These are the first pictures of the new Citroën C4. It’s only set to debut at the Paris motor show in September, but Citroën would obviously like to get you thinking about their Golf challenger asap. The new car swaps the current C4’s clean graphics for a more sculptured, but frankly more conservative suit. With Volkswagen majoring on it, maybe conservative is the new avant garde.

Citroën promise a boost in quality, interior space, passenger comfort and handling. Citroën touts tailoring of personal comfort as a highlight in the New C4. In their own words – ‘users are able to adjust the colour of the driver’s instrument display, select their own ‘polyphonic’ sound alerts, finely adjust the intensity of the air-conditioning and even immerse themselves in the rich surround-sound of the new audio system. Some models even come with a new massage function on the front seats.’

Dimensionally, the new C4 has grown fractionally to 4.33m long, 1.79m wide, 1.49m high, with a 408-litre boot that Citroën claims is the biggest in its class Equipment options are impressive – hill start assist, electric parking brake, Lane Departure Warning System, Xenon directional headlamps, blind-spot monitoring system and cornering lights. On the ‘green’ front, the C4 mixes diesel engines with a stop/start system and low rolling resistance Michelins to deliver CO2 emissions as low as 109g/km on specific models.