This article is more than 1 year old

Citroën C4 Cactus BlueHDi: A funky urban crossover

But this car is more style than substance

Lightweight bonnet and a glass lid

To save weight the bonnet is aluminium, the rear windows are pop-outs and the folding rear bench is a single-piece affair. The glass roof is coated to keep out UV and heat which saves the 6kg weight of a conventional blind and motor. Weighing in at just 965kg, the Cactus is 200kg lighter than the Citroën C4.

cactus_cabin

Cabin looks the part but this driver found it hard to get comfy

The fly in the ointment is that while the Cactus’s cabin is undoubtedly a very stylish place to sit it’s not entirely a comfortable place – at least when you are on the move. I found it impossible to get wholly comfortable behind the wheel because it’s not fully adjustable. On long journeys I actually found my arms aching.

Again, speaking personally, the window controls are placed too far forward on the doors for easy reach and the driver's footrest is way too high. Her indoors, meanwhile, was miffed that there was no vanity mirror for the passenger – though there was one for the driver.

cactus_nose

Hints of the Iron Monger in the Cactus' rounded front end

At least there is beaucoup space in the Cactus. Despite sitting on the same floorplan as the smaller Citroën C3 and DS3 (another reason it’s lighter than the C4 proper) the C4 Cactus is a much more spacious bus. As a demonstration of how to squeeze a pint into a half pint container, it’s pretty impressive.

I was worried that the low roof-line would be an issue for my 5’11” but it proved not to be. Visibility wasn't bad, either, apart from out of the rather shallow rear window. My car came with reversing cameras so going backwards wasn’t a problem.

cactus_boot

Cactus uses C3 underpinnings but offers C4 space

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like