Citroen C4 Cactus Flair Blue HDi 100 Review (2016)

Photo Citroen C4 Cactus Flair Blue HDi 100 Review

Citroen C4 Cactus Flair Blue HDi 100 (pictured) – odd but appealing

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This week we’ve had Citreon’s rather unusual C4 Cactus Flair Blue HDi 100 with a manual gearbox in for review and road test. Is it any good?

In a world where cars look the same and you can pigeon-hole just about every car by segment, the Citroen C4 Cactus is a bit of an oddity.

Built on what can best be described as supermini underpinnings. the Cactus contrives to be anything but, from it’s very unusual design to its quite commodious interior, it conspires to be a contradiction, and is a car that could probably only come from Citroen.

Marketed as a cheap as chips urban family runaround Citroen seem to want us to think of as the 21st century’s equivalent of a 2CV, you can buy this family-sized Citroen from under £13k.

But by the time you get up the Cactus model range to this week’s review car – the Citroen C4 Cactus Flair Blue HDi 100 – the price tag has inflated quite alarmingly to £18,285, which does leave buyers a lot of choice from the competition.

Still, different is good, and we have a week to find out what the Cactus is like, and if it’s really a modern take on Citroen’s glorious quirky past – from the 2CV to the SM – or just a clever marketing ploy.

Citroen C4 Cactus – Inside and Out

The first thing anyone notices about the Cactus – apart from the fact it’s from the ‘Fugly’ school of design – is the big rubber lumps on the side.

It’s not the most stylish car you’ll ever see, and it looks like it’s been built for practicality rather then visual appeal. But there’s something oddly appealing about it.

Those bigger rubber lumps – AirBumps – are designed to soak up the little car park dings and shopping trolley incidents that are a peril of urban motoring. They work, its just seems a shame they’re not extended to the back edge of the rear doors where they’d do even more good.

The front of the Cactus is a bit of a rounded lump, with double slit running lights atop simple headlights surrounded by black plastic, a Citroen double chevron in the middle and a lump of black plastic lower grill at the bottom.

The sides are dominated by the airbumps, the back end get more lumps of black plastic and the roof a pair of rails.

It’s not the most stylish car you’ll ever see, and it looks like it’s been built for practicality rather then visual appeal. But there’s something oddly appealing about it.

The interior’s in the same mould, with precious little on display apart from a centre infotainment screen which controls just about everything, and an unappealing oblong instrument binnacle in front of the driver which tells you speed, fuel and if you’ve got the wipers on. Really, that’s it.

Citroen has moved the passenger air bag to the roof, so you get a proper opening box on top of the dash to throw all your ‘stuff’ in. The shame is, it doesn’t extend down to where the glove box would be – so it’s not really any bigger – and the passenger ends up without an air vent.

The seats look pretty unappealing, but aren’t too bad at making you comfy, the back seats do fold down but in one lump so you need to be 6′ plus to reach the catches on both sides at the same time, and the back windows only open like an old fashioned quarter-light.

And yet it’s appealing, with the really simple interior functioning perfectly in everyday use, the back seat big enough for three proper size adults and the boot more able to take stuff than most of the competition. We did five-up and two dogs in the boot without complaint.

Citroen C4 Cactus – Performance & On the Road

Looking at the Cactus, you’d probably expect Citroen to do what it usually does and focus on comfort rather than handling. And you’d be right, and it’s made a pretty good fist of it.

True, there are perhaps a few more thumps and bumps transmitted to the cabin than a pneumatic suspension would permit, but considering the relatively lowly nature of the Cactus brief it’s quite acceptable.

Looking at the Cactus, you’d probably expect Citroen to do what it usually does and focus on comfort rather than handling. And you’d be right, and it’s made a pretty good fist of it.

But despite a setup that’s not designed to particularly engage the driver, the Cactus is not an unappealing drive, with good levels of grip unless you push too hard, when it’s likely to want to go straight on, but driven the right side of stupid the Catus is benign, grippy and capable.

The 99bhp diesel doesn’t offer enough performance to encourage you to be too aggressive, but it does a very good job of propelling the Cactus around, and combined with the low weight of the Cactus we managed 56.9mpg. A long way short of the official numbers, but proof most owners would probably see a 60mpg average.

Surprisingly, apart from a bit of wind noise, the Cactus seems just as at home at the motorway limit as its does around town.

Citroen C4 Cactus – Verdict

We have to admit the Cactus grew on us in the week we had it, and in the end we were sorry to see it go back.

We have to admit the Cactus grew on us in the week we had it, and in the end we were sorry to see it go back

It’s not a car to get excited by, but it is a car you could see being the perfect family workhorse; it’ll pile a surprising amount of bodies and stuff in, transport without fuss and do so in relative comfort and with relatively good economy.

The fact it’s also quirky – both inside and out – is a huge plus (even if there’s a feeling some of the quirkiness is more about making a statement than anything else), and it’s the sort of car you can imagine buying and just keeping as a family ‘do it all’ car.

With prices from as little as £13k, the Cactus can be cheap, but this Cactus costs £18.5k, and that’s a lot for what it is.

That said, the kit level is good, including parking sensors, rear view camera, Sat Nav, Hill start, Climate, electric windows, Bluetooth, Auto lights and wipers and much more.

The Citroen Cactus may be odd, it may have its faults, and it certainly isn’t good looking.

But it is strangely appealing.