Faults:
Electrical fault with indicator stalk broke leaving me without any indicators. It took the dealer 4 weeks to get the part in stock, in which time they scratched the paint on the drivers side of the car quite badly.
The engine makes 'pinking noises' Despite numerous attempts to quieten this down the only solution is to use Shell Optimax Petrol. This has also cured problems with the engine hesitating and lacking power at times.
The radio does not store any of the pre-sets. Apparently this is a fault with all Citroen's. It has had three new radios, and on the last attempt to fix the problem the dealer didn't re-set the fule guage peoperly after re-attaching the battery which meant the car ran out of petrol, hence another trip on the back of a brake down truck.
Problems with the air-conditioning blowing out cold air for no reason - now fixed.
Under heavy braking the car would pull badly to the left - now fixed.
Passenger seat does not clip in place properly after being pushed forward - numerous attempts to fix this have proved fruitless.
General Comments:
The car looks fantastic in Arctic Steel which really sets of the coupe shape.
It's quite a good handling car, although the Saxo VTR/S is in a completely different league. The engine lacks low down power and sounds harsh at high revs. It is relatively poor on petrol and under heavy loads the engine still makes some pinking noises so it sounds like it's got a crate of milk bottles under the bonnet.
The interior is quite spacious if a little on the cheap side.
30th Mar 2003, 09:36
It's great that you got such a good deal. They are lovely looking cars and well specified. I think where the Focus has a huge edge is in the build quality. Everyone, including myself who have bought a Xsara will say what great value (I paid £9500 for a VTR Coupe with air-con, metallic and alloys) but will also say that they fall apart like mine