
Expert review
Pros
Roomy, versatile seating
Stylish interior
Excellent visibility
Cons
Dull to drive
Patchy ride quality
Poor reliability record
The CarGurus verdict
The C4 Spacetourer is a smart and extremely family-friendly MPV that betters most of its SUV rivals (and indeed, some similar MPVs) on practicality and space. It’s well equipped, comes with punchy engines and is generally comfortable on most stretches of road.
Rivals can better it for running costs, but the C4 Spacetourer’s biggest black mark is its reliability record. If you do decide to buy one, it might be a sensible idea to take out a good-quality used car warranty.
One of the last of a dying breed. Once upon a time, car manufacturers couldn’t make MPVs fast enough; today, SUVs such as the Citroen C5 Aircross, which has effectively replaced the C4 Spacetourer, reign supreme.
That means five-seat MPVs are all but obsolete these days. But for buyers seeking practicality, they still make a lot of sense, as they offer more space than an SUV or a conventional hatchback, and more versatile seating.
The C4 Spacetourer’s boot isn’t quite as large as that of its biggest rival, the Volkswagen Golf SV, but at 537 litres, it’s still pretty big, and there’s more room than you'd find in most family hatchbacks.
The three individual rear seats can fold flat, so their backs are level with the floor, and they can slide back and forth to increase boot space at the expense of rear seat legroom. The front passenger seat folds down, too, which is helpful for extra-long loads.
All three rear seats have Isofix mounts (most cars only offer these on the outer two seats) and they're wide enough to accommodate most child car seats, so you can fit three young children abreast, something that can’t be said for most MPVs, let alone SUVs or hatchbacks.
Pretty average, really. There’s plenty of grip, but the suspension is quite soft, so the body leans over during corners and, together with the over-assisted power steering, that makes the C4 Spacetourer fairly anodyne to drive quickly.
Most MPV drivers won’t care about that, and neither should they. The ride comfort is much more important, and it's decent enough at speed, but you can get caught out by niggly little bumps and rough patches of tarmac on rural roads.
Each of the C4 Spacetourer’s engines is up to the job, offering decent mid-range punch, but they’re also quite noisy. The manual gearbox is a bit vague, so the automatic is a better option if you can stretch to it, despite its capacity to get flummoxed if you prod the throttle hard.
Only two versions of the C4 Spacetourer were offered during its relatively short life. The cheapest is the Touch Edition, which is well equipped for an entry-level model, with alloy wheels, cruise control, rear parking sensors, automatic headlights and wipers, dual-zone climate control, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The top model is the Feel Exclusive, which comes fully loaded with a widescreen infotainment system, including satnav, a reversing camera, half-leather upholstery, a powered tailgate, aircraft-style trays on the backs of the front seats, window blinds for the rear seats, underfloor storage and even massaging front seats.
However, if you want adaptive cruise control or heated front seats – both of which come as standard on some rivals – then you’ll have to pay extra no matter which model you choose.
As we mentioned, the most efficient C4 Spacetourer is the diesel with the manual gearbox, which should average fuel consumption of around 45-50 mpg. Choosing the automatic will shave 3-4 mpg off that.
With a manual gearbox, you’ll get close to 40mpg from the petrol engine, and again, the automatic will shave off around 2-3mpg.
These aren’t horrendous fuel economy figures, but neither do they compare that well to those of the Volkswagen Golf SV or the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, and that means the Citroen will set you back a little more at the pumps.
The manufacturer offers fixed-price servicing and repairs on its older cars after the warranty has expired, which will help to reduce costs if you want your C4 Spacetourer serviced at a Citroen dealership. Expect to pay around £180 for a minor service, and £300 for a major one, alternating between the two every other year.
Both of the C4 Spacetourer’s engines use rubber timing belts, which need to be changed every few years so they don't degrade and cause serious engine damage. The diesel engine’s belt should be changed after five years or 125,000 miles, while the petrol engine should go no more than six years or 60,000 miles between changes.
Expect to pay upwards of £500 for a belt change, which is quite expensive compared with other manufacturers. Some of the C4 Spacetourer’s rivals use metal timing chains instead of belts, and they shouldn’t need to be changed at all, eliminating one semi-regular (and very costly) bill.
The C4 Spacetourer does not have a blemish-free reliability record: far from it. It finished in second from bottom spot in the MPVs category in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey and, in the preceding years, it came either last or second-to-last.
As with all Citroens, the C4 Spacetourer came with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, which is about the bare minimum these days. By comparison, the Kia Carens's seven-year warranty is much more impressive.
Problems tend to vary in nature, but electrical glitches are the commonest, and can take the form of dashboard warning lights that pop up repeatedly, odd behaviour of the dash-top screen that displays the car’s speed and other driving information and malfunctioning touchscreens, among others.
Mechanical issues are not unknown, either. Injectors and air-conditioning condensers seem to be particular weak spots. Citroen’s PureTech petrol engines, as fitted to the C4 Spacetourer, have become known for timing belt issues: it can break up if it's not changed soon enough. Because the belt runs through the engine oil to keep it lubricated, this means miniscule pieces of rubber are deposited into the oil, which clog up the filter, or worse still, circulate through the engine and pump. For this reason, it’s imperative to ensure any C4 Spacetourer has had its timing belt changed on time, if not earlier than specified.
- You might think it slightly odd that the C4 Spacetourer had such a short life – it was announced in 2018, but by the end of 2019 it had been removed from Citroen’s range. That’s partly because it wasn’t a new car in 2018, rather a renamed and mildly updated version of the old Citroen C4 Picasso, which launched in 2013. That's why the Spacetourer feels a little dated in a couple of areas and, by 2019, demand had fallen to an unsustainable low, so the standard Spacetourer was sacrificed in favour of keeping the more popular Citroen Grand C4 Spacetourer – its larger, seven-seat sibling – on sale.
- There are only two engine options – one diesel, and one petrol – but the eight-speed ‘EAT8’ automatic gearbox is available with both, as well as the standard six-speed manual. The petrol engine is a willing 129bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo, badged ‘PureTech 130’. Coincidentally, the 1.5-litre ‘BlueHDi 130’ diesel engine’s output is identical but, because it’s a heavier engine, it isn’t quite as fast, taking almost a second more to hit 62mph.
- The most frustrating part of the C4 Spacetourer is its touchscreen infotainment system. It’s quite fiddly to use and slow to respond, which would be bad enough even if you only had to use it occasionally. The trouble is, in an effort to create a minimalist look with relatively few physical buttons, Citroen routed most of the car’s functions through this screen, including the climate control. This means you have to faff around with the climate control menu whenever you want to adjust the temperature, then go back to whichever screen you were looking at before (e.g. the satellite navigation or your smartphone mirroring screen). It’s arguably the car’s worst feature.
- You don't have much choice with the C4 Spacetourer's limited range. Our pick is the 1.2 PureTech 130 EAT8 Touch Edition, which gives you all the flexibility and functionality that makes the C4 Spacetourer such a great family car but keeps costs down. This model's smaller alloy wheels make for the best ride comfort, and the perky little petrol engine is lighter and breezier than the more sluggish diesel.
- If fuel economy is a priority then you’ll want the 1.5 BlueHDI 130 paired with the manual gearbox, which is ever so slightly more efficient. The resultant C4 Spacetourer won’t be the sweetest to drive, but costs will be as low as they go.
- The most extravagant C4 Spacetourer is the 1.2 PureTech 130 EAT 8 Feel Exclusive, which brings lots of little luxuries. Combine it with the petrol engine and the automatic gearbox and you'll also have the best version to drive.
