Prickles out, comfort in for Cactus
A squishy suspension underpins changes to Citroen’s quirky Cactus hatch, writes David Linklater.
Citroen wants to return to its roots of comfort and quirkiness. The new C4 Cactus, which goes on sale in New Zealand from next month, has a bit of both. The new C4 Cactus is technically a facelift, but yes – it does look very different to the outgoing model. And a lot more, well, normal.
There are slightly complicated reasons for this that involve some marketing semantics. Citroen has repositioned the C4 Cactus as a replacement for the now-defunct C4 hatchback – which was quite a conservative family model. Citroen’s Corolla, if you like.
So the front and rear styling have come more into line with the French maker’s current corporate look and away from the Lego-like design details of the old model. Most significantly, the massive Airbumps along the side have been made smaller and moved downwards, to the point where they’re really just rubbing strips like any other car.
Why not just call it the ‘‘C4’’ then? Especially when the one thing that gave the car its Cactus name, the prickly Airbumps that were there to ward off parking dents, have now pretty much gone. It’s a good question. The answer might be that there’s still a possibility of a new (non-Cactus) C4 in the next few years.
Because it’s just a facelift, you do retain some of the wacky design details of the previous model in the cabin. The main dashboard layout is the same as the original Cactus, with two standalone digital screens and a passenger-side that looks like somebody’s old-school luggage.
As for the rest, Citroen ironed out some of the cabin quirks when it updated the previous Cactus a while back. The move from a fourpot turbo-diesel to three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine also brought a change from a bench-like front seat arrangement to more conventional buckets, and the pushbutton gear selector that went with the old automatedmanual gave way to a conventional lever that operated a six-speed automatic.
That powertrain is carried over into the new Cactus. Hang on there. We’re not quite finished, because there have been some significant changes under the skin. Citroen’s new thing is a holistic design approach called Advanced Comfort, which is essentially a package of features (depending on model) intended to take the brand back to the cosseting occupant experience it was once famous for.
Cactus is the first Citroen to have Progressive Hydraulic Cushion (PHC) suspension: essentially, the main dampers have extra baby dampers at the top and bottom stops, designed to make the transition from one direction to the other much more progressive.
The Cactus also has Advanced Comfort seats, which offer a wider base and lots of high-density foam.
Citroen C4 Cactus Base price: $35,990. Powertrain and performance:
The PHC suspension is a fascinating concept that’s unique to Citroen; not even parent brand Peugeot gets to use it. At least not for now.
But it doesn’t really offer the magic carpet ride you might be expecting around town. The secondary ride is still imperfect: the suspension can react sharply to low-speed ripples in the road surface and crash into deeper ruts.
It’s at higher speed that PHC makes its presence felt. The Cactus ‘‘floats’’ over open-road undulations in a cushy but controlled manner. It really does bring back a little of that classic Citroen gait on the road.
As with the C3 hatchback and its Aircross cousin, the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder engine is a delight: strong low-down in the rev range but also happy to spin high and smooth if that’s your thing. Sadly not. That’s the downside of this being a facelift rather than a whole new thing: some stuff that was acceptable in a quirky, minimalist machine like the previous Cactus seems a little mean in a car that’s supposed to be all about family comfort.
So yes, the rear windows still only hinge open a crack rather than rolling down. The cabin plastics are still pretty hard (even if the styling looks cool) and the step up from the boot to the folded rear seats means it’s not nearly as load-friendly as the C3 Aircross. Given the new market position of the C4 Cactus, you really have to compare it with mainstream hatchbacks like the Volkswagen Golf or Mazda3.
In that context it’s a little flawed (those rear windows for example), but it’s also still bursting with character thanks to that engaging powertrain and proudly squishy suspension.
If you really do yearn for the more outrageous character of the old cactus, Citroen’s suggestion is that you step over into the fashionforward C3 Aircross SUV.
Despite the name, it’s actually around the same size as the Cactus, $1000 cheaper and offers a lot of scope for personalisation.