Citroën C4 Cactus Hatchback (2014 - 2018) practicality

Making a judgement on Citroen C4 Cactus safety isn’t that easy, as the car hasn’t yet been independently crash-tested. However based on previous results for the Citroen C4 and C4 Picasso as well as the DS3 and C3, it’s probably safe to assume the C4 Cactus will snare a five-star EuroNCAP rating.

There’s a total of six airbags fitted as standard, but it’s the passenger side front bag that is the most interesting. In a bid to slim down the dashboard and increase the size of the glovebox (as well as giving it a top-opening lid to make it easier to see and access anything stowed inside) the firm has relocated the passenger’s airbag to the roof.

And it doesn’t matter what size the front passenger is, or how far forward they are sitting, as the comma shape means it’ll be perfectly safe regardless of passenger position and size.

On the outside, while not a primary safety factor, the AirBumps will protect the bodywork of the car from any minor bumps and scrapes it’s likely to pick up in supermarket car parks or other urban environments.

As you’d expect the C4 Cactus comes with traction control and Electronic Stability Control, which ensures the driver will never completely lose control in extreme situations. There’s also park assist, a reversing camera, a programmable speed limiter and cruise control as well as lights that turn with the steering wheel at low speeds.

When the firm has gone to the lengths of designing a way to locate the passenger airbag into the roof, in a bid to make the glovebox more space-efficient you know that Citroen C4 Cactus practicality is going to rank highly. Certainly there’s no shortage of storage space on board, with deep and useful door pockets on each of the four doors, plus a boot that will swallow 358 litres of load.

The Cactus does lose points for only offering a one-piece rear-bench, without a split/fold facility, but that compromise does significantly reduce weight in the car. And it’s a comfortable place to sit, with plenty of leg, head and shoulder room – certainly there’s more than enough space for a young family inside.

It’s a shame that the front seat bench is only offered on the automatic models – the manual cars have two distinct chairs – and that actually there’s still only space (and seatbelts) for two there. Still the thought was there and the relatively flat floor in this scenario contributes to the feeling of space up front.