Succulent (Cactus) Yes, Citroen Cactus

"lecrab" (superservaas) 07/25/2015 at 17:06 • Filed to: None

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I promised to let you in on Cactus experience, so here’s a little bit.

Today we left from The Hague (NL) to Frankfurt (DE). This morning I put all of our stuff (two adults, two kids) in the cactus and we left. The trunk takes a lot more than you’d think, thanks to the Cactus being a hatchback.

The ride is good. I mean, good. You sit up pretty straight. The seats are comfy, but not too comfy. I have the business package and some extras. I have the three cilinder 1,2 liter engine. It is surprisingly powerful. Over the journey of 500 km’s, I have come to appreciate it a lot.

The transmission, called ETG5 is very adequate, and I have come to understand the way it operates. The whole car always seeks to be as efficient as possible, resulting sometimes in driving in fifth gear when ideally you wouldn’t. Step on the gas and the transmission shifts down to give you power, or you can use the flippers to do it yourself. All in all, as soon as you familiarise yourself with this transmission, you’ll feel right at home. In higher speeds you will find that there is enough power when needed.

I noticed that when driving 110 km/h, it does 5 liter per 100kms, making the car pretty efficient. I did 120 km/h for a while, and the car showed me 6 liter per 100 kms. Being full with luggage and people, that is pretty good. It never felt like it lacked power.

The start/stop system is very good. It is quick, so it does’t bother in any way.

Allright, it’s late here, I have consumed several alcoholic beverages, so it’s time to leave you, my dear friends, with a few images. More to come! Tomorrow, we take the Cactus to Beieren.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > lecrab 07/25/2015 at 17:22

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I love this car so much. It’s delightfully wacky and I love Citroen for making something so out of the box. It sorta looks like what the new Jeep Cherokee wishes it could be what with the squinty eyeballs and all.

Leon711 > lecrab 07/25/2015 at 17:23

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I’m trying to make my sister buy one for her small family. Heck I’d even buy one.

Bman76 (no it doesn't need a WS6 hood) M. Arch > lecrab 07/25/2015 at 17:33

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I’m super jealous, I love these things and that mileage is pretty fantastic. Seriously Citroen, bring it to the U.S.

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > lecrab 07/25/2015 at 17:50

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I wonder what it’d look like without this eyebrow thing

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > lecrab 07/25/2015 at 17:52

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Never seen one with steelies before. I really like it.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 07/25/2015 at 18:01

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Think if we pester Citroen enough they’d bring it here to Canadaland? :P

Leon711 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/25/2015 at 18:04

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you guys could, y’know, come to the UK? we have tons of these around and we speak english already so no 2nd language to learn.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Leon711 07/25/2015 at 18:07

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Haha, if you can find me a full-time job and give me the money to buy one, I’ll be right over! ;) :P

Leon711 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/25/2015 at 18:37

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I’m not made of jobs goddamnit! I did have a look around one at Goodwood last month, it was pleasantly surprising for it’s price.

I really like the glovebox on top of the dash, they achieved it by having roof mounted front airbags. It certainly doesn’t feel like an econobox for the most part. I guess us Europeans are good at making economy cars not feel like a punishment, if you look at the base versions of small european cars they are full of better designs and comfort because the biggest market segment in the fiesta sized car (the fiesta is the best selling car in the UK, and four of the top ten best sellers so far this year are the same size. The Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Polo and Mini Hatch).

http://cardesignresearch.com/en/insights/20…

base Renault Twingo

Base Polo

VW Up!

Patrick George > lecrab 07/25/2015 at 18:47

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I’m driving one of these in Germany next month. So excited. CACTUSLOPNIK.

Wobbles the Mind > BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE 07/25/2015 at 19:06

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“Roughly”

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Leon711 07/25/2015 at 19:24

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I agree with you there - I don’t mind my 2009 Hyundai Accent, it’s a good little car, but the interior is pretty gray and plain in comparison ........Euro designers are definitely really good at making ”cheap and cheerful” small cars! :)

That second interior pic for the Up! looks quite nice, but I’ve never been a fan of VW’s exterior design langauge...I know we could use the whole “sensible German” thing, but all their cars look a bit bland to my tastes...as for the Cactus, or new Twingo (omg rear-engined, my quirky gearhead senses are tingling haha!), I’d GLADLY own and drive either one in a heartbeat - just the right amount of fun design mixed with practicality and zippy driving. I’m also a big fan of the FIAT 500 and FIAT Panda (FIAT is my favorite car company aside from Citroen and Peugeot, so I am psyched they are back in Canada!)....hope to own a 500 one day, but I would love to own a Panda if they ever brought them here, especially a Panda 4x4 or Panda Cross. The 500L is ok, but it does look a little “bloated”...it’s not a bad car, but the 500 design langauge doesn’t really fit it to me. The 500X looks much better in proportion, but I’m not a crossover guy.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Leon711 07/25/2015 at 19:47

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Wow I really like the Up’s interior. Glossy red... cool.

pip bip - choose Corrour > lecrab 07/25/2015 at 21:05

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very nice!

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > lecrab 07/26/2015 at 00:51

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It’s like an R8 and a Cherokee trailhawk had a romp in the bushes!

lecrab > Patrick George 07/26/2015 at 02:14

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Let me know what you think, I'm curious.

lecrab > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 07/26/2015 at 02:16

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It's real fun to drive, and does not feel or look like a budget car. I'm definitely in love with it.

lecrab > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/26/2015 at 02:17

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You're talking tents outside Citroën HQ?

lecrab > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/26/2015 at 02:18

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I'll visit. Put the cactus on the train.

lecrab > Leon711 07/26/2015 at 02:19

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Well said! As Patrick states: CACTUSLOPNIK.

lecrab > Wobbles the Mind 07/26/2015 at 02:20

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Hahahahahaha well done

lecrab > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO 07/26/2015 at 02:23

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I chose the steelers because I figured if I take the caps off, it’ll look good because of the black and white contrast. But when I picked it up I was surprised how good the car looks with the caps on.

Ps that's the correct word, right? Caps? As in hubcaps?

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > lecrab 07/26/2015 at 02:26

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I just typically say hubcaps. They look really good on your car, whereas they typically don’t look good. I just realized looking back at pictures I took in Poland a few months back that I have seen a Cactus with Steelies.

lecrab > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO 07/26/2015 at 04:40

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I really like the green one as well. I looked at that color when I ordered mine, but I still feel the white/black combination is the best.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Wobbles the Mind 07/26/2015 at 07:19

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Best reply I’ve seen all day...

Leon711 > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To 07/26/2015 at 16:34

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it has some siblings too, the Skoda Citigo and the Seat Mii.

they are all very similar but have slight differences, the up! is available with the most vibrant interior, the seat can be had with bare steelies and they all have different front and rear end as well as different paint options to one another.

Leon711 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 07/26/2015 at 16:36

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the fiats are pretty sweet, I was looking towards buying a twingo, but the reviews said the TC and ESP which you can’t off, are particularly fun killing. I’d imagine a RenaultSport version would be better and who knows, I may trade in the GTI for a RS Twingo.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Leon711 07/26/2015 at 18:34

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I love quirky stuff, so the retro styling on the 500 and Twingo looks awesome to me. :)

Love the “quirkness factor” of the Twingo being rear-engined as well, but it might make it a lot harder for enthusiasts to do their own work on the car when the time comes...