Skip advert
Advertisement

Citroen C4 Cactus review - driver appeal of a different kind - Citroen C4 Cactus performance and 0-60 time

Not an 'evo' car in the traditional sense, the Cactus is nevertheless quite a likeable car

Evo rating
RRP
from £12,990
  • Interior design, comfort, light weight
  • Overly light steering, quirky styling may put off some

There’s not a lot to see here, performance fans – even the quickest Cactus, the PureTech 110 with a manual gearbox, takes 9.3 seconds to reach 62mph and eventually runs on to a modest 117mph. Next past the post is the manual-equipped diesel, which covers the 0-62mph run in 10.7sec and hits 114mph.

Advertisement - Article continues below

For some clue as to how much the automatic ‘box hampers progress, the ETG6 diesel is half a second slower to 62mph than its manual equivalent.

No Cactus feels particularly rapid on the road either, though in the PureTech 110 that’s partly as a result of how quiet and refined the thrummy little three-cylinder is. At idle it’s nearly silent and crawling around town it hardly intrudes either. Use all the revs (guessing when to change gear, with no tachometer to observe) and there’s a little more din and vibration, but there’s not the sporty exhaust note you get with some threes.

The diesel is a little more vocal but not excessively so, while the naturally-aspirated petrol models do require a few more revs and a little more noise as they scoot down the road. It goes without saying that it’s the turbocharged three-pot that we’d recommend – with a kerb weight of 1020kg, it can be bundled along quickly enough.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Ford Puma review – the best-seller that’s still no patch on the Fiesta
Ford Puma
In-depth reviews

Ford Puma review – the best-seller that’s still no patch on the Fiesta

The Ford Puma melds some of the Fiesta’s charm with big-selling crossover form factor, but we still miss a proper small Ford hatch
21 Aug 2026
Cupra Leon VZ review – Spain’s Golf GTI is better than Germany’s
Cupra Leon
In-depth reviews

Cupra Leon VZ review – Spain’s Golf GTI is better than Germany’s

The choice of full-sized front-drive hot hatches now doesn’t include the Civic Type R. Can the Cupra Leon VZ take the top spot?
25 Aug 2026
The 2-litre Mazda MX-5 is dead, but its replacement gets an upgrade
2027 Mazda MX-5 1.5
News

The 2-litre Mazda MX-5 is dead, but its replacement gets an upgrade

As emissions regulations close in, Mazda has announced the discontinuation of one of our favourite current sports cars on sale: the 2-litre MX-5. Than…
26 Aug 2026