Simple, practical, cheap and boldly
designed, the Cactus is a true Citroën for the 21st century
The new Citroën C4 Cactus is a serious
game-changer for Citroën. It’s the quirky French company’s first in-house
crossover (there have been rebadged Mitsubishis recently) and one that
represents a paradigm shift in the way it presents its products. Yes, this
could be marketing drivel, but the Cactus is darn good and will have the Nissan
Juke and other crossovers worried.
The
C4 Cactus is one of Citroën's most attention-grabbing models
Let’s get one subject out of the way first,
though: ‘airbumps’. All C4 Cacti have been diagnosed with them, and there’s no
cure. The only course of treatment is a choice of four colours for these
air-filled plastic pockets along the Cactus’s flanks, which help to break up
what would otherwise be slab-sided, simple doors. Citroën says that the
airbumps took three years to develop, so they won’t fade, split or otherwise
wear out, and will supposedly last the life of the car. The same plastic
material is also stretched over the Citroën’s tailgate, surrounding its tail
lamps, and is spread below its lower headlamps and across the front for a
two-tone visual impact that can make diverse-coloured Cacti look remarkably
different. It’s only the doors carrying those pronounced pockets of air though,
to prevent minor impact damage while adding some welcome visual drama.
Minimalist
cabin of the Citroën C4 Cactus creates a fantastic ambience
It’s no surprise this car has come from the
designer formerly responsible for Citroën’s concept cars, and the funky,
style-led DS3 hatchback. Mark Lloyd says that the airbumps may or may not have
a life beyond the Cactus – which looks nearly identical to the concept car
first shown at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show – but that the simplistic,
practical ethos will spread across the range. How does this sit with the other
half of Citroën’s offerings, the upmarket-aspiring DS-line? ‘They’re very
different approaches – I mean pretty radically different approaches,’ Lloyd
tells CAR. ‘Citroën had the DS and the 2CV on the market at the same time, and
both were pretty radical yet different.’ so this is a modern-day Citroën 2CV?
That’s a daunting benchmark if ever there was one…
Based on the C4 saloon’s old and cheap
Platform One, the slick-looking Cactus hasn’t been engineered to carry eggs
across fields – as was the 2CV – yet every inch surprises with another cool
detail: those striking LEDs, the way the glossy roof-rails have been carefully
shaped, and the embossed Citroën lettering across the tailgate. It’s all very
basic, not in an austere way but with genuine charm. ‘We’ve got out of the
paradigm of current automotive design which is quite, in my eyes, complex –
there’s an awful lot of structure and sculpture and detail going on,’ says
Lloyd. ‘We’re getting back to simpler things.’
Goodbye
instrument binnacle; all the information is presented digitally
The cabin puts a Nissan Juke’s to utter shame.
The dash has been unpacked and rebuilt to be less physically imposing, with
more space thanks to the passenger airbag’s exile to the roof; there’s a more
useful glovebox instead. It also helps the cabin feel much more spacious and
airy, despite the high waistline and flat roof. The displays – all digital –
start with that slim instrument bar ahead of you, which is easy to read yet
still offers a touch of retro. There’s also a standard 7in touchscreen on all
UK cars, for the optional sat-nav and apps, with a click feel when you push it
supposedly inspired by 1970s reel-to-reel recorders.
