CITROEN has had much success with its stylish C4 small car, despite having a range of lacklustre petrol-engined models to choose from. Thank goodness for the HDi turbo-diesel: a 1.6-litre powerplant with the strength of a lion and the thirst of a thrip. But we cannot help but imagine that Citroen would sell even more C4s if the car was available with a fully-automatic transmission instead of the interesting - but flawed - EGS sequential-shift manual. At least there’s always the regular manual to fall back on.

Citroen G Special
Released: 1972
Ended: 1978
Family Tree: C4THERE have been a string of more modern and conventional small Citroens that fit the bill as a C4 HDi predecessor since the 'GS' from the mid 1970s. However, the only one sold in Australia – the Xsara – is too dull for words. And we think that only the GS – in 1015cc or 1222cc four-cylinder air-cooled engine guises, had the same sort of offbeat appeal as the C4 HDi. In fact, for Citroen aficionados, the GS is much closer to the core of what the marque is truly about. Many believe that it is one of the most sophisticated and technically advanced small cars ever produced.
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