Mirror motoring columnist Richard Hammond is impressed with Citroen's
ingenious new version of the C4 which is packed with innovative features
So what are we looking at?
Something very stylish, that’s for sure. Stylish and functional.
Those bits of coloured cladding on the sides and front and back are what Citroen calls Airbumps. They’re made from thermoplastic polyurethane and include tiny air capsules that absorb impacts.
The result is fewer dings and dongs from supermarket car parks to be repaired and therefore cheaper insurance.
It’s a C-segment car, which in plain English means Golf and Focus rival or, in Citroen’s own catalogue, the C4.
The Cactus has the same wheelbase as the C4 but is shorter and narrower, despite having the same interior space and a useful 358 litres of luggage room.
The bonnet is made from aluminium, as are the front and rear subframes, but the really clever weight saving has been done by leaving bits out entirely or redesigning them.
For example, the rear windows pop out (like the ones on the original Mini), saving 11kg. The rear seat is a single-piece folding bench: kerching, another 6kg saved.
In total, the Cactus is 200kg lighter than a C4, which means a kerb weight of 965kg.
Even the petrol models will emit less than 100g/km of CO2 and the diesels will be as low as 82g/km, with a combined fuel consumption of 91.1mpg. Even if that’s optimistic by 20mpg, it’s still a pretty impressive figure.
The Cactus’s interior is just as stylish as the outside. Virtually all the information and controls on the car’s dashboard are displayed and controlled on screens.
One motoring feature that you don’t want to ever see is a passenger airbag that comes down from the roof rather than out from the dashboard.
But one that you will use regularly is Smart Wash, which instead of firing a stream of windscreen wash from jets at the base of the windscreen, dribbles a small quantity of fluid from nozzles built in to the end of the wiper arms.
Citroen says that it halves the amount of fluid used.
Vauxhall goes to the EXTREME with a bonkers-looking new Astra
Vauxhall is readying a nutty version of its Astra VXR called the EXTREME.Must be impressive if its name is all in capitals. The car, which will be shown at the Geneva motor show in March, features lightweight carbon fibre panels, racing seats and harness and, presumably, some more power.
Sounds a bit like Renault’s fabulous Megane 26R of 2008. Vauxhall says it’ll tell us more about the mad Astra over the next few weeks.
New Hyundai i10 on sale today
The new Hyundai i10 goes on sale today with prices starting from £8,345.You’ll be reading a road test of the new i10 in next week’s Motoring but here are a few details worth knowing in the meantime.
The entry-level S comes with daytime running lights, central locking, electric front windows and six airbags. Next is the £9,295 SE which, in addition to the S’s kit, includes electric rear windows, body coloured door handles, air-conditioning and electric, heated mirrors.
Finally there’s the Premium trim at £9,995 which adds LED running lights, leather steering wheel and gearknob, Bluetooth and a few other bits and bobs.
Next week we’ll know if it’s any good or not.
An imaginative name for new Nissan Micra. Or maybe not...
The Limited Edition is Nissan’s not very imaginatively named special version of the Micra, based on the Acenta trim level.The roof can be blue, red or white with matching mirror caps, and inside the air vents and gearstick match the roof colour. For your £12,300 you also get air-conditioning, cruise control and a roof spoiler among other features.
Audi adds new Q3 engine option
Audi has added a new engine option to the Q3 SUV range. It’s a 1.4 TFSI petrol with 150bhp that propels Audi’s BMW X3 rival to 124mph and from 0-62mph in 9.2sec.Priced from £23,870, the new engine is available in SE and S-line trim levels but only with front-wheel drive.
However, there’s a choice between manual and automatic gearboxes. This new Q3 variant is available to order now.
VW wants you to love the Up on Valentine's Day
Volkswagen is running an offer on its excellent Up city car until February 14 which, as we all know, is Valentine’s Day.Volkswagen calls the deal Love Up! If you get yourself along to your local dealer before the end of next week you can get all loved up with a year’s free insurance. Prices for the Up start from £8,265.
Volkswagen is also giving the Polo a midlife face-lift that includes a host of mechanical changes including extra safety systems as standard and new or improved power plants including three and four-cylinder petrol engines.
The face-lift involves the usual front and rear bumper changes and fitting of optional LED headlamps.
The revised Polo will be available to order from April.
Or sparks could fly with Renault's Zoe...
Renault has a new offer for its Zoe electric car that’s tailored for buyers who won’t be doing big mileages.As quoted in last week’s road test, battery leasing for the Zoe starts at £70 per month for 7,500 miles per year.
Now there’s a cheaper option of £45 per month for 3,000 miles per year.
Renault has also tailored a leasing deal which, including battery rental, comes out at £279 per month for three years with a £1,720 deposit at the start. Renault dealers have details.
The Government is chipping in £9million towards installing hundreds more electric vehicle charging points around the country including 140 fast charging points which can recharge cars like Renault’s Zoe and BMW’s i3 in no more than 30mins.
James Hunt's wonky Hesketh up for grabs
If you enjoyed Rush, the film of James Hunt and Niki Lauda’s battle for the 1976 F1 world championship, this Hesketh driven by Hunt is going under the hammer in Monaco in May.It spent most of its life as a spare car and didn’t finish many F1 races, having conked out at the 1974 British GP.
Bugatti drops saloon plan for Veyron replacement
Bugatti has knocked its saloon car project on the head and instead is working on a replacement for the Veyron supercar.The saloon appeared as the Galibier concept in 2009 but not much has been heard of it since.
More frustrating is that there’s no info on the spec of the next Bugatti. One thing’s for sure, the Veyron is a hard act to follow.
Mercedes to launch new V-Class
Mercedes is launching a new V-Class next year which will replace the current Viano.The Vito van-based MPV can seat up to eight people. It’s a bit posher than a minibus and can be ordered with luxury trims and equipment that’ll turn it into a multiseat motor with S-Class style.
The standard seating arrangement will be three rows of two seats but there’ll be other options including one with a folding bed in the back.
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