2016 Citroen C4 Cactus v Toyota Prius REVIEW | Who Rules At The Bowser?
IS THE WORLD'S BEST-SELLING HYBRID STILL KING-OF-THE-HEAP FOR REAL-WORLD FUEL ECONOMY, OR CAN A SUPER-EFFICIENT LIGHTWEIGHT DIESEL KNOCK IT OFF ITS PERCH?
We put the new diesel-engined Citroen C4 Cactus (claiming just 3.6 l/100km) up against the new hybrid-powered Toyota Prius (claiming 3.4 l/100km) in an economy shootout.
Both launched in Australia in the same week, both claim the thirst of a hermit monk, and both appeal in entirely different ways.
Both look… well, different. One brimming with idiosyncratic quirky Gallic charm – the C4 Cactus – the other, the new Toyota Prius, a riot of unusual lines but that drives as sensibly as a Bishop.
TESTEDCitroen C4 Cactus ($29,990 +ORC or $33,827 on-road)
Toyota Prius ($34,990 or $38,987 on-road)
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OVERVIEW
Within their own fuel-sipping genre, it is hard to imagine a greater contrast than the C4 Cactus from France and Prius from Japan.
There is a $5000 gap in the purchase price, the C4 Cactus diesel the winner here at $33,827 on road (give or take a few dollars difference between states); the entry Prius at $38,987 on road.
The Citroen however is a small hatchback pumped up to look like an SUV. Its strategy to achieve low fuel consumption rests on stripping back weight and employing a ‘bare essentials’ 1.6-litre turbo-diesel.