Andreas Engel and Timothy Pancakes
Timothy Pancakes (52), Blick author editor
“The gasoline engine is far from dead”
I love electromobility. Quiet and silky, matching the pampering suspension of the new Citroën C4 or ë-C4. I love electromobility – until the battery is empty. Then this odyssey begins: the search for pillars and tariff puzzles, the hope for a free fast charger and the feeling of having to instead of being allowed to. Charge at home? I’m a lantern parker with a tired eight-ampere socket in the courtyard, which I would charge at the expense of all neighbors and incredibly slowly.
As colleague Andreas Engel emphasizes, when I sprint I only see his (really nice!) LED taillights. It’s correct. But only until Mr. Engel sees red: We are all the same at the next traffic light. What I don’t care about are speed buses. In the Stromer I keep staring at these cool instruments, in the gasoline engine the speed whispers to me how fast I am. And I don’t care that I have to change gears: “my” three-cylinder with automatic machine in the petrol C4 is also a very lively, lively guy in the compact SUV style.
Citroën C4 PureTech 130 EAT8
drive 1.2-R3 turbo gasoline engine, 131 PS (96 kW), 230 Nm @ 1750 / min, 8-speed automatic, front-wheel drive, 50 l tank
Performance 0-100 km / h in 10.2 s, top 210 km / h, range 790 km
Dimensions L / W / H 4.36 / 1.83 / 1.52 m, 1399 kg, loading space 380–1250 l
environment WLTP 6.3 l / 100 km = 143 g / km CO2, Energy B
price from 32,500 francs (base, 102 hp, from 23,800 francs)
drive 1.2 R3 turbo gasoline engine, 131 PS (96 kW), 230 Nm @ 1750 / min, 8-speed automatic, front-wheel drive, 50 l tank
Performance 0-100 km / h in 10.2 s, top 210 km / h, range 790 km
Dimensions L / W / H 4.36 / 1.83 / 1.52 m, 1399 kg, loading space 380–1250 l
environment WLTP 6.3 l / 100 km = 143 g / km CO2, Energy B
price from 32,500 francs (base, 102 hp, from 23,800 francs)
Reach your destination faster with petrol
Let’s take a day trip to see friends in Munich (D). That’s roughly 300 kilometers. According to the 350 standard, the ë-C4, “my” 130-horsepower petrol engine, can travel almost 800 kilometers. I drive there – and back. Colleague Engel has to plan where he is charging – and a half hour mandatory stop. Each. I like to have a coffee. But where, how long, when and when I want.
I could imagine the ë-C4 as a second car for the Agglo. But for those 5000 francs, which it is more expensive (calculated with the same equipment line), I’m still going on a luxury vacation in St-Tropez (F). As much as the ë-C4 is the better C4, the gasoline engine is just as good. Engel is right: the gasoline engine no longer has a great future, for reasons of resources and the environment. But it is still indispensable, dear Mr. Engel: It dominates the market – and it is far from dead.
Andreas Engel (36), Blick authoring editor
“The era of the Stromer has long since dawned”
I’m sitting in Citroën’s new compact crossover ë-C4 with electric drive. A cool, completely different guy. Editorial colleague Timothy Pfannkuchen (52) is waiting in the C4 petrol engine behind me at the traffic lights. The traffic light jumps to green, I press the pedal – and in the rearview mirror I see how Pfannkuchen almost comes to a standstill with “his” C4 and only unlocks again after a while.
Scenes like this show where the great strengths of electrical engineering lie: While the machine in the C4 first has to sort the aisles until the force of the three-cylinder drives it jerkily and with a nervous growl, “my” ë-C4 glides without delay and without emissions. And quietly, which benefits local residents. Not only for them: I used to be literally electrified at the wheel, but with a literal current, inner calm returns to the spacious interior. Driving is more relaxed because you no longer hang on the gas until shortly before the intersection – driving with foresight and range-saving is relaxed.
Citroën ë-C4
drive Electric motor, 136 PS (100 kW), 260 Nm @ 300 / min, 1-speed automatic machine, front-wheel drive, battery gross 50 kWh
Performance 0-100 km / h in 9.7 s, top 150 km / h, range 350 km
Dimensions L / W / H 4.36 / 1.83 / 1.52 m, 1655 kg, loading space 380–1250 l
environment WLTP 16.6 kWh / 100 km = 0 g / km CO2, Energy A
price from 32,900 francs
drive Electric motor, 136 PS (100 kW), 260 Nm @ 300 / min, 1-speed automatic machine, front-wheel drive, battery gross 50 kWh
Performance 0-100 km / h in 9.7 s, top 150 km / h, range 350 km
Dimensions L / W / H 4.36 / 1.83 / 1.52 m, 1655 kg, loading space 380–1250 l
environment WLTP 16.6 kWh / 100 km = 0 g / km CO2, Energy A
price from 32,900 francs
Reach your destination more relaxed with electricity
My colleague Pfannkuchen argues that the ë-C4 can hardly make these 300 kilometers to Munich (D) without charging first. That’s right, but on the one hand I could easily get to the Bavarian capital with a short coffee break. There are enough charging points there to allow you to flow back in relaxed. And on the other hand, the ë-C4 is there for daily short journeys anyway (Switzerland average approx. 40 km / day). There he saves a lot of money (100 km about three francs) and exhaust fumes – and how often, please, do you go to Munich?
The yesterday are now asking: And where does all the electricity for e-mobility come from? In Switzerland today, more than 75 percent of it comes from renewable energies – and the trend is rising. So I allow myself the counter-question: where does your gasoline come from, colleague pancakes? The era of the Stromer has long since dawned in view of their sales boom. And that’s just as well.