Review of the new Citroen C4 1.6 HDI EGS

Automatic gearboxes used to be pretty unappetising things, only marginally preferable to a bad case of 'clutcher's leg'. This little-known medical condition occurs when a driver's left leg becomes super-developed through prolonged and excessive use of the clutch pedal. The afflicted are sometimes to be seen hobbling around in circles on roadside verges or filling station forecourts. Although the automatic gearbox had the capacity to eliminate the accursed clutch pedal for a less strenuous driving experience, it also came with definite drawbacks in terms of economy, performance and control. Today, however, technological advances are addressing these issues to an increasingly satisfactory extent. Could sequential manual systems like Citroen's EGS be about to consign the clutch to the history books?

It's probably going to happen but the day when manual cars are in the minority in the UK is still some way off. Today, the best performance-orientated sequential manual 'boxes can produce snappy shifts, imitate nifty heel and toe downchanges and achieve 0-60mph sprint times that would be beyond all but the most skilled drivers in the manual car. Self-shifting systems focused on economy now routinely achieve lower fuel consumption than equivalent manual models and the smoothest automatic set-ups deliver silky gearchanges that are all but imperceptible to the driver. The best of the modern self-shifting gearboxes have moved far beyond the role of mere labour-saving devices but none have yet pulled together the complete package at a price that will render them preferential to a manual in the eyes of the average buyer.

Citroen's latest stab at self-shifting superiority is known as the EGS or Electronic Gearbox System. The French manufacturer confidently wheels out the oft repeated claim that their set-up combines "the convenience of an automatic with the driver involvement of a manual" and, to be fair, it has a fairly good go. There's no clutch pedal or manual shift lever, at least not in the traditional sense. The cogs are swapped electronically by a computer and a robotised clutch but some element of driver control is maintained through the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters and a gearstick that, when flicked back and forth, also lets you hop up and down sequentially between the ratios. There will be many times when you just can't be bothered with all this though and the EGS has a fully automatic mode, which replicates the smooth shifts of a traditional automatic, for just such an occasion.

".the day when manual cars are in the minority in the UK is still some way off but systems like EGS bring it closer"

When you do feel like pressing on, the 'S' button next to the gearlever puts the EGS into sport mode, a setting where the gearchanges are quickened up by a few important fractions of a second to create a livelier feel behind the wheel. Another clever component of the system is the hill-start assist function that prevents the car from rolling away when you're trying to pull away up or down a gradient - a common problem with self-shifters of old. The system engages automatically when a gradient of 3% or more is detected; it then acts to hold the car stationary for two seconds after the brake is released giving the driver time to get on the throttle.

The EGS is available in Citroen's C4 family hatch paired with the popular 110bhp 1.6-litre HDi common-rail diesel engine. It's a powerplant that's biased more towards economy than performance and the fact that it's been mated to the EGS set-up tells you a lot about where the strengths of the gearbox itself lie. Citroen claim that the EGS achieves fuel savings of 6% over a manual C4 with the same engine: this translates into an excellent combined fuel economy figure of 63mpg.The presence of Citroen's Diesel Particulate Filter System (DPFS) helps to make this an extremely clean car in terms of soot in the exhaust gases and CO2 emissions of 120g/km make sure that the taxation burden is agreeably light as well.

The economical nature of the C4 1.6 HDI EGS along with its clever features and performance figures that are identical to the manual car (0-60mph in 11.2s and a 119mph top speed) mean that buyers should be content to pay a premium to get their hands on it. The fact that the premium required is only £550 and that this includes the DPFS particulate filter that isn't present on the standard car swings the balance even further in favour of the EGS. You'll need £16,095 for the SX 5-door hatchback and £900 more for the sporty VTR+ version while the three-door Coupe also weighs in at £16, 995 in VTR+ trim.

First impressions on climbing aboard the C4 are that 'this is going to take a bit of getting used to'. The steering wheel's hub doesn't turn with the wheel itself. It stays fixed in position as you round corners, the digital rev counter and the warning lights situated on a console above it. Any other information you might require is then available from a clear centrally mounted multi-function display on the top of the dash. It's all a bit unusual but, remarkably, after a few minutes on the road you really don't feel that anything's amiss.

There's little doubt that keen drivers will continue to swear by manual gearboxes for the time being. Despite the fact that the C4's manual isn't one of the most adroit in the family hatch sector, it still gives the feeling of control that a self-shifter can't. yet. What's also certain, however, is that the case for the latest sequential manual gearboxes such as Citroen's EGS is becoming increasingly compelling - particularly in the eyes of mainstream buyers who are less caught-up in the purity of the driving experience. The fact is that the best self-shifting cars are more convenient, more economical, almost as smooth and just as quick. We haven't yet reached the stage where the clutch pedal starts to look like a medieval torture device in the eyes of buyers but given the modest premium Citroen ask for their EGS, it's an option that must be worth considering.