Mercedes-Benz S-Class vs Citroen C4

What's the difference?

It's only in the running for the title of world's best luxury car. No biggie here, then.

Like Rolex and Concorde, S-Class has become a byword for ultimate, and deserved or not, the Mercedes-Benz defines its segment despite the best efforts of the BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, Lexus LS and (sadly now-defunct) Jaguar XJ, as well as pointing the way forward with new technologies that eventually trickle down to more proletarian models.

Replacing the half-million selling W222 unveiled in 2013, the W223 is the latest in a long line since the first W187 Ponton debuted in 1951, and includes the famous ‘Finnies' and Stroke-8 models that followed immediately afterwards, but it is the 1972 W116 that really set the template.

Now, seven generations in, the 2021 S-Class is all-new again, with progressive safety and interior features that should help keep it Australia's bestselling full-sized upper-luxury sedan.

Citroen is a brand in a state of flux as it, once again, finds itself fighting to find a distinct identity from its Peugeot sister brand under its new Stellantis parent company.

It’s also had a shocker of a year in Australia, racking up just over 100 sales in 2021, but the brand is promising new beginnings, and a new crossover-y identity as it heads into 2022.

Leading the charge is the new-generation C4, which has morphed from a funky hatchback to a funkier SUV-like shape that it hopes will set it apart from related cars like the Peugeot 2008.

Other Citroens are set to follow in its footsteps in the immediate future, so is the Gallic marque onto something? We took the new C4 for a week to find out.