Skip advert
Advertisement

Citroen C4 Cactus review - driver appeal of a different kind - Citroen C4 Cactus MPG and running costs

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

Light weight – Cacti start at just 965kg and none break the 1100kg mark – and small engines make the C4 Cactus very frugal, both on paper and in the real world.

We’ll start with our own experiences first: The 1.2-litre PureTech 110 gets an official combined economy figure of 65.7mpg, and in mixed driving we saw MPG in the high 40s, so mid-40s is a realistic estimate and 50-plus if you have a particularly light right foot.

Advertisement - Article continues below

On paper the turbocharged car is actually a little better than its naturally-aspirated compatriots, but with a figure of 83.1mpg combined the diesel (with the ETG6 gearbox) would be the one to go for if ultimate economy is the goal.

Interestingly, PSA Group – the brand that controls Peugeot, Citroen and DS – recently tested the real-world economy of several of its models. It achieved 46mpg from a Cactus PureTech 110 (matching our estimation) and 55mpg from a manual-equipped Cactus diesel.

Other running costs should be low enough – Citroen has a ‘SimplyDrive’ feature that includes three years’ worth of insurance, routine servicing, tax, warranty and breakdown cover included when buying the car on finance. The Cactus also rolls on fairly sensible tyres and its light weight means you shouldn’t chew through consumables too quickly either.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Lotus wants to save its Norfolk factory by developing and building other company's sports cars
Lotus factory
Features

Lotus wants to save its Norfolk factory by developing and building other company's sports cars

The Emira will live on and there's an Esprit supercar on the way, but Lotus has another plan to keep Hethel active
18 Aug 2026
McLaren McL 6GT is a new manual supercar and a complete reset
McLaren McL 6GT
News

McLaren McL 6GT is a new manual supercar and a complete reset

Unbelievably, the design of this new McLaren is more surprising than the reintroduction of a manual transmission…
14 Aug 2026
Ford Focus RS (Mk3, 2016 - 2018) review – the last proper fast Ford?
Ford Focus RS
In-depth reviews

Ford Focus RS (Mk3, 2016 - 2018) review – the last proper fast Ford?

The Mk3 Focus RS looks like it’ll be Ford’s last RS, certainly with petrol-only power, for a while if not ever. Did the legendary badge go out on a hi…
18 Aug 2026