There is evidence of the oddness which permeates the C4 Cactus even at the point where you say its name. You might be deceived by this into thinking that it's a derivative of the C4 hatchback, but in fact it's more closely related to the smaller C3 and DS3.
It looks quite different from either, since it's a sort of crossover, and as such a rival for the Nissan Juke and Skoda Yeti. Uniquely in this sector, or indeed in any other sector, it has thermoplastic polyurethane body protectors at the points most likely to be bumped into by other vehicles.
Several of these have air pockets (airbumps, Citroen calls them) which deflect on impact but then, assuming the hit hasn't been too vicious, return to their original shape as if nothing had happened.
This is the best idea Citroen has had in decades. And what's even better is that if the protectors become damaged beyond repair, or you simply decide you'd prefer ones of a different colour, you can simply replace them.
There are other nice touches too. The front passenger airbag is mounted in the roof rather than the dashboard, which leaves plenty of space for a reasonably large and very easily accessible glove compartment. The front door pulls are leather straps, and those in the rear double as small storage compartments (other, larger ones, can be found further down the same moulding).
I know I'm not alone in thinking that this sort of innovation is what Citroen - a company which after all has the Traction Avant, the 2CV and the original DS in its history - should be doing more often. I certainly wish it had applied it more thoroughly when designing the C4 Cactus. For example, the car sits quite high but is not unusually tall, so the windows are shallow and the windscreen in particular is rather letterbox-shaped.
And the huge rear pillars, which make looking backwards before reversing almost pointless and could cause claustrophobia among more sensitive rear-seat occupants, are an example of Citroen not so much creating a new fashion as slavishly following the silly current one.
The rear load sill is very high, and the luggage capacity to the parcel shelf with the rear seats up is 358 litres, or about the same as a Juke but much less than a Yeti. That's with a tyre repair kit. A space saver spare wheel is available as a £75 option, and although it will (despite the name) take up more space, it's still worth investing in if you don't want to be stranded in situations where the repair kit won't help you.
The rear windows pop out rather than wind down, and the seat isn't split-folding, which might be annoying in some circumstances. These things are part of a campaign to save weight, which is probably also responsible for the high noise levels from the test car's 1.6-litre 99bhp diesel engine. It's never offensively rattly, but at no time are you left in doubt that you're in a diesel car.
Performance is moderate, but Citroen has not attempted to make the Cactus a quick car, and the BlueHDi is actually the second quickest model in the range after the 108bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder PureTech petrol turbo. 0-62mph isn't too bad at 10.7 seconds, and the car picks up quite well when it's on the move too, but you can floor the pedal in an attempt to unleash more power and find that you were using most of it already.
The handling matches the performance adequately, and the ride is okay, if a little wobbly on some road surfaces. The steering feels a little loose, the gear change more so, but not many people are going to have a problem with that.
The test car was in Flair specification, the highest of three in a list which also includes the Touch and the Feel. For a not unreasonable £17,990 you get satellite navigation, automatic air-conditioning Bluetooth connectivity, heated and electrically adjustable door mirrors, 17-inch diamond cut alloy wheels, automatic headlights and wipers, front fog lights with cornering function, front armrest storage, unhelpfully tinted rear windows and extremely important rear parking sensors and reversing camera, none of them available as standard on the cheaper Touch or Feel.
