Sector: Lower medium Price: £14,645–£19,990 Fuel: 60.1–85.6mpg CO2: 86–110g/km

With the C4 Picasso and C4 Cactus, Citroën has a pair of very strong products at the core of its range. The downside is the basic C4, without the weight-saving innovations or the clean new family design, has aged prematurely as a result.

On sale in the UK from April, the refreshed version arrives almost five years after the second-generation C4 originally launched. Behind new three-dimensional front and rear light internals, a couple of additional shades of grey paintwork and some fresh alloy wheel designs, it’s taking steps to define itself as a model in its own right, separate from the visually similar DS 4, and it looks all the better for what is really a subtle change.

Minor exterior tweaks are matched with familiar PSA Peugeot-Citroën technology inside the cabin. The dashboard now features a seven-inch touchscreen display, as used on most of the group’s new products, which neatly groups navigation, media and telephony controls into the screen, allowing Citroën to significantly reduce the number of physical buttons on the centre console.  While it's fiddly at first, it's a better layout than the old car and, unlike the C4 Picasso and Cactus, this still has proper air conditioning controls.

But it isn’t standard equipment. All except the top-spec Flair trim get a black-on-orange LCD display and the same scattering of buttons as the old car, with a blanking plate across the bottom of what would be the screen. Upgrading costs a very reasonable £460, or £900 with navigation, on the mid-spec Feel trim and for the functionality it brings it’s probably worth having.

Line of sight materials are generally high quality and soft to the touch and there’s plenty of room in the front and back – the latter is compromised by the optional panoramic roof though. The boot is one of the segment’s largest and a wide, usable shape, but the rear seats don’t fold flat with the floor.

Citroën is marking itself out as a brand with wellbeing, rather than sportiness, woven into its identity. So the C4 rides smoothly over even the roughest surfaces on its smallest wheels, but isn’t a car which likes to be rushed. Comfortable front seats, now available with a massage function, and effortlessly light steering feed into that ethos.

It also makes good sense on paper. Pricing is aggressive and the almost all-new engine range is competitive. This now comprises 110 or 130bhp turbocharged three-cylinder petrols, and three BlueHDI diesels with 100, 120 and 150bhp. On 16-inch wheels, all diesel versions now emit 98g/km or less and, with the optional £200 Stop and Start system, the BlueHDI 100 returns 86.6mpg and emits 86g/km. That’s not far behind the C4 Cactus.

So the C4 shapes up well – it’s understated, comfortable, practical and now has the fuel efficiency it needed to be a competitive part of this segment. The problem, though, is it’s sharing a showroom and nameplate with two excellent products, and it still feels a little dated by comparison. In a sector packed full of brilliant, desirable hatchbacks, the C4 remains an entirely head-over-heart choice.

Verdict:

The C4 is a good car, and lower running costs will make it more attractive. But, it's possibly a little anonymous in this segment, even against its stablemates.