Citroën C4 Cactus gets Geneva debut

The use of high-strength steels and an aluminium bonnet and crash beams help reduce weight. Further weight-shaving measures include a one-piece rear seat, which saves 6kg. Weight-paring has also banished the blind from the optional panoramic roof; instead, its surface is coated with heat-resistant materials, and dropping electric motors for the hinged rear side windows saved 11kg.

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.

This bold-looking car sprang from the 2007 C-Cactus concept, which was partly about seeing how much hardware can be removed from a modern car – including the dashboard. "We learnt a lot from the original," says British chief designer Mark Lloyd. "We learned that customers are interested in a simple approach, but won’t accept radical reductions in comfort. So we did a lot of work on what counts and what doesn’t."

"It all started because we were frustrated at the way things are," says Lloyd, "and had the feeling that we need to do things differently. Not for the sake of it but by creating a newness that’s refreshing, that makes life easier." Hence the quest for simplicity, for low weight and for a style that "looks lighter", he says.

"The Cactus has simpler surfaces compared to today’s busy sculpture. We’ve got super-pure surfaces, graphic contrasts and air bumps, and we’ll carry on with this."

By which he means that this same theme will be applied to the next generation of mainstream models that Citroën labels C-line. Despite the success of the classier DS model range, they account for just under a fifth of total Citroën sales, the C-line remaining the bedrock of the brand, and the Cactus a major part of it.

Speaking at the Geneva show, Citroën CEO Frederic Banzet explained that his firm is undergoing a full renewal, underlined by Cactus and C1. He said the Cactus is a manifesto for giving customers what they want and no more, while the C1 is about offering bold choices in terms of style, size and technology.

Anne Ruthmann, the Cactus’s project manager, describes the car as "very trendy, pure and non-aggressive, with very strong graphic elements that are functional". Most prominent of these are those Air Bumps, which are made from a flexible anti-scratch material embedded with air bubbles to heighten absorbency.

The Citroën’s plastic armour comes in black, beige, brown and light grey tints to effect a contrast or a blending with its 10 exterior colours. There are "three interior universes," says Ruthmann, "of brown, purple and grey," and plenty of scope for personalisation. The Cactus’s front seats are wide and sofa-like. Lloyd and team wanted them to "look comfortable". Although they resemble a bench, the front seats are separate.

But it's the architecture of the interior that’s really radical. Most of the subsidiary systems are controlled via the touchscreen in its centre; the instruments are reduced to a digital speedo, a fuel gauge and some warning lights.

The "driving interface is 100 per cent digital," says Ruthmann, the touchscreen handling the radio, navigation, climate, phone, vehicle settings and the handbook. It also provides connected services for weather, garages, the phone directory, the cheapest fuel and, when you’re stationary, Facebook and email.

Citroën’s brand strategy chief Julien Montarnal says the Cactus is the most radical embodiment of the values that will characterise other future C-line models. "Design and creativity are an absolute hallmark. C-line is pure, optimistic. It has technology, but it’s useful, intuitive and facilitates daily life. It’s about technological intelligence."

Montarnal also talks about well-being, which "stems from space, light, practicality and ease of use". And the C-line is also about "reasonable budgets – not the cheapest, but the best value for money". And that means a competitive price, and competitive ownership costs. The C4 Picasso "meets these criteria", he says, "and is a precursor to this repositioning".