Sector: Lower medium Price: £12,935–£18,135 Fuel: 60.1–91.1mpg CO2: 82–107g/km

In 1948, Citroën unveiled its vision of a car for post-war France. Cheap to buy and run, durable yet lightweight, compact but capable of carrying four adults in comfort on rutted French roads, the 2CV struck a chord, selling 3.8 million units through a 42-year life cycle.

Citroën hasn’t officially made the link between the two, but the C4 Cactus feels every bit the modern interpretation of the same design brief. Functional, affordable and stylish, this stands to breathe new life into the manufacturer’s C-segment offering and shouldn’t have any trouble getting noticed.

Best of all, it captures that classic spirit without resorting to retro pastiche. This will target the core of the C-segment, but its rugged and purposeful design should be useful for capturing buyers out of the growing crossover market too.

But behind very different styling, it doesn’t take much digging to find shared DNA. Where the 2CV featured rippled metal panels to resist low-speed impacts without adding much weight, the C4 Cactus uses air-filled plastic sections called Airbumps in vulnerable areas to achieve the same. Soft suspension and a high ride height are also common features.

Like its predecessor, there’s been a ruthless drive to remove unnecessary weight. So the platform is a stretched version of the DS3’s, rather than the modular architecture used in the C4 Picasso. Using pop-out rear windows, a single-piece folding backrest and an aluminium bonnet means the entry-level car weighs 965kg, almost 200kg lighter than the equivalent C3.

With no pretence of sportiness, Citroën has been able to align engine options with smaller cars. There are four three-cylinder petrol engines and two four-cylinder diesels to choose from, and Citroën expects the Euro 6-compliant BlueHDI 100 to be the biggest seller, offering range-best fuel economy of 91.1mpg.

Aggressive pricing, with low insurance, tax and maintenance costs due to its minimal power and weight, are all components of a targeted 10% reduction in whole-life costs compared to the segment benchmark. Don’t expect any of the engines to set pulses racing, even with the excellent new PureTech 110 petrol, but with soft ride quality and light steering it’s an easy, relaxed drive.  

The cabin feels tuned to this. It’s as stylishly designed as the exterior, making up for widespread use of hard plastics with details such as the slightly pearlescent finish on its all-digital dashboard, leather straps for door handles and the huge glovebox styled to look like a travel case on top models. Details which stop it feeling cheap.

Sadly it hasn’t inherited the 2CV’s dashboard-mounted gearstick, so choosing a manual gearbox removes one of its most distinctive features. Cars with the ETG6 clutchless manual gearbox get two individual seats styled to look like a bench, with buttons on the dashboard to select neutral, reverse or drive and a flat paddle for the handbrake. It’s a worthwhile design upgrade over the manual, but the ETG6 gearbox is slow to change gear, and a bit of an acquired taste.

Storage space is plentiful, with the pop-out rear windows leaving plentiful space in the rear doors and the airbags moved from the dashboard to the top of the windscreen, but there’s a high load lip under the tailgate and the rear bench doesn’t fold easily, or flat with the boot floor.

This was a vitally important car for Citroën to get right, and it’s really hit the mark. With a large dose of French design flair and a clever approach to saving money, it’s as charming and as revolutionary as the 2CV was 66 years ago.

Verdict:

Make no mistake, this is a car which will polarise opinions, but the C4 Cactus is a clever and distinctive new entrant with the potential to dramatically improve its presence in the C-segment. Arguably, though, it’s a more logical fit marketed as a compact crossover than a hatchback.