Citroen C4 Cactus Airflow 2L Brings the Fuel-Sipping Funk

Kudos to them for flexing their design muscles, creating products that compete in the mass market while not looking like anything else on the road. This C4 Cactus, for example – it's a small hatchback that's about the same size as a Ford Focus, designed to take on small crossovers like the (also weird) Nissan Juke and Renault Captur. But it looks radical, what with its funky Airbump door trim (think of it as aerodynamic, protective Braille), extensive and imaginative color palette, and decidedly weird styling. It's just plain cool.

This specific C4 Cactus, however, takes things a step further with a massive focus on emissions and fuel economy. Much like the Peugeot 208 with which it shares a powertrain, the Cactus 2L Airflow uses PSA Peugeot Citroën's Hybrid Air powertrain, comprised of a three-cylinder PureTech gasoline engine and a compressed air storage unit. There are three different operating modes for the Hybrid Air system, including "air power," where the compressed air motor runs things, "petrol power," which is pretty self-explanatory, and "combined power," where the combustion engine works with the compressed air system to move things along.

The end result? A five-door hatch that weighs just 2,100 pounds (you know, lighter than a Mazda Miata) and is capable of getting 141 miles per gallon on the European cycle, or two liters per 100 kilometers (that's why it's got "2L" in its name). And it's all wrapped in colorful, textured, uniquely French package.