The efficiency of our long-term Citroën C4 Cactus has long been music to my ears, but recent strong winds have created another sound: a whistling around the roof rails.

It hasn’t happened often and seems to occur only during the strongest gusts, but the high-pitched note still intrudes into the otherwise reasonably quiet cabin.

The Cactus’s refinement is one of its strengths: speed bumps cause the suspension to thud, but in the main it’s a comfortable car to travel in.

This is helped by the front seats, described by Citroën as ‘sofa-style’. They are much squarer than most car seats, but provide plenty of support.

The front seat design is typical of Citroën’s individualistic approach to the interior. It uses a mix of materials and styles which shouldn’t, but somehow do, work together and even add to the quirky, likeable nature of the car.

The main trim material is black plastic, with piano black inserts. However, the glovebox has a brown upwards-opening lid to add another style: its two leather-look straps give it the appearance of old-fashioned luggage.

Its rectangular, tablet-style instrument panel doesn’t feature any dials, but displays a modicum of information in red digital numbers, including speed, cruise control settings and fuel gauge.