Citroen C4 Cactus
Citroen C4 Cactus £17,965
WE SAY: FUN AND QUIRKY GIVES WAY TO MAINSTREAM
The Citroen C4 Cactus launched, four years ago, as an immediate class hero. As small crossovers became ubiquitous, here was one deliberately cheap ’n’ cheerful, with a utilitarian attitude best demonstrated by the rugged Airbumps that ran down each door, protecting them from urban warfare.
For the facelift, those Airbumps have been minimised to a not especially useful strip at the bottom of the doors, becoming a visual metaphor for the whole car in the process. Citroen recently launched the C3 Aircross, a taller, more traditional small crossover, while the regular C4 hatchback has reached retirement. The result is a more mainstream C4 Cactus to fll a newly vacant hole in the company’s range.
So the Airbumps have shrunk, the materials inside are a bit posher and there’s a newfound focus on comfort: the seats are like a memory-foam mattress and there are new hydraulic bump stops in the suspension.
If you want the comfest hatch on sale, this is probably it. While not on the same plane as hydro pneumatic ally suspended Citroens of old, it smooths of the sort of imperfections that would rattle a Focus or Golf in a fancy trim line. Yet it’s also pretty perky to drive – any Cactus weighs less than 1,100kg. While not the last word in handling precision, it’s a good chuckle on a decent road, particularly with the punchy 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo engine up front. It’s fawed, though. Stuf that saved weight and cash in the old C4 Cactus – rear windows that pop out and a basic digital speedo with no rev-counter – are suddenly incongruous now it’s a rival for traditional hatches and has a £4k-higher base price. The Cactus’s platform is from a class below, so rear space is cramped for anyone over 5’9”.
We used to rate the C4 Cactus as our favourite small crossover. It was a trailblazer in making cars of its ilk deliberately less sporty and aggressive. But by trying to make it less niche in its appeal, Citroen has conversely made its place in the market a bit harder to fathom. It’s still a decent car, but against its supposed bunch of new rivals, it’s no longer a hero.