Citroen's unconventional car with Gallic charm

The protective black 'Airbump' panels along the sides of the new Citroen C4 are sure to attract a lot of attention from other road users.

UK motoring writer Jamie Merrill finds the Citroen Cactus isn't so prickly

When I was at primary school I remember thinking it was odd that my dad had glued little plastic patches on the doors of the family's Vauxhall Cavalier.

I think the idea was that they'd stop flung-open car doors damaging the Cavalier's paintwork. I suppose it was the automotive equivalent of coating your sofa in plastic.

Looking back it's almost certain that the little plastic defenders were just as much about protecting the car from my less-than-careful style of opening doors.

Twenty-five odd years later and carmakers have finally caught on to the benefits of these little devices. And it is French car maker Citroen that is leading the plastic-fantastic charge with soft bubble pads on the flanks of its new C4 Cactus model.

Thankfully I've got more careful with car doors of late, but these nifty "Airbumps" will be a godsend if you have to park in a tight city space.

They may look slightly odd and they'll certainly get you lots of glances as people look, look again and then wonder if you are driving some kind of jazzy moon buggy.

However, despite all the colourful cladding and wheel-arch protectors, this isn't an off-roading buggy, in fact, it isn't even offered with four-wheel drive.

What it is though, is a city-friendly car that combines funky design with an affordable price tag in the UK, starting at just over £12,000 for the entry-level model. The last time Citroen did that properly was when it created the legendary 2CV and we all know how well that went.

In the old Deux Chevaux you could take out the rear seats to make room for sheep and reportedly cross a ploughed field with a basket of eggs and not break any of them.
Sadly, these farmer-friendly design features didn't make it into the Cactus, but that's not to say it doesn't have its quirks.

From its sofa-style front seats and thick suitcase-style door handles to its bubbly doors and a pleasingly simple digital display, the Cactus breaks a number of traditional car design conventions.

I'm not in the business of predicting future classics, but what I will say is that the Cactus is one of the most interesting cars to go on sale this year. Even if it is 20 years behind my dad's DIY car improvements.

-Independent