Citroen Cactus set to get traditional auto transmission
French brand may ditched its much maligned transmission.
Citroen has filled a gap in the C4 Cactus range overseas with the addition of a petrol-powered automatic model.
The EAT6 (efficient automatic transmission) is, as the name suggests, a conventional six-speed automatic as opposed to a dual-clutch type. It can be paired with the brand's 81kW 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol engine, which up until now has only been available with a five-speed manual.
In Australia the current C4 Cactus range is limited to the manual petrol model and a 1.6-litre turbo diesel engine which comes linked to a six-speed robotised-manual transmission.
The announcement of the six-speed automatic in the right-hand drive UK market is an important one for Australia where automatic transmissions represent the vast majority of sales in mainstream market segments including the small SUV class that the C4 Cactus fits into.
After going on sale in March of 2016 the C4 Cactus tallied just 226 sales for the year, putting it behind competitors like the Suzuki Jimny and S-Cross, Skoda Yeti and Peugeot 2008 and a long way off the top-selling Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX which both tallied in excess of 18,000 sales each.
The addition of a petrol automatic variant could potentially boost C4 Cactus sales locally.
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