Citroen C4 Cactus PureTech 82 2015 Review

Citroen and quirkiness have traditionally gone hand in hand (apart from the period from the 1990s to the early noughties when the Gallic marque turned out a succession of bland offerings), and the C4 Cactus certainly lives up to its oddball ancestors.

Even the name is kooky, but undoubtedly the French aren't aware of the colloquial meaning of "Cactus" in Aussie slang [Ed: we reckon they should build a Cactus RS].

Be that as it may, the C4 Cactus (the C4 prefix is actually a misnomer as the vehicle is based on the same PF1 platform as the DS 3) is an intriguing addition to the C-segment crossover brigade, and it will take on the likes of the Nissan JUKE, Mazda CX-3 and Renault Captur when it launches here next January.

Local spec levels and pricing will be announced closer to the launch date, but expect a starting price around the $25k mark.

It's likely Oz-spec cars will be offered with a choice of two engines – an 81kW 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol and a 67kW 1.6-litre turbo-diesel four. However, this scribe sampled the naturally aspirated 1.2-litre thee-cylinder version, which us unlikely to be sold here.

The Cactus has a compact footprint, measuring just 4157mm from bumper to bumper, 1761mm across the bows and 1480mm in height, which means it's smaller than its key rivals.

That said, it's got an okay-sized (358-litre) boot and enough space to seat four adults in reasonable comfort – or five at a squeeze. There is a slightly claustrophobic feel inside as the relatively small glasshouse deprives the cabin of a bright airy ambience.

Although pushing out just 60kW and 118Nm, the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated C4 Cactus we tested felt far livelier than the modest outputs had led us to believe, and part of the reason for this no doubt lies in the car's waif-like 965kg kerb weight.

The engine is a new-gen powerplant, and compared to the old four-cylinder unit it replaces, Citroen claims it's 25 per cent lighter and has 30 per cent lower internal friction losses.

Driving the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox, the 1.2-litre unit has a distinctive three-pot beat and, although not lightning-quick off the mark, there's adequate reserves of mid-range torque.

Despite its pseudo off-roader pretensions, the Cactus is a front-drive-only vehicle with MacPherson struts up front and a simple torsion beam set-up at the rear.

It does the job well enough on the blacktop, with tidy handling in normal conditions. We didn't tackle any sinuous mountain passes, but our preliminary impression is that there are no glaring dynamic shortcomings as the Cactus feels light-footed and well-sorted for the most part.

Citroen hasn't gone overkill with the brakes either, as the front discs are non-vented, while at the rear the Cactus makes do with drums.

The company claims this set-up is adequate for a car as light as the Cactus, and we certainly didn't notice a lack of stopping power during our three days with the car, during which we covered a mix of inner-city trundling and freeway schlepping.

It cruises in relative comfort, although lacking the silken ride its ancestors were famous for. The seats aren't particularly cosseting either, with a fairly flat squab and backrest. The rear bench also folds down as a whole, rather than being split-fold, which limits practicality somewhat.

It's clear Citroen has kept an eye on keeping costs down in the Cactus, and one of the areas you'll notice this is the inexpensive trim materials used throughout the cabin. There are, however, some interesting design elements, such as the rectangular instrument binnacle that harks back to 1960s Citroens.

But of course the most noteworthy design feature is those 'Airbumps' (plastic panels with air capsules) on the Cactus's flanks. These are meant to absorb dings inflicted by other vehicles in carparks, as well as those that would be caused by doors carelessly flung open in cars parked adjacent to it.

It's a clever feature, but the biggest potential win for Citroen is that it gives the Cactus a visual identity unlike anything else on the road. Whether or not it's aesthetically pleasing is another matter. We'll leave it up to you to make your own call on that…

Also helping the Cactus stand apart from the horde are the slitty headlights, bulbous nose, floating roof and high shoulder line of the car. It looks rugged and sporty-ish, and this alone may be enough of a hook for some potential buyers.

Another pioneering innovation is a 'Magic' wash is a system that allows for a 1.5kg saving in the size of the windscreen washer bottle. What's more, the washer nozzles are integrated into the wipers themselves to eliminate the wastage that results from dissipation with conventionally mounted nozzles.

All told, the Cactus stacks up as a quirky and interesting car, and if Citroen gets the value-for-money equation right in Australia, it could fare reasonably well here, especially as it's also quite frugal (the 1.2-litre atmo model we tested has a claimed consumption figure of just 4.6L/100km).

The 1.2 turbo model that we're likely to get in Oz won't be as parsimonious as this, but that will be offset by peppier performance that should make it feel quite lively (for its segment). We'll know the answer to that when we test this variant on home soil.

For now, we applaud Citroen for at least thinking outside the box. The Cactus isn't a landmark car, but it's bound to raise a few eyebrows when it starts appearing on local roads.

2015 Citroen C4 Cactus PureTech 82 pricing and specifications:
Price: $TBA
Engine: 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol
Output: 60kW/118Nm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Fuel: 4.6L/100km (NEDC Combined)
CO2: 172g/km (NEDC Combined)
Safety Rating: Four-star (EuroNCAP)