Gallic quirkiness meets pragmatism in
new crossover hatchback
With the increasing diversification of the
new car market, finding a hitherto untapped niche is no easy thing. But the
Citroën C4 Cactus – which is not a C4 (we’ll come to that in a moment) and
bears little resemblance to a Cactus – is no easy thing to define.
If there’s anything Cactus-like about it,
it’s the car’s most notable design feature: the soft pads on its flanks. They are,
in some manner, like a Cactus’s spikes in that they’re a defence mechanism, but
they visually differentiate the Cactus from the pack, too. They add a
ruggedness to the hatchback, although that isn’t backed up by a raised ride
height or four-wheel drive. Throw in an eye-catching price, then, and what do
you have? A new niche?A DS-like sub-brand? Just what is its closest rival?
We’ll investigate more in a moment, but
suffice to say: who else could make this car than the company that brought us
the DS and the 2CV? But whether our C4 Cactus HDi 100 Flair is as compelling as
its name appears to be is something we’ll discover over these eight pages.
The
C4 Cactus is one of Citroën's most attention-grabbing models
Design And Engineering
There’s a bit of subterfuge involved in the
nomenclature of the C4 Cactus, which is regrettable because, in every other
way, this is an entirely straightforward, honest small car.
The Cactus isn’t a C4 at all. Developed
around PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s ‘PF1’ supermini platform, mechanically this is
actually another bigger sibling for the C3. Although the car’s wheelbase is a
match for the C4’s, its width is identical to that of the C3 Picasso.
The car sits slightly uncomfortably in
whichever established market segment you place it, which Citroën can take as a
compliment to originality. The French firm argues that this is just a
ruggedised, right-sized, budget C-segment hatchback – a bit like a
roughty-toughty Skoda Rapid Spaceback. To us, it seems a closer match for the
burgeoning B-segment crossover market – next to the Dacia Duster, Nissan Juke
and Renault Captur.
Citroën
claims that this is the world’s first car-park-damage-proof car. Its Airbump
panels are made of thermoplastic polyurethane and filled with pockets of
compressed air to damp impacts from doors, trolleys and other cars
Either way, the Cactus is plenty of car for
the money – largely because it represents back-to-basics, necessity-driven
motoring done with a twist of Gallic flamboyance. If a small French car doesn’t
absolutely need it, the Cactus won’t have it. But the one thing that every
small French car needs to do is stand out – and the Cactus certainly does that.
Supermini underpinnings were chosen because
they’re robust, cheap and, most important, light. Citroën claims that this car
would have been 200kg heavier if it had been built on the larger ‘EMP2’
platform.
The engine range includes 74bhp, 81bhp and
108bhp 1.2-litre petrols (the last in that list is PSA’s latest e-THP turbo) as
well as 91bhp and, tested here, 99bhp 1.6-litre turbodiesels. Although the
plastic body cladding and wheel arch protectors suggest otherwise, four-wheel
drive isn’t offered.
Plastic
cladding on the tailgate echoes the colour of the Airbumps, which are black as
standard but also come in stone grey, dune beige and chocolate brown
Interior
Even if you don’t go a bundle on the
Cactus’s styling – and to us, it seems easy to like – you’ll forgive the car
largely because it has so obviously been designed from the inside out. You get
an unmistakable sense of that from the driver’s seat, which is wide and
comfortable for such a small car. Head and elbow room are generous and there’s
great forward visibility.
The fascia in front of you is low and,
rather than looking sparse or bare, has plenty of interesting design features
and ritzy touches to occupy your attention. In some ways, it’s bold in its
simplicity; aside from one line of buttons atop the centre stack functional
operation of the car is confined to two LCD screens, a steering wheel, a handbrake
and three pedals. There really isn’t much else to concern or distract you;
heating and ventilation settings and the like are all controlled via a central
seven-inch colour touchscreen. Unless you’re looking for distraction – at which
point you’ll find the designer luggage-inspired interior door handles and
glovebox.
Minimalist
cabin of the Citroën C4 Cactus creates a fantastic ambience
There’s a handy little shelf perfectly
proportioned for your smartphone, large door bins and a large, convenient button
by your right knee to activate the child locks for the back doors. Pragmatic
inclusions like this abound. Likewise, motorbike-inspired consoles, removable
multi-storey storage boxes and other gimmicky features of the kind offered in
other crossover superminis are notable by their absence.
Although you don’t expect soft-touch
mouldings throughout for a starting price of just under $22,245, it’s
disappointing to find such hard, scratchy plastics on the less showy parts of
the interior. The car should really offer a smidge more second-row headroom and
reach adjustment on the steering column, too. So this is a merely good cabin,
but it’s within sight of being a very good one.
Front
seats are wide and comfortable and the fascia is unobtrusive, but classic
French ergonomic design means the footwells are shallow and the pedals close
Performance
The 1.6-litre turbodiesel is offered with
two power outputs – 91bhp and 99bhp – in the Cactus, and it’s the more powerful
version that nabs our attention. Both are equipped with five-speed manual
gearboxes as standard, rather than a six-speeder, but we’ve no qualms with that
if the ratios are spread evenly and make for a decent, relaxed cruise.
