Cactus minus the spikiness

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LOSE YOUR EYES and try to picture the outgoing Citroën C4. You can’t, can you? On the other hand, the irst C4 Cactus was an interesting prospect – funky airbumps and clever lightweight engineering that hinted at Citroëns of old. Now the hatch has been dropped and the Cactus facelifted in a way that tones down its looks in the hope that it

can replace both cars. There’s tweaked front and rear styling, and no more airbumps.

It’s biased heavily towards comfort, receiving Citroën’s new Progressive Hydraulic Cushions to top and tail its suspension struts, along with Advanced Comfort seats. And it works. The C4 Cactus scores a bullseye for ride comfort. Insulation from rough surfaces is impressive, while the damping is worthy of a bigger, more expensive car.

There’s plenty of grip but also an aboveaverage amount of body roll, and the steering lacks feel and precision. Sporting it is not.

There’s a choice of two main speciication levels – both generous with the infotainment and safety kit – and three petrol triples and a diesel engine. The sweet spot is the 128bhp PureTech. The 1199cc petrol triple is sweet-sounding and delivers plenty of punch throughout the rev range. Weighing in at 1070kg, it’s a good 150kg below its rivals, and that means it’s quick enough to be entertaining, yet still exceptionally economical.

Inside it’s solid, functional and good looking, although the central touchscreen is overburdened by controls.

The old C4 Cactus was a joyous thing that some people found confusing. In facelifting it, Citroën has extended its appeal a little, while robbing it of some individuality.

Airbumps have gone, and front and rear tweaked, in a less quirky look for Cactus Mk2