965kg, £13K Cactus

[TWPC]

OK, not massively PH, but doesn't the production version of the Citroen Cactus look amazing?

And it weighs less than a tonne. That's about 300kgs less than the likes of the Nissan Juke, Fiat 500L and Ford Focus 3 cyl Ecoboost.

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/geneva-motor-show/citroen-c4-cactus-revealed
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/citroen/65732/citroen-cactus-2014-full-details-pictures-and-price

And prices will start at £13k.

This looks rather appealing to me. Spacious, reasonably cheap, cheap to run and with that weight they have a real opportunity not to stuff up the dynamics...

[MajorProblem]

Misleading thread title.

[TWPC]

True...
How about this? Similar weight, fewer torsion bars, no tax required, depreciation not an issue.

[Motorrad]

TWPC said:

True...
How about this? Similar weight, fewer torsion bars, no tax required, depreciation not an issue.

Try sitting on it and going to work.

[TWPC]

I agree its less comfortable than a car for commuting but in London over the past couple of days it is about as effective.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26061749

[anonymous-user]

That's fantastic. Really interested in this

[TWPC]

Back on topic, I think this is a key point from the Autocar article.

"However, perhaps the biggest contribution to that spectacularly low 965kg base weight is the unique configuration of Cactus’s platform. It has been engineered for a vehicle series that will have a top speed of 118mph. This matters because the platform, suspension and braking systems – and even the cooling systems – can be ‘rightsized’.

When there is no need to engineer the car for larger wheels (which, in turn, demand stronger suspension components, larger wheel wells and stronger mounting points), bigger brakes and more powerful engines (which demand a more powerful cooling system) the car’s architecture can be simpler and, therefore, lighter."

[AnotherClarkey]

I love it. If it has a proper squashy French ride and copious body roll I will have one. 1.2 3 pot petrol and flappy paddle strangeness for me please.

[Chicane-UK]

Got to be honest the styling is a bit too zany for me - but as an overall package / premise, it sounds pretty good. Fair price, low kerb weight, and something a bit different on the roads - gets a thumbs up from me.

[Agoogy]

ruddy awesome.... can't wait to see on in the flesh...

[Quickmoose]

quite surprised this car hasn't created more discussion...

[ewenm]

The idea looks great for modern driving and is exactly where I think new cars should be going. Good luck to them with it.

[kambites]

There's more than a hint of Pontiac Aztec around that front light design to my eyes.

This is not a good thing.


Still it's nice to see someone trying something a bit different. If they can really achieve those economy figures whilst not making it horrible to drive and keeping the perceived quality levels well above that of things like Dacias, it should do well.

Edited by kambites on Friday 7th February 08:25

[ikarl]

If that stays true to it's design, weighs less than 1000kg and can be had for £15k for the 3-cylinder turbo then yeah, I'll have one!

[The Moose]

Just a shame it's a Citroen

[Quickmoose]

ikarl said:

If that stays true to it's design, weighs less than 1000kg and can be had for £15k for the 3-cylinder turbo then yeah, I'll have one!

Production version....
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/Search-Results/F...

[Quickmoose]

kambites said:

There's more than a hint of Pontiac Aztec around that front light design to my eyes.

This is not a good thing.

hmmmm ish

[McWigglebum4th]

The Moose said:

Just a shame it's a Citroen

Actually i would go the other way

It looks like it might be a real citroen other then the warmed over peguoet crap they served up for a couple of decades

[ajprice]

I like the look of this, it's a proper Citroen. It might also get a 'HybridAir' hybrid system that uses a compressed air tank instead of batteries, which would be cheaper, lighter and more tree huggy than the battery hybrid cars like Prius and Honda IMA cars.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-f...

[Krikkit]

McWigglebum4th said:

The Moose said:

Just a shame it's a Citroen

Actually i would go the other way

It looks like it might be a real citroen other then the warmed over peguoet crap they served up for a couple of decades

That's like saying "Oh, that new Audi looks great, much better than the warmed-over VW crap they served up for a couple of decades". Complete fantasy.