Citroen e-C4 X is a smart and smooth EV but you need a vital bit of kit before you buy

SO you’ve decided you want to buy an EV.

With constantly sprouting clean air zones, pinballing pump prices and a dithering Government which can’t make up its mind about petrol cars, you think the time is right.

Supplied

How do you start?

Get down to the local dealerships for a few test drives?

Jump on Auto Trader?

I can tell you, there’s no point in doing any of that until you’ve found a home charger, checked it’s compatible with your home’s circuitry and had it installed.

Because life with an EV when you don’t have a home charger is miserable.

I spent a month driving the £35k Citroen e-C4 X without a charger at home.

And when I say driving, I mean limping it to the nearest public chargers, paying a fortune to leave it there for six hours hooked to the feebly slow 7kW boxes, then walking 20 minutes home in the rain.

Thankfully, the following month, I had an Ohme wallbox installed on my drive.

Smart piece of kit

I could hook the car up in seconds, it charged overnight so I was always topped up – and I could actually focus on what the car is like for this review.

Which is a good thing, because without all that distraction I soon learned the e-C4 X is a rather smart piece of kit.

Whether you like its slightly odd looks is a matter of personal taste, but it is undeniably refined and smooth to drive.

Citroen has gone for a more progressive acceleration experience here, rather than the urgent and hyper-responsive flex of many EVs.

Relaxed driving manners are complimented by Citroen’s trademark cosseting suspension, and the driver’s seat is one of the comfiest chairs I’ve ever sat in.

I mean of all chairs, not just in a car.

The interior is relatively minimalist, but Citroen has included a bank of physical buttons for the important stuff.

The important numbers? A claimed 220-mile range in the smaller 50kWh version I was driving.

I managed to get 190 out of it on a full charge driving normally, so not too shabby.

Nicely, the e-C4 X supports 100kW rapid charging, which can top the battery to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.

Although running an electric car is cheaper than a petrol car, EV ownership is still only for the “haves” and not the “have nots”.

By which I mean people who HAVE a driveway and not those who HAVE NOT got a driveway.

Because without a home charger, forget it.

No wonder the Government has kicked the ban of petrol and diesel cars down the road.

This country has a very long way to go to ensure people who live in flats or terraced houses or don’t have a private driveway can get by with an EV.