Citroen C4 Cactus

C4 Cactus at a glance

From concept to Madrid production

The Cactus concept appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013 and gave an accurate preview of the production model. The finished C4 Cactus was presented in Geneva in March 2014. Production started in April 2014 at PSA's Villaverde plant in Madrid, and French sales began in June.

The car uses the PF1 platform of the C3 and DS3 rather than the larger C4 platform, despite the name. CAR Magazine put the weight saving over a regular C4 at about 200 kg. Aluminium panels and simpler components helped, and the test car weighed 1,020 kg. Launch trims were Touch, Feel and Flair. Flair Edition, Rip Curl and W versions followed in 2016; the W was soon dropped because of slow sales.

Airbumps and design

The Airbumps are pockets of air inside a thermoplastic polyurethane skin. Citroën fitted them to the doors and to parts of the front and rear, to protect the body from scuffs in car parks. They came in black as standard, with three other colours available at extra cost.

Inside, CAR praised the comfortable front seats and the quality for the price. The magazine also listed several economies. The rear side windows pop out instead of winding down, the rear bench does not split, and the steering column has no reach adjustment. Rear headroom and legroom suit adults up to about six feet.

Engines and gearboxes

The size comparison tool shows how the 4,157 mm Cactus measures up against a C3 or C4.

All petrol versions use the 1.2-litre PureTech three-cylinder, with or without a turbo. Diesels are 1.6-litre four-cylinders with 68–73 kW, sold first as e-HDi and later as BlueHDi.

CAR quoted a claimed 61.4 mpg (about 4.6 l/100 km) for the turbo petrol. Some versions used the ETG automated manual gearbox. From July 2019 the PureTech 130 was sold only with the six-speed EAT6 automatic. Our power converter translates the kW figures into PS and hp.

The 2018 facelift: comfort instead of protection

Citroën presented the revised car in October 2017, showed it at the Vienna Autoshow in January 2018 and delivered it from 14 April 2018.

• The side Airbumps became narrower, moved lower and lost their air chambers.
• New dampers with an extra hydraulic stop arrived under the Advanced Comfort label.
• Driver aids included emergency brake assist, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring and automated parking.
• Tail lights and the grille emblem were redesigned, and less matte plastic trim was used.

The PureTech 130 joined the range with 96 kW (131 PS), 41 kW more than the original PureTech 75. The Spanish plant built the car until 2020, when the third-generation C4 took its place without the Cactus name. Current models are listed in the Citroën catalogue.

The Brazilian C4 Cactus (2018–2024)

Before the facelift, South American buyers received cars built in Spain. From 2018 Citroën built its own version at Porto Real, Brazil, and sold it as a small SUV. It kept the roof bars, gained ground clearance and has conventional rear windows that roll down into the doors. Brazilian production continued long after Madrid stopped, with exports to the Mercosur countries and other Latin American markets.

Sales by year

Europe here means the EU27, the UK, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. European sales peaked at 78,888 in 2015, while Brazil reached its best year in 2021. In Germany, 25,799 cars were registered from launch to December 2021, with 6,272 in the best year, 2015.

Safety, awards and prices

Euro NCAP published its result on 1 October 2014 and gave the C4 Cactus four stars. Wikipedia notes that the car scored particularly well in the pedestrian tests.

The design brought several prizes:

• Top Gear Magazine's Hatchback of the Year in 2014;
• World Car Design of the Year in 2015, announced at the New York show;
• Car Design News Production Car of the Year in 2015;
• Auto Express Small SUV of the Year in 2017.

In the UK the car went on sale in October 2014 at £13,000 to £18,000 (about €16,000–22,000 at 2014 rates).