Citroen C4 Cactus SUV: cheap and comfortable

Price: £12,990 - £18,190

Pros: Eye-catching looks, very cheap to run, spacious interior

Cons: No four-wheel-drive option, cheap interior plastics, rear windows don't wind down

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4.2/5, Carbuyer "The Citroen C4 Cactus is the latest in a new range of

Citroen

models that hopes to reproduce some of the quirky style that made models such as the old Citroen 2CV so appealing. Eye-catching features that mark it out include Citroen's Airbump rubber panels (to protect the car's flanks from scratches and shopping-trolley knocks), its high-mounted front lights and its ‘floating roof’, which appears to be disconnected from the rest of the car. The Citroen Cactus is quite hard to categorise: its tall body gives it the look of a crossover – such as the Nissan Juke or Skoda Yeti – but its space-age styling and trendy interior could well help it steal sales from the likes of the MINI 5-door and Fiat 500L. Citroen has kept things simple with the Cactus. The rear windows only push out (rather than wind down) and despite the car's SUV-like looks, it's not available with four-wheel drive. The Cactus is 200kg lighter than the standard Citroen C4 hatchback, although under the skin it actually shares more in common with the Citroen C3. The three petrol-engined cars can return more than 60mpg and no version costs more than £20 a year to tax. The most economical Citroen C4 Cactus is the diesel BlueHDi 100, which can return 90mpg and is free to tax. The Cactus is quicker than you might expect, but it's been set up with

comfort

in mind and there's noticeable roll in corners."

4/5, Auto Express "Citroen has broken the mould to create a comfortable, fashionable and affordable small car - a return to what it's good at."

4/5, What Car? "For the same money you could buy a Ford Fiesta and have something that's much better to drive and nearly as practical. However, if you want a small car with a hint of SUV about it, the new Cactus is a seriously tempting choice."