SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Prickly relationships: 2016 Citroën C4 Cactus 1.2 e-THP Shine

I’ve been spoiled.

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: 27 July 2016

The numbers
Price: R314 900
Engine: 1199 cc, DOHC, 12-valve, three-cylinder turbopetrol
Power: 81 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 205 Nm at 1500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.3 seconds
Maximum speed: 188 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.0 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage: 358 – 1170 litres
Warranty: 3 years / 100 000 km, with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years / 100 000 km, at 15 000 km intervals

I like quirky French cars and the little Cactus crossover has won a trunkful of awards for best design, favourite car, hatchback of the year, best small hatchback, Golden Steering Wheel and overall Car of the Year in many places. It was a Car of the Year finalist for 2016 here in SA as well.

It looks different (nothing wrong with that), it’s stylish, a bit quirky, well equipped, innovative, has plenty of baggage space, enough room for most grown-ups and it has a proper spare wheel. Tyres are practical – standard tubeless - and of a size (205/55 R16) that won’t cost a fortune or take six weeks to order at replacement time.

But I felt slightly let down. The turbocharged version of the 1.2-litre three develops 81 kilowatts and 205 Newton-metres, but it didn’t drive quite the way an 81 kW motor should. It felt a bit flat. I searched for an Eco button to switch off, but there isn’t one.

A pair of electronic panels provide information and help users interact with the car. The one on the right - in front of the driver - shows a digital speed reading and the state of fullness of the fuel tank. There is no rev. counter, so you have to listen to the engine and guess when to shift gears.

The one on the left, in charge of ancillaries, is partly good and partly awkward. There are only five buttons on the dash; for front and rear defrosters, ESP on and off, lock and unlock and “thanks for letting me pass,” or hazard lights. That’s brilliant, but in order to engage or adjust the aircon you have to go into a menu dealing with ventilation. Similar steps apply to changing radio stations or switching to an outside music source. Nobody minds digging around for navigation or phone pairing, but some things belong where they can be found quickly.

Then, although it looks chunky and made for the rugged outdoors, it isn’t really. Ground clearance is only 130 millimetres - on the low end of average. It’s comfortable on gravel roads in good shape, absorbing ripples and bumps very well, but be cautious around potholes and steep driveways.

Enough whining: Ask rather, does your average driver even look at a rev. counter or know how to use one? Aren’t most owners so intent on driving like the accelerator pedal is an unboiled egg, because fuel costs so much, that they wouldn’t notice that performance is a bit weak? Aren’t we accustomed to complicated electronic interfaces because we grew up with them? And apart from those who drive through game parks, do we actually need greater height if the illusion is sufficient? Let’s look at what’s positive.

Even the entry-level, 60 kW, Feel version has most of what one expects these days; six airbags, ISOFix anchors, ABS brakes with EBA and EBD, ESC, cruise control with limiter, tyre pressure monitoring, remote central locking, trip computer, air conditioner, powered front windows and outside mirrors, four-speaker radio with Bluetooth, the usual connectors and a touch screen. Gearboxes are all five-speed manual. The costlier of the two Feel versions, the one with the more powerful engine, adds rear disc brakes and hill hold.

Shine specification (81 kW motor only) upgrades you to 16-inch alloys to replace the steel wheels on Feel, front fog lamps that swivel to light up bends, darkly tinted rear windows, a foldable front armrest (pity it obstructs the hand brake), auto-on headlamps and wipers, follow-me lights, automatic climate control, rear parking sensors and camera, satnav, warmed rearview mirrors and an upgraded sound system with six speakers and more powerful amplifier.

Then there’s the Airbump panelling on sides, front and rear that absorbs impacts from errant shopping trolleys and thoughtless drivers who whack their doors open in crowded parking lots. They’re made of tough polyurethane and have pockets of air inside their obround panels (like bubble wrap) to ward off light damage. Standard colour is black but one can optionally order them in Grey, Dune (off-white) or Chocolate.

Other practical kit includes roof rails one could actually strap stuff onto and moulded-to-fit, rubber floor mats that won’t skate around unless severely provoked. Apart from looking very Range Rover-ish they’re more useful in wet and muddy weather than the usual semi-fitted pieces of over-carpeting.

Then there’s the “is it practical or is it a gimmick” front passenger’s airbag that drops down from the roof. It helped the designers create a sleek, modern dashboard you won’t find on any other car, and it leaves enough space to fit a decently sized glove box – on top of the dash, and with anti-skid bumps for small items parked on top - because we are French, you see.

The rear hatch lifts easily, thanks to a pair of gas struts, to reveal a deep square cavern that holds 358 litres of whatever you choose to carry. Not quite so good is that it’s 80 centimetres high and 20 cm. deep. A light and four lashing rings are provided. The spare under the board consists of a steel rim with equivalently sized 185/65 R15 tyre.

The seatback is in one piece and you’ll probably find it easier to reach from behind to release the two catches, rather than leaning in from one side. It doesn’t fold completely flat, but doing so increases load volume to 1170 litres.

The tall rear passenger found knee room a little cramped, but head- and foot space was fine. The door bins back there are huge, so the lack of cup holders and seatback pouches shouldn’t cause concern.

In front, the seat adjusters are all mechanical, with only the driver’s chair offering elevation control. The seats are unstylishly, but practically, wider than usual. That’s for those of us who are slightly bigger boned than others. Speaking of adjustments, the steering wheel lifts but does not telescope, although all the usual buttons are there for convenience. There aren’t many boxes or trays for incidental rubbish, but big door bins, again, help spread the load.

Most buyers will find this Cactus both stylish and practical and its performance quite adequate. For me, however, it lacks the sparkle I love in other French cars. Perhaps I’ve been spoiled.

Test unit from MPSA press fleet

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.