Faults:

When I first bought it, the airbag warning light was sometimes on. I was not at ease to say the least, but later I found out that it's a common fault. On most cars apparently, not just Citroens. I did what some guys here did: fiddled a bit with the connector under the seat and never had the problem since.

Otherwise nothing except normal maintenance.

General Comments:

Fuel consumption: excellent. The car consumes 6.5l of petrol per 100km. My driving style is normal I'd say. Not burning rubber and not sluggish either.

Road holding: very good. It doesn't corner like my previous ZX though...pity.

Performance: good for its size and the 1.6 engine.

Exterior: is rather bland, not ugly though. I quite like the view 3/4 back. You can also see that the Xsara has better aerodynamics than the ZX.

Interior: looks and feels much better built than a ZX. Very comfortable velours seats, nice steering wheel, much less noisy than a ZX, engine noise greatly reduced, very good size boot. Thank god for the airco.

Gearshift is o.k. I've seen better.

Visibility backwards isn't that good because the window is narrow and there are also the rear head restraints.

Costs: doesn't use a lot of petrol, my Citroen garage is very good (nice people, know what they're doing, very reasonable prices).

Bought it privately as a 6-year old for 4000€ with 40000km guaranteed. Never regretted it.

Faults:

Nothing of course as this car is only two days old.

General Comments:

My car has automatic aircon and is the latest revised version of the Xsara. It is fully computer-managed, something I have always been frightened of (for reliability) but once you know how to use it, it is fabulous. Citroen have obviously got this totally right.

Still running in, and using cruise control as much as possible, I so far have managed 5 l / 100 km of diesel and am not a snail on the road. The LCD screen is always selected to show the current fuel consumption; helps driving at best economy. Road holding on standard fit 195/55 Michelins is excellent. Performance so far promises a lot for when it is run in and I can use its full potential. All controls are logically located. Very comfortable and quiet interior. Fortunately no unnecessary gadgets. Rear visibility is slightly difficult. Excellent luggage capacity.

(Sadly my 1996 AX 1.5D will have to go at 305,000 km and an average diesel consumption of 4.5 l / 100 km. I have never had to add lube oil between services).

Faults:

I don't have any problems with my Xsara so fare. The cars drives very well, it is comfortable, it has lots of space for a compact car. The only fault I had so fare is the airbag-light, which is caused by the connector of the belt tensioners. However, my Citroen dealer was able to fix it within 30 minutes.

General Comments:

In my opinion the Xsara is a good and reliable car with a better price/value rating than its German competitors.

The performance of the 1.4 litre engine is good, but the strength of the Xsara is the handling, especially on countryside roads.

Fuel economy is also very good, especially considering my way of driving, with an average consumption of 7,7 litres (about 6,7 litres motorway and 8,8 in the city).

Faults:

All 4 doors not aligned properly causing damage to the paintwork and a rattling noise when driving over rough surfaces. Fixed under warranty.

Water entering at bottom right front door. 4 times at the dealer, cause still not found!!!!

General Comments:

Engine is extremely noisy, dealer assures me it is normal.

Interior noises from various plastic parts even when driving over very smooth surfaces.

Doesn't compare with a BX16 TRS I had in terms of the fun you have while driving.