Rate It: The Citroën Cactus Was Designed To Take on Parking Lot Bumps and Scrapes

One of the great frustrations in the automotive world is coming back to your car and seeing bumps and scratches from shopping carts being let loose and other drivers who feel the need to whip their doors open when they park.

Funky French favorite Citroën noticed this problem, and built this, the C4 Cactus. The most notable feature of this …

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My hope is that manufactures will start to use common "rollerskate" platforms for their electric cars and in do so will be able to give a wide variety of body shapes. Maybe we can ge back to yearly model introductions with bold new styling? 

I saw a ton of these in the UK, seem like a pretty good car for urban people.

Somebody ought to make stick-on door inserts like that for Jeeps.

Always loved these and would happily buy such a thing for a daily driver were it available stateside. Just the perfect balance of funkiness and practicality.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

My hope is that manufactures will start to use common "rollerskate" platforms for their electric cars and in do so will be able to give a wide variety of body shapes. Maybe we can ge back to yearly model introductions with bold new styling? 

A personal opinion that I find depressing - I really don't think regular people want to own an attractive vehicle. What else explains current market trends. They want the standard crossover blob shape. They want it in a bland color to avoid standing out. Stuff that looks different, doesn't sell. Even look at the concept of a "coupe", whether it was the land yachts of the 70s, smaller ones of the 80s/90s. Different style was why they existed. The Olds Cutlass was the best selling vehicle on the road for multiple years in the last 70s/early 80s. Not trying to suggest that was a great car, but it seems inconceivable that today's consumer would compromise any storage/people capabilities for style, let alone driving dynamics.

I actually dig that! 

Never, in my life,  did i think I would say that about a stock cuv.

Absolutely love the Citroen Cactus.  I would love to see something along these lines here in the US, perhaps in a EV platform.

I love having little bump strips on the doors. They work great. This concept is solid. My grandmother used to love her Saturn because shopping carts bounced off her plastic car. I'm a little more worried about my paint but for people like that, let's do it!

It reminds me of the Bumper Bully that I see on cars when visiting NYC.  I think they are ugly.  The Cactus looks like Mr. Bib mated with a Mini

What, no love for the Adobe?  Truly ahead of its time...

Skvotski said:

It reminds me of the Bumper Bully that I see on cars when visiting NYC.  I think they are ugly.  The Cactus looks like Mr. Bib mated with a Mini

These always scream "hit me harder, I can take it" when I see them.

Mon Dieu!  Anyone who actually believes that the side view of this Citroen is “useful, attractive and customizable" needs an emergency visit to their ophthalmologist.  The padded sides are an encouragement to those inconsiderate, typically overweight jerks who park 30 cm from the side of one's vehicle and then bang their door open into yours as they try to squeeze out.  A better solution might be a series of 10 cm needle sharp, curare tipped protruding spikes along each side.

Nicholas Yasillo said:

... encouragement to those inconsiderate, typically overweight jerks who park 30 cm from the side of one's vehicle and then bang their door open into yours as they try to squeeze out.

I could probably stand to lose a few pounds (or kilos), yet I don’t door ding anyone that I park next to.  So why the generalization?  Are all skinny people considerate in your eyes?  

I love the Cactus!  It's much smaller than you'd expect . . . certainly smaller than my Golf.

Ever since Groupe PSA and FCA merged to create Stellantis, I have been waiting for a Citroen Hellcactus Redeye Widebody.

If you like the shape but not the side bumper detailing, just buy the regular C4. I'm a fan of the size of it and many other smaller European hatches. For comparison, this thing is about 4 inches longer than a Kia Rio hatch and 6 inches shorter than a MINI Countryman. I'd drive one.

I wanted one ever since I learned they weren't gonna bring them to the states.

Cactus said:

I wanted one ever since I learned they weren't gonna bring them to the states.

Caus Cactus.