The Citroën C4 is very keenly priced to start with, but haggle hard and you can cut huge chunks from the price according to What Car?‘s research.

With a big discount it’s worth considering, but even then we can’t wholeheartedly recommend it. The C4’s most obvious weakness as a tow car is starting on a hill. It took a really firm pull on the conventional handbrake to stop car and caravan rolling backwards on a 1-in-6 slope, and plenty of revs and clutch slip to pull to the top.

Performance was quite steady on the flat, too, needing 17.1 seconds to accelerate from 30-60mph. Once above 60mph it took a long while to drag up to 70mph.

Stability was mostly good in still air, although some drivers found the Citroën moved around somewhat in crosswinds, and took a long time to recover from any short, sharp steering input. To give the C4 its dues, though, the lane-change test was dispatched without a problem.

As a solo drive, the Citroën isn’t in the same league as the best small family hatchbacks. The ride is wallowy, but despite this softness the suspension crashes and thumps into sharp bumps.

The back of the car is cramped compared with a Skoda Octavia’s cabin, although the boot is a reasonable size; it coped with all our holiday luggage bar one item. However, the towing electrics were fiddly to access.

2019
Category Winners
2019 Up to 1400kg

Škoda Octavia

Hatch 1.5 TSI 150PS SE L DSG

2019 1400-1549kg

Seat Ateca

2.0 TSI 190PS FR DSG

2019 1550-1699kg

Volkswagen Arteon

2.0 TDI 150PS Elegance DSG

2019 1700-1899kg

BMW 520d

Touring xDrive M Sport

2019 1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery

3.0 SDV6 HSE

2019 Best Budget 4x4

Dacia Duster

1.5 dCi Ambiance 4x4

2019 Best Plug-In Hybrid

Land Rover Range Rover Sport

P400e HSE Dynamic

2019 Best Ultralight Tow Car

Seat Arona

1.0 TSI 115 FR

2019 Fuel Economy Award

Ford Focus Estate

1.5 EcoBlue 120PS Titanium X

Previous Winners
2018
1700-1899kg

BMW 520d

Touring xDrive M Sport

2017
1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery

3.0 Td6 HSE*

2016
1400-1549kg

Skoda Superb Hatch

2.0 TDI 150PS SE Business

2015
1400-1549kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI BMT 150PS SE Business DSG

2014
1400-1549kg

Nissan Qashqai

1.6 dCi (130PS) Stop/Start System Acenta Premium

2013
Up to 1424kg

Skoda Octavia

2.0 TDI CR 150PS Elegance

2012
1725–1899kg

Jaguar XF

2.2D Premium Luxury

2011
1425-1574kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI 170 Bluemotion Sport

2010
1900kg+

Land Rover Discovery 4

3.0 TDV6 XS

2009
1900kg+

Volvo XC60

D5 SE Geartronic

2008
1575-1724kg

Ford Mondeo Estate

2.0 TDCi Titanium auto

2007
1575-1724kg

Volkswagen Passat Estate

2.0 TDI Sport 4Motion

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