Paul Horrell20 June 2014 First drive: the Citroen C4 Cactus Paul Horrell drives Citroens bubble-wrapped new hatch. Count him impressed PreviousNext Next1 of 12 Related content World exclusive: Top Gear drives a Formula E car A Cactus. Can it survive hostile environments thanks to its soft waxy skin? Yup, the C4 Cactus has a unique solution to the biffs of hard urban life. The outside is bubble-wrapped. Or more precisely it has Airbumps, oval pads of air embedded in sheets of a soft but high-tech and durable plastic. If an errant supermarket trolley or the door of the adjacent car nerfs the side of the Cactus, it will simply bounce off. And a Cactus can survive on very little fluid? Indeed. Theres a diesel that rates at better than 90mpg. Even this handy turbo petrol one manages better than 60, for 105g/km. Thats partly because of newly developed engines, but also because its sensationally light – some models under a tonne. And the turbo Im driving only 1020kg. It weighs less than a Fiesta, but is the size of a Focus. Very admirable Im sure. But this isnt the Consumers Association site. Youre not making it sound like much of a Top Gear kinda car. Then look at it. This is a beautiful piece of true design, wrapping function and desirability into a distinctive form. It cannily marries straight lines with pure curves in a modern but probably dateless way. Its instantly recognisable from a distance, but it bears close inspection too. And refreshingly, its not at all aggressive. Not sure why they sell this My First Caterpillar shade of toy yellow, because thats the wrong colour. You can get the Airbumps in four shades too, so youll seldom see two the same. Isnt it a bit crossover-y? Well, it has some of those elements – the slightly raised ground clearance, and the protective perimeter. The height is good for visibility and kerb-climbing, especially given the soft suspension. No doubt with winter tyres it would be fine for the odd gravel track. But theres none of the indelible whiff of pointlessness and confusion that haunts every on-road off-roader. Its an honest Focus-size hatch, albeit one with a very different ethos. Ethos? Sounds a bit quasi-intellectual. Well, its unashamedly non-sporting and comfort-biased. An immense amount of thought-power has gone into making it a car to relax and soothe you. The result of that objective could have been a car for people who dont like cars. Luckily the opposite has happened. It has soft springs and small engines – the most rip-roaring of them is 110bhp. With no need for hard cornering, they gave it squidgy, sofa-like seats. You wont find any references to cockpit design in the interior. Its all very homely. It feels spacious. The dash has been pared right back. Theres no bulky instrument binnacle, just a digital plate. No heater controls or stereo buttons – theyre all on the central touch tablet. The passenger airbag has, in a first, been displaced to the roof. Result is a distant, minimal dashboard and a huge top-loading glovebox. Instead of bulky padded door pulls, luggage-like straps do the job just as well. Its refreshingly simple to drive. No complex electronic aids, no difficult decisions, not much power or grip. It keeps your heartbeat low. That sounds like an excuse for a dull-driving blancmange. Well, in the melee of everyday roads, theres often more fun to be had driving a slow car briskly than a quick car slowly. The Cactus wallows a bit and rolls a lot, but it always tells you what its up to and is actually a cheery companion. And it goes better than youd think. They knew they wouldnt be installing big heavy diesel engines, or 4WD, or making a hard-cornering GTI. That means they didnt need an over-built skeleton to support those things. Or big brakes or over-specced cooling, or six speeds in the gearbox. So they used the DS3 platform instead of the new Peugeot 308 platform, and with the light powertrain too they saved 150kg. Then saved another 50kg with interior and equipment choices – no split-fold back seat, pop-out rear windows instead of wind-down. All of which means the 1.2-litre three-cylinders 110bhp, and the generous turbo torque that comes with it, is actually surprisingly adequate. And you can feel the lightness every time you turn the steering wheel. The tyres never seem to be working that hard. The steering is accurate and willing to turn, but it tracks straight on a motorway too. Does light translate to noisy and tinny? Not so much. You hear some white noise as the upper body pushes through the air at speed, but otherwise the powertrain and tyres are quiet. Many of the facia plastics are a bit on the light-and-hard side, but the lovely visual design distracts you. The only significant thing that feels a bit flimsy is the gear lever, which wibbles around a wide and ill-defined gate. You get used to it. If its the small platform, isnt it cramped? The wheelbase is stretched, so theres legroom for everyone. It might be a bit narrower than the Golf-class norm, but the front seats are wide. Because the back windows dont wind down, the door inners are carved out for your elbows. Anyway, even big cars seldom have a ride this supple. You seem to be liking it. A lot. Any downsides? I mentioned choices. All the way through, the designers have been careful to save weight and cost in some little-noticed areas so they can re-invest where you do notice. That means you might miss the split-fold rear seat or wind-down back windows. If you do, get a C4 Picasso. In the Cactus, that weight has been shaved, and that cost re-invested in, say, the Airbumps, and for the driver and passenger in interesting trim and the standard colour tablet. The cushioning seats are generous and welcoming to begin with, but after a few hours you might want more support. When can I get it? UK sales start in October. It cost from about £13k, for one that has pretty well all of the looks but is low on kit and power. A full-houser will be £18,000-ish. Thats really very reasonable given that the Cactus actually reminded us of a Rolls-Royce Phantom.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 09:26:07 +0000
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