Citroen C4

To delve a little into the history of Citroen is to understand why the French automaker is known for innovation which, in fact, continues to this day.

André Citroën was born in Paris in 1878. At the age of 34 he set up a company to manufacture double helical gears - and which gave rise to the distinctive double chevron logo that's still in use. A year later he took over the Mors automotive company and increased its output tenfold. After World War I he started building motor cars using the mass production techniques that had been introduced by Henry Ford in the USA but which, until then, hadn't been seen

in Europe.

Within a year they were producing 100 cars a day. Citroën introduced a dealer network across France, set up factories in Belgium, Britain, Italy and Germany and was one of the first to illuminate the company's name on the Eiffel Tower. He was a paternalistic employer too, setting up dental and medical facilities and a gym in his factories and providing a crèche for his workers' children.

Nearly 100 years later Citroen cars are still being made and many a company would love the kind of customer devotion Citroen can command which can, on occasions, border on the fanatical.

There's always a little French quirk embedded in these cars somewhere and on the latest Citroen C4 there's actually two. First up, there are no coffee cup holders and even many non-French would say hallelujah to that. Coffee should be savoured while seated ill ne doit pas?

Then there's the matter of the passenger doors. To the uninitiated there aren't any door handles but take a closer look - they're cleverly disguised as part of the window surround which is not only utterly subtle but contributes (yes, we know it's only slightly) to the overall aerodynamics of the car.

And so to the business part of this latest C4. Design-wise it's a strikingly handsome car that brings an elegance to the driveway other, slightly more proasic-looking opposition can't match (Toyota and Ford come to mind). Pragmatically, it also beats those two on storage with the best boot in class, in fact. And Citroen have cunningly designed the door pockets to hold a 1.5 litre bottle and why other manufacturers haven't thought of this before is unfathomable in this age of store-bought water carriers.

The French have always placed seat comfort high on the list and the C4 continues this cosy tradition. They have also avoided the desire to complicate the console. While the C4 has everything you need, and a little more besides, the combination of analogue and digital information contained in the dash area remain plain enough to read without squinting or even just trying to figure out what the instruments are attempting to

tell you.

On the road this car delivers everything it promises - superb handling, sophisticated performance, delicious comfort and probably above all, economy. There are three models in the range starting with the sweetly-named Seduction Vti four-speed auto, the turbo version with a six-speed semi-auto (and both these are petrol-driven) to the top of the range six-speed semi-auto Hdi turbo (diesel of course).

All the Citroen C4 models are remarkably well-priced, given what they offer. Entry level sits just under $25,990 while the highly competent Hdi is a shade under $28,990 and this pricing makes them desirable not just as a personal car or a family car but falls well within company car price frameworks as well.

While the brand has been fairly low-key in New Zealand, expect to see more aggressive marketing and management from Sime Darby Automobiles which acquired importing rights in February this year. Given the sheer capability of the C4 as just one model in the range, couple that to exceptionally good price structures and the long-established French name certainly deserves to have a greater presence in this part of the world.