Citro?n C4 Cactus production model keeps it weird and bumpy [w/video]

Thu, 06 Feb 2014

This is the new Citroën C4 Cactus, and it's what you get when you combine the designs of a Land Rover Range Rover Evoque and a Jeep Cherokee with a hint of woodie wagon. This is a fascinating and thoughtful little package, even if you aren't attracted by its appearance.

The Airbump system (those funny bumps on the doors designed to protect the sheetmetal from dings), which was originally shown on the Cactus Concept, is back for the production model, and will be available in four different colors. Citroën is pushing the customization angle as well, offering ten paint options matched with three different interior treatments.

Citroën isn't yet offering any information on what engines will be available, besides stating that start-stop-equipped PureTech gas engines and BlueHDi diesel will be featured, but it does offer some interesting metrics. Fuel economy and emissions for the diesel model sits at 91.1 miles per gallon on the European cycle and 82 grams of CO2 per kilometer, making it both exceptionally clean and fuel efficient. The gas engine, meanwhile, promises under 100 grams of CO2 per klick. While there's no doubting that this is down to a thrifty powertrain, Citroën's focus on weight reduction plays a big role as well.

Compared to the last C4, this car is 440 pounds lighter, tipping the scales at a scarcely believable 2,127 pounds. That is ridiculously light for any modern car, let alone a five-place crossover. Citroën cites a lightweight platform, an aluminum hood and other weight-saving tricks as contributing factors to this impressive figure. This is not some microcar, either – with a 102.3-inch wheelbase, its axles are only two inches closer together than a Ford Focus, though it's nearly seven inches shorter than the Blue Oval's hatchback overall. Key rivals are expected to include the Nissan Juke and Renault Captur.

There's much more on the Citroën C4 Cactus in the video and press release below. Have a look at those and the full gallery up top, and then hop into Comments and let us know what you think of this interesting offering from France.

CITROËN C4 CACTUS: NEW WORLD, NEW IDEAS

The New Citroën C4 Cactus offers more of what really counts
With simple design & smart functionality, C4 Cactus is comfortable, practical & stylish
Overall running costs are almost 20% less than the benchmark in the compact hatchback segment
200kg lighter than the Citroën C4 & powered by latest-generation Euro 6 engines
Fuel consumption of just 91.1mpg with CO2 from 82g/km
Reduced cost of ownership, with a range of innovative purchase schemes
The New Citroën C4 Cactus delivers a futuristic blend of form, function & low running costs, offering a bold response to the demands of today's motorists
Our world is changing and customer expectations are evolving at an increasingly rapid rate, which means ever greater demands on today's products and services. With the New C4 Cactus, Citroën has acknowledged these new customer requirements, offering a real alternative to the traditional compact hatchback.

Boasting a striking design, the New Citroën C4 Cactus stands out from its rivals in the competitive C segment, offering a unique style that is both functional and attractive. In doing so, Citroën meets a specific challenge – bringing customers more of what really counts.

The Citroën C4 Cactus heralds a new approach to automotive design, offering:

More design
Greater comfort
More useful technology
...with a reduced cost of ownership.
MORE DESIGN

The New Citroën C4 Cactus reconciles the characteristics of good looks and functionality, with unique styling that is both memorable and easily identifiable. This is a design that features:

Pure, smooth surfaces
Flowing lines, free of harsh edges
Floating quarter-lights & a floating roof
A high-tech light signature with daytime-running LED lights & headlights built into the Airbump® protection at the front
Visual features that each highlight a given function – from Airbump® & wheel arch protection to the strong useable roof bars and the large panoramic glazed roof with its advanced heat protection.
Airbump®: A Citroën Exclusive

Airbump® technology neatly sums up the fundamental purpose of design, to combine style and practicality.

Fitted to the sides of the car and the bumpers, Airbump® adds a graphic structure to the pure, smooth bodylines of the New Citroën C4 Cactus. Available in four colours (Black, Grey, Dune & Chocolate), they can be matched with the ten body colours and three choices of interior trim (Stone Grey Ambiance, Habana Highlight & Purple Highlight) to offer a wide range of customisation options.

