Mike drives a Citroën ë-C4 50kWh 2024, standard specification.

This is Mike’s first electric car, he’s owned the Citroën ë-C4 between 1-2 years and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 10,000-15,000 miles and he achieves 140-180 miles from an 80% charge.

Why did you choose the Citroën ë-C4?

Being an electrical and electronic engineer by trade, I was always fascinated by electric vehicles, but held back on getting my first one until the technology and infrastructure had matured sufficiently. I purchased a petrol Citroën in 2016 and have now passed it onto my wife. In those eight years, it has always remained reliable requiring only routine maintenance.

I am a retired, sedate driver, preferring comfort to ‘boy racer’ performance. I needed a wide boot space (some are tall and narrow) with largish volume when the seats are down, a heated steering wheel, heated seats and dual zone climate control. I also preferred to have a heat pump included, although not essential.

Positives 

• The smooth, quiet comfort
• those alcantara ‘Advanced Comfort’ seats are amazing.

Negatives 

• I really dislike having ‘keyless entry’ and no ability to switch it off.

Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?

The car was one year old when I bought it. One year on, I’ve not noticed any degradation.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

No faults have occurred with either hardware or software.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

For me, it’s connecting the car to my mobile phone which opens up an opportunity to use ‘Android Auto’ for navigation and entertainment.

Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about your Citroën ë-C4

In the boot floor, where a spare wheel might often be kept, there is a sub-woofer speaker that certainly enhances the sound system.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

I might consider a Škoda Elroq but I would have to check out the comfort levels first. Plus, my Citroën has several controls operated by traditional buttons and switches, I would not want everything controlled on a screen. Nor would I want flush door handles.

Home charging unit 

Masterplug 7kW wall charger plus Masterplug 3 pin ‘Granny’ charger – both have proven simple to use and 100% reliable. The great thing about the portable 3 pin charger is that I can take it with me on holiday or when visiting places; not so much for cheaper charging, but for peace of mind should public charging not be available.

Electricity Supplier & tariff 

Fuse Energy (fixed single tariff) – its great, I get one competitive price per kWh at any time and a low daily standing charge, too. My wife uses lots of electricity during the day as a volunteer, cooking meals for the local community. So, for us, an EV tariff would turn out to be more expensive with a cheaper off-peak night rate but a more expensive day-time rate. On the upside, this means I can charge my EV at any time of day or night with no variation in cost per kWh.

Insurance

Sheila’s Wheels – they gave me the best price, whilst crucially including cover to drive another car with the owner’s permission.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

• PodPoint is simple and reliable, I keep a £10 pre-paid balance on my account, charging might be too slow for some, although fine if shopping at Tesco or using their cafe
• MFG is another network that is easy to find and use, often found at Morrisons supermarket
• I had difficulty with an E.ON charger which refused to charge my EV five times over, but only after taking a £30 pre-payment each time, I had to wait four days to get the £150 cleared from my credit card!

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a Citroën ë-C4

I am a retired cost analyst, my EV costs about the same to run as my previous petrol car. Its a case of ‘swings and roundabouts’, EV fueling is cheaper at home but more expensive on public chargers. The EV costs more to insure, servicing costs are about the same, even though there is less to do on the EV. Tyres cost more as the EV weighs significantly more. Depreciation from new is horrendous, however by buying a ‘nearly new’ EV, I got a deal that was cheaper than a petrol version of the same car.