Mad for mods
ome things just shouldn’t work. The GLA 45 AMG is one of them. A hot mini SUV, you say? Hmmm.
Surprisingly, it is quite brilliant. A proper hoot. But if you have a more sedate GLA like my 220 CDI and like the look of the AMG kit and fancy a bit of that performance, you could always give the guys at Brabus a call.
They can tune your 220 diesel to give it an extra 40bhp and peak torque of 302lb ft. Combine that with a stainlesssteel exhaust and that rattly old engine will be a lot more exciting.
If you’re a fan of the AMG’s look, there’s all sorts of kit to bolt on. How about 21-inch Monoblock alloys? Or a rear difuser for that quad exhaust? You can liven the handling up by dropping it an inch on sport springs or even raise it by 1.2 inches. Personally, I would take the engine mods and the wheels and keep it a bit more stealthy.
S2143cc, 4cyl turbodiesel, 4WD, 168bhp, 258lb ft 55.4mpg, 132g/km CO2 0–62mph in 8.1secs, 134mph 1535kg £30,030/£32,105 m a neophiliac. It’s a common condition among critics in all felds. We’re drawn to the new, because it gives us something to say. A car that’s the same as all the rest is frankly a struggle to write about. So I’m attracted to the C4 Cactus and the new thinking it embodies.
Careful, though. It’s novel to travel backwards on a pogo stick, but you wouldn’t do it for thousands of miles. We think the Cactus will be an engaging long-term companion as well as a diverting short-term novelty. But we want to fnd out for sure, and that’s why it’s in the TG Garage.
It’s just arrived, so you’ll have to stay tuned. But so far, confned to London, I’m loving the style and the soft suspension and seats. And you do sense its lightness: the cheery but quiet turbo triple propels it with delightfully little sign of efort.
Cactus-ness is supposed to save in some places to gain in others. That’s why you get simple pop-out rear windows that save weight and add storage space in the doors, and most importantly cut cost that’s moved into other features. Same goes for the nonsplit rear seat. I wonder how I’ll get on with that, as two or three times a year I use such a feature. I’ll have to pack more creatively.
But even with such cost saving, this one is almost £20k, which isn’t enough actual saving, because it’s over-optioned. The top Flair trim brings nav and an upgraded stereo and a reversing camera, all of which I’d defnitely keep. That’s £17,190. But this pearly paint is £730. I’d go for fat turquoise or grey at £250 (in that industry-standard As the passenger airbag is housed in the roof, the glovebox opens upwards. No more avalanches of personal efects... havin’-a-laugh way, the only £0 paint is yellow). Its brown part-leather is £695, but you can have a brown-toned cabin in cloth at £295. Brown airbumps are £150, but it’s individual enough with black ones (free). There’s a grand saved.
I could live without the £395 sunroof because its big glass surface refects noise back into the cabin. It’s like the echo from ceramic tiles that tells the caller you’ve answered the phone in the toilet. It has £325 self-parking. No need, because of the standard reversing camera. There’s another £720 chipped away, then. This car’s other options are Citroen’s emergency call system (£250 and expensive till you need it) and a spare wheel at £75. I don’t resent that being optional. You might want extra bootspace; I’d prefer the security of a spare.
REPORT 6
£
6505 Owen Norris
Are crossovers workable family cars?
60.1mpg, 107g/km CO2 £ Total mileage 3530 Driver Paul Horrell Why it’s here Is the Cactus more than a quirky novelty?
PURETECH 110 FLAIR