Citroen C4 Cactus review - MPG, CO2 and running costs

The Citroen C4 Cactus is a value for money choice. Prices start from around £22,000 (which is about the same as an entry-level Ford Focus or VW Golf), and you get a good amount of kit for your cash. Because of the slimmed down trim and engine ranges, the most expensive C4 Cactus examples aren’t massively more cash than that, either.

While there are more frugal family hatchbacks out there, the C4 Cactus is nevertheless a fairly efficient car. Unsurprisingly, the car’s most frugal engine is the 1.5-litre 99bhp diesel, which Citroen says can return up to 63.4mpg and emit as little as 119g/km of CO2. 

Though it can’t match the diesel for fuel consumption, the 1.2-litre 108bhp petrol engine can also return good fuel economy – up to 51.5mpg and emissions as low as 131g/km, according to the official figures. All C4 Cactus models also come with a 50-litre fuel tank, and using official economy figures means all models can manage more than 600 miles on a full tank.

Citroen claims that the C4 Cactus will cost around 20 per cent less to run than a traditional family hatchback, too. It’s talking primarily about fuel economy, but the Airbump panels could potentially save you money on having small bodywork scratches and bumps repaired, while the low weight won’t just help at the pumps, but is likely to bring lower bills for consumables such as tyres and brake pads in the long run.

To make the C4 Cactus more accessible to buyers, Citroen offers a number of all-inclusive purchase packages. These combine a finance payment, insurance and servicing costs into a single monthly figure.

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Insurance groups

Because of the limited trim and engine options, the C4 Cactus isn’t spread across a wide array of insurance groups. The cheapest model falls into group 14, while the highest spec model is in the slightly higher insurance group 16.

Depreciation

Citroen doesn’t have a marvellous record on depreciation, and don’t expect the C4 Cactus to buck the trend – at least not by much. While a standard C4 hatchback could lose as much as 70 per cent of its value over three years, the Cactus is likely to shed two-thirds of its new price, with engine and trim level making this only marginally better or worse.