CITROEN CACTUS

How practical is a designer car for tip runs?

In previous updates, I’ve focused on the diversity of the driving experience the i8 delivers, and that is still a trump card of i8 ownership. But, while driving the car is still utterly beguiling, it’s the i8’s looks that are drawing a crowd.

On every journey, the TG i8 becomes the star of many mobile-phone movies. The most common view in the rearview mirror is that of a driver getting up close to get a better angle on their phones. Every fuel stop, parking space and school run is punctuated by myriad questions, photos and, more often than not, people pleading to get inside and get a better look. And I don’t blame them.

Normally, after a few months of running a car, you are familiar with its best angles and finest details. But fve months into running the i8, I’m still discovering better angles and ever more complex details.

While its design is initially a futuristic assault on your senses, its complexity and the success of its detailing continue to grow on you. The fact that the design stayed so true to the original concept while managing to package the complex drivetrain, and still have room enough inside for four, is a huge achievement, and the response it gets on the road is testament to the success of this vision of the future.

I love the modern unfussy front end which morphs into a rear end defined by airflow. Initially, the focus of your attention is drawn by the fying buttresses, but look closer and lower and you’ll discover that the rear wheels sit within pontoons that allow airflow down the fanks and under the car to be maximised and drag reduced. Far too often, manufacturers’ visions of the future are articulated by amorphous design blobs or pods. The i8’s success is that it screams “I am the future!” in a way that design critics, petrolheads and environmentalists can all admire in equal measure... and that’s no small achievement.