Review
The arrival of the new Star Wars instalment prompted one of my colleagues to liken the appearance of our long-term Citroën C4 Cactus to an imperial stormtrooper’s helmet.
I can see where he’s coming from. Our car’s optional Polar White flat paint (£250) provides a striking contrast to its black plastic cladding and airbumps, and does share a number of styling similarities with the science-fiction soldier.
Unfortunately, while I am an enormous fan of the car, certain elements do, like the imperial stormtrooper, belong to the dark side.
The main one is its infotainment system. Operated through a seven-inch touchscreen, it is well positioned at the top of the centre console.
The screen is framed by piano-black trim, with a row of six buttons for functions such as the heated rear windscreen, park assist and hazard lights, as well as a volume knob underneath.
This gives it a smart, modern appearance and provides the quirky interior with a touch of class.
However, it is fiddly to operate. The interface isn’t intuitive and needs numerous button presses to use any of the functions the infotainment centre controls, such as changing the heater settings, radio station, or operating a connected iPod.
In most cars these functions are fairly similar to operate. In the Cactus, they require plenty of concentration: so much so that I can’t recommend that any driver uses the infotainment centre while on the move.
Other niggles include a high lip which makes loading the 358-litre boot more difficult than it should be.
However, it is easy to overlook these foibles as the Cactus is an enormously likeable car: it’s fun to drive, agile, cheap to run and has a personality that really grows on you.
As Darth Vader said: “The force is strong with this one.”
Andrew Ryan is the features editor at Fleet News. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and has specialised in the fleet industry for the past 12.