Above all they provide real day-to-day protection, as the supple TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) skin comprises air capsules to absorb impacts. Airbump® requires no specific maintenance and directly contributes to cutting vehicle repair costs.

The result is an attractive, functional innovation that makes city driving a more relaxing experience.

Dimensions

The proportions of the New Citroën C4 Cactus are optimised for attractive styling, space and driving comfort, boasting:

A 2.60m wheelbase (equivalent to a Citroën C4) placing the emphasis on space
The dimensions of a compact hatchback (length: 4.16m, width: 1.73m)
An ideal profile in terms of styling with 1/3 glazed areas & 2/3 side panels
Optimised height of just 1.48m for improved aerodynamics
Shorter overhangs placing the wheels in the four corners.
GREATER COMFORT

The first way to provide greater comfort is to create more space for the driver and passengers, and to de-clutter the cabin to provide a friendlier, more relaxing environment.

The low dashboard, with its horizontal lines, creates more space for the front passenger and offers generous and easily accessible storage. This result was achieved by adopting a fully-digital interface and optimising the dashboard layout:

'Airbag In Roof' technology – transferring the passenger airbag to the roof & deploying it over the windscreen, rather than positioning it in the dashboard
Conventional control buttons replaced by a 7-inch touchscreen, grouping together all the main vehicle functions (including the air conditioning, media, navigation, vehicle settings, telephone, connectivity & driving aids)
The traditional instrument cluster replaced by a digital screen
On Efficient Tronic Gearbox (ETG) versions, the gear lever is replaced by an 'Easy Push' system.
This simplified function comprises a 'Drive, Neutral, Reverse' (D,N,R) selection control on the lower fascia and steering wheel paddles to allow the driver to change gears manually.

The driver and front passenger both gain from this new interior architecture. The wide front seats are designed in the style of a sofa, to create a more comfortable and user-friendly ambience in the cabin.

In the rear, passenger legroom is similar to that of the Citroën C4. With an equivalent wheelbase, New C4 Cactus provides the same amount of space, but with more compact exterior dimensions. At just 4.16m long – for easy driving and handling in the city – the New Citroën C4 Cactus also provides generous boot capacity of 358-litres.

The second way to enhance comfort is through the on-board environment, which should be both relaxed and elegant. The clean design lines of the cabin underpin the interior styling, while the overall effect evokes the theme of travel, with a nod to the world of luggage design, including:

Door handles that take the form of luggage inspired leather straps
A storage compartment on the top part of the dashboard, with hinge fittings & a relief pattern
Seat upholstery, door trim & dashboard in a choice of three colours; Stone Grey, Purple Highlight & Habana Highlight

MORE USEFUL TECHNOLOGY

With a focus on ease of use, connectivity and accessibility, the technologies featured on the New Citroën C4 Cactus focus on the real needs of today's motorists.

A fully digital & intuitive touchscreen interface

Fitted as standard, a 7-inch touchscreen featuring seven main control buttons gives access to a full range of modern vehicle functions, including:

Automatic air conditioning
Media (digital radio, audio streaming, connection of mobile devices & functions to store music or display photos)
Navigation (speed limit display, traffic updates & efficient route options)
Driving aids (reversing camera, Park Assist, programmable speed limiter & cruise control)
Telephone (hands-free function via Bluetooth®, phonebook access, display of profile photos & double call management)
Connected services (Citroën Multicity Connect portal via a 3G connection)
Parameter settings (including an interactive on-board manual).
All these controls are grouped on a single screen, ensuring they are always easily accessible.

Amongst the useful technologies is the Citroën Multicity Connect application portal. Controlled from the 7-inch touchscreen, this portal offers a range of apps designed to making life easier for all occupants. Applications include:

'Fuel' app, allowing motorists to find the nearest and/or cheapest service station
'Yellow Pages' & 'Trip Advisor' apps, which help to locate hotels & restaurants
'Michelin Traffic' app, providing live traffic information
'Coyote' app, providing alerts on high-risk roads
All applications are fully integrated with the driving interface, taking account of all vehicle-related information (position, speed, route, fuel level, etc.), to provide the right information at the right time and anticipating driver needs in all circumstances.

