Cactus is hardy enough to take any hit
IF you’re a shrinking violet type who shies away from the limelight then the Citroen C4 Cactus is probably not the car for you.
If, however, you embrace modern and striking design concepts and like to convey this in the car you drive, then look no further.
The C4 Cactus is outrageously bold in its design, with stand-out Airbumps that are guaranteed to attract attention.
Then there are the pop-out rear windows that are quirky but also practical as they are weight-saving – all design cues that show Citroen is looking to the future.
This particular car was set off with bright red paintwork which contrasted beautifully with the black Airbumps and 17in black alloys. And that dark theme continued with black pillars, tinted glass, plus black roof rails and side mirrors.
For anyone not familiar with Airbumps, they are thermoplastic polyurethane panels fitted to the sides of the car. They took three years to develop and Citroen took out nine patents along the way. Some rigorous testing proved the bumps could withstand quite a battering, so you needn’t worry about the likes of shopping trolleys or neighbouring car doors banging into the side of the Cactus.
The interior of the C4 Cactus is neatly laid out with lots of on-board technology to be explored, especially in the Flair edition, which was priced at £17,720 (increased to £20,720 with options fitted).
Creature comforts included a six-speaker sound system, touchscreen, satnav, Bluetooth connectivity, media streaming and automatic air conditioning.
The car was powered by a three-cylinder, 1.2-litre 110bhp petrol engine mated to a sixspeed automatic gearbox. It can get from 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds, tops out at 117mph and can return combined fuel economy of 61.4mpg with carbon emissions of 106g/km.
The car is comfortable, with nice firm seats and a very driver-focused cabin with instrumentation ideally positioned.
My only real gripe was the lack of steering wheel adjustment. You can move the seat up and down, back and forth, but a little more flexibility in the wheel would have been appreciated. I also asked two other people to try the car for driving position comfort and they both agreed.
That aside, the Cactus was a delight to drive. It whizzed through traffic with ease and the driver benefits from excellent all-round visibility.
On the open road, there was ample power to keep pace motorway speed.
The auto gear shifts were smooth and responsive and the cabin remained fairly well insulated against the outside noise.
Road-holding is decent for a small SUV with fairly high sides and the soft suspension irons out most of the roads bumps and dips.
It can be a little bouncy on uneven roads, but that was partly down to the 17in wheels. It is available with smaller ones, which would be more comfortable for long runs.
The five-door Cactus has enough room for four adults to travel comfortably; a fifth can be squeezed in for shorter journeys. Storage is impressive too, with a boot capacity of 358 litres rising to 1,170 litres with the rear seats down.
All in all, the C4 Cactus is a fabulous car.