The car you drive likely weighs something around 3,000 pounds. The Citroën C4-Cactus is just as big and as roomy as yours, only it weighs about a thousand pounds less and gets twice the gas mileage.
The Citroën C4-Cactus has made the news for its somewhat gimmicky dent-resistant doors. What hasn't been hitting the headlines is that the car weighs just over 2,100 pounds, 965 kilos to be exact.
Let's say you drive the most popular car in America, the Toyota Camry. Your car weighs something between 3100 and 3400 pounds. That's a half ton more. Ok, that's not a fair comparison, the Citroën is 20 inches shorter than your midsize sedan.
So, let's say you drive the most popular crossover in America, the Honda CR-V. Your car weighs between 3300 and 3600 pounds. That's three-quarters of a ton over a C4 Cactus. Ok, that's not fair because the Citroën is nearly a foot shorter than your midsize crossover.
Well, what if you drive a Ford Focus? That's a bit longer than the Citroën, but it's about as roomy. Your Ford weighs 2900 pounds, still eight hundred more than the Citroën.
The Citroën is more than 850 pounds lighter than the Fiat 500L, and 900 pounds lighter than a Mini Countryman.
How does the Cactus do it? High-strength steel construction, aluminum body panels, and decontenting. The inside door handles are just leather straps (sexy), the rear windows are pop-out, and the back seats don't split-fold, for instance.
Citroën claims the panoramic sunroof has been treated with a special anti-heat material that eliminates the need for a sun shade, saving thirteen pounds. Tell that to your friends at parties! Oh, and here are those rear pop-out windows.
It's what helps the car get a pretty great 3.1L/100km with the diesel, which is about twice as efficient as a Ford Focus, or something around 76 mpg.
You'd be forgiven for thinking this new Citroën is just another frumpy, bloated European crossover, but its lightweight design is outstanding. There's no way this thing isn't hilarious to drive, and it's amazingly efficient, too. If only it was coming to the US.
Photo Credits: Citroën