Last weekend was pretty good for Citroën. World Champion Sebastian Loeb brought the Citroen C4 WRC back to Cardiff last Sunday afternoon victorious on this year’s Wales Rally GB, with Daniel Elena.

The French duo had fought a great battle with Norwegian star Petter Solberg and Chris Patterson in their privately-run C4 just 19.1 seconds behind them.

With the new World Rally Car regulations coming in for next year, the Citroën C4 WRC ended its career on the Rally Great Britain on the highest of notes in a hugely successful career.

And as it bows out the French firm is also celebrating the success of the DS3 and a host of other news including the launch of the new C4.

Now the C4 segment is pretty tough with the likes of the Ford Focus and VW Golf in the list of family hatchbacks.

But Citroën is very upbeat about their contestant. The average age of the target market is in their late 50s (male) with the car as the sole means of transport. Children are either away at university or already out in the big, wide world.

What they want is comfort, good ride and plenty of space for trips away. And they have all of that in the new C4. Citroën is renowned for its ride and this car is no exception.

The ride is very good and the seats are exceptionally comfortable and supportive. As for the handling it’s not really sporty but is as good as any other and is a safe set of wheels.

Buyers who want to be a little racy will go for something else – they are not the market for the C4 who want a smooth, ride and a little luxury about the cabin, which is what they get.

Engines include three elegant petrols developed with BMW and three HDi diesels which are very efficient. I enjoyed the manual gearboxes which were light and responsive but I’m not sure about the six-speed automatic (an extra on all but one model).

It is very economic but jerky and I was getting ready to move up much quicker than it did. It is standard on the e-HDi 110 micro-hybrid which also has an excellent stop-start system.

Going back to the cabin and luxury. The finish is stylish and good quality and there is an awful lot of equipment standard on even the entry level model.

You always get a few gadgets and quirky bits and pieces with Citroën. In the C4 you can change the colour of the instrument lighting (can be useful), and then there is a small orchestra of system warning sounds.

Some of these are more than a little irksome but you can alter and even switch some off.

The new Citroën C4 range starts at £15,595 for the 1.4 VTi 95hp VTR. The range-topping Exclusive model, powered by Citroën’s refined and punchy 2.0HDi 150hp unit, is priced at £21,495.

It is available to pre-order from next Monday, with first deliveries from the ‘on sale’ date of January 11, 2011.

Keeping Citroën in the spotlight in the coming year are the Survolt, Citroën’s all-electric racing car concept and DS3 Racing – a hot-blooded special edition with an impeccable sporting pedigree.

By Sharon Walters