100% useful driving aids

For a more relaxed drive, the New Citroën C4 Cactus features a range of driving aids to make life easier:

Park Assist carries out parking manoeuvres automatically when a suitable space has been identified.
The driver only needs to operate the accelerator & brake
A reversing camera makes light work of parking manoeuvres with the image displayed on the touchscreen, providing greater visibility
Hill-Start Assist keeps the vehicle stationary for two seconds on a slope, allowing the driver to easily proceed on gradients of over 3% without the vehicle dropping back when the brake pedal is released
Static cornering lights provide an additional beam of light to illuminate the inside of bends, improving visibility & safety at corners & junctions
The Citroën eTouch service includes a localised emergency & assistance call system, depending on the country. These two 24/7 services are free for the life of the vehicle and feature an integrated SIM card. In the event of an incident or accident, they ensure that the emergency services can locate & reach the vehicle promptly.
Technological Innovations for increased comfort

The New Citroën C4 Cactus boasts a large panoramic sunroof featuring advanced heat protection (the best available on the market), designed to filter light and reflect heat. With protection equivalent to category-4 sunglasses, the sunroof provides effective protection from UV rays, while excellent light, heat and acoustic protection eliminates the need to fit a sunblind. As a result, vehicle weight is reduced by 6kg and weight distribution is also improved – the centre of gravity is lowered for a more balanced ride.

Driving comfort is further enhanced, thanks to 'Smart Wash' – a simple, ingenious innovation, removing visibility issues caused by washing the windscreen. With this technology, windscreen washer nozzles are built into the tips of the wipers and release just a small amount of fluid. This helps to maintain visibility and also halves the amount of fluid required compared to a conventional system.

REDUCED COST OF OWNERSHIP

While delivering more of what really counts for customers, the ownership proposition with the New C4 Cactus needed to be one that remained affordable. A vehicle budget includes not only the purchase price, but also the running costs (fuel, servicing, etc.) and Citroën's objective was to deliver an all-round cost-effective solution.

Supporting customers from purchase through to resale

Adopting an approach similar to mobile phone price plans, Citroën brings New C4 Cactus customers a range of funding options in the form of a monthly flat-rate or mileage-based payment, depending on the country.

This innovative service covers all expenditure, excluding fuel, during the period of the agreement: finance, insurance and servicing. For a fixed monthly payment, customers can select their preferred trim level (equipment, engine, etc.) and the level of service they require (type of cover, all-in or mileage based, etc.) without exceeding their budget.

Cutting fuel consumption

To reduce fuel consumption it is important to increase efficiency and to do away with the superfluous. By making the vehicle lighter, Citroën has been able to adopt smaller latest-generation engines, which reduce fuel consumption whilst maximising driveability.

The New Citroën C4 Cactus weighs just 965kg, 200kg less overall compared with a Citroën C4, a reduction achieved thanks to:

A compact, lightweight platform
Small latest-generation engines meeting the future Euro 6 standard (PureTech petrol & BlueHDi diesel with Stop & Start)
High-performance materials including very high yield-strength steel & aluminium front & rear beams
Weight-reducing features such as an aluminium bonnet, pop-out rear windows (-11kg) & a single-piece folding rear bench (-6kg)
As a result, the New Citroën C4 Cactus is available with a petrol version emitting less than 100g/km of CO2 and a diesel version emitting just 82g/km with impressive fuel consumption of 91.1mpg.
Breakthrough reductions in cost of ownership

Looking beyond fuel consumption, Citroën has reduced the overall running costs of the New C4 Cactus by almost 20% compared with the benchmark in the compact hatchback segment. As a result of the efforts made to optimise weight, the need to replace wear parts due to normal wear and tear has been significantly reduced. Repair costs are also considerably lower, thanks to Citroën's Airbump® technology.

By Brandon Turkus