Citroën C4 Cactus 2014

[aboutdas]

Pesa così poco anche perché deriva dalla C3 e non dalla C4

[superkappa125]

Pesa così poco anche perché deriva dalla C3 e non dalla C4

Vero, ma la stessa C3 non pesa così poco ed é pure più piccola.

Nota a margine: secondo Autocar i finestrini posteriori a compasso hanno consentito un risparmio di peso di 11Kg.

This is the production version of the new Citroën C4 Cactus, arguably the most radical VW Golf-class model in decades.Aside from its highly unusual looks, the Cactus - which arrives in the UK in October after a Geneva motor show debut in March - aims to revolutionise ease of ownership and be markedly cheaper to run than its mainstream rivals.

However, Citroën's biggest engineering achievement with the Cactus is in weight reduction. In base form the car weighs in at just 980kg – around 60kg lighter than a base model Ford Fiesta.

The Cactus’s downsized engines are also part of the weight-saving programme, the 980kg applying to the base 81bhp VTi 1.0, three-cylinder, turbo petrol motor. Other engines include an e-THP 108bhp, a 91bhp eHDI and a 99 bhp BlueHDI, which scores 82g/km of CO2.

None are high-output, but the Cactus’s power-to-weight ratio will yield decent performance from all versions say company sources. As well as a manual the car is also available with PSA’s automated manual transmission, which now claimed to be much smoother shifting.

The exterior design is intended to combine fashionable crossover looks with more avantgarde product design influences; protection from urban scrapes comes thanks to the bold ‘air-bump’ door protectors.

Inside, the interior is just as radical. Unlike the original C-Cactus concept, the C4 has a dashboard – but it’s been pared back and simplified to elegantly functional effect. There are only 12 buttons on the dashboard. There’s no rev counter, no centre console, no gearlever if it’s an automatic, no asymmetric splitting of the rear seats and no wind-up windows for the rear doors.

One example of Citroën's lateral thinking is the way the facia’s bulk has been reduced by housing the passenger airbag in the ceiling. This, in turn, allows the facia to sit lower and releases space for a sizeable storage box in the dash top.

Citroën says it has also trimmed overall running costs, which are said to be 15 per cent less than those of competing C-segment models. The Cactus is likely to be offered with a mobile phone-style contract, with the user paying a monthly rental plus servicing and insurance to allow accurate budgeting.

The Cactus is based on PSA’s Platform 1, which is also used by the Citroën C3 and Peugeot 208, rather than the older platform used under today’s C4 and DS4 models. Even though the Cactus is smaller than most of its rivals (it’s about 10cm shorter than a Golf, and only fractionally larger than Fiat’s 500L) it weighs 215kg less than the Ford Focus EcoBoost triple, and 150kg less than the three-cylinder, 1.2-litre, VW Golf.

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 980kg 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 Brit chief designer Mark Lloyd. "We learnt 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.

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 its 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 costs of ownership. The C4 Picasso "meets these criteria," he says, "and is a precursor to this repositioning."

"For the Cactus, we asked what really counts for customers? The world is changing – economic and ecological pressures are the backdrop. The method by which we make phone calls, or make coffee, have changed, for example. But there aren’t any car makers who have adapted to this new world. We had to do it because we’re Citroën."

Montarnal says that some of the Cactus’s character "will extend into the C-line, but this is the most radical. Cactus is for European customers – it’s the most extreme. For design, comfort, intuitive technology and a reasonable price, the Cactus is the answer. It’s an emblem of our new positioning."

Autocar.co.uk

[luka79]

Ho letto su Autoblog credo, e ora ho notato anche dalle foto, che per risparmiare 6kg ha il sedile posteriore unico, e non sdoppiato!!! Assurdo!

Per un'auto pratica come questa è ancora più grave dei vetri post. a compasso stile vecchia Panda!

Sono assolutamente d'accordo, i finestrini a compasso non mi preoccupano affatto mentre il sedile sdoppiato non dovrebbe mancare su un auto che fa della praticità una delle caratteristiche principali

[DUNO]

peccato per l'acne sulle fiancate

[MotorPassion]

Fonte: Forum automobile Forum-Auto.com

[Aymaro]

nelle foto live perde un po, sarà che me l'aspettavo un po piu alta e cross over (una Soul tondosa in pratica) ma con le proporzioni da vettura normale imho perde un po...

[MotorPassion]

Fonte: www.forum-auto.it

[francomilano]

leggevo che il prezzo di attacco dovrebbe partire da 16000 euro, che proprio pochi non sono. Fermo restando il condizionale, una versione un poco accessoriata e magari diesel viaggerà sui 20-21000 euro. Mi pare quindi di capire che, come sempre, si cercherà di sfruttare la "simpatia/funzionalità" del modello facendolo pagare e non certo regalare, e rifilando una serie di rinunce al cliente quali vetri posteriori fissi, divano posteriore fisso, finiture immagino non esaltanti, plancia iperessenziale, mancanza di bocchette areazione. E considerando inoltre che è fatta sulla piattaforma C3 che costa immagino meno. In definitiva costi ridotti all'osso per chi la produce ma prezzi di vendita normali non certo low cost. A questo punto me ne impippo della simpatia e mi piglio un'auto che almeno riesco a tirare giù i finestrini dietro.

[poliziottesco]

alla luce di questo visto e sentito ora, sono in linea con quanto espresso da francomilano e con chi depreca l' assenza di divano posteriore asimmetrico. Quest' ultima una mancanza davvero notevole per un' auto che vuole essere pratica. Spero in FIAT non pensino di fare una cazzata simile

[FaGiO]

A me piace. E' grave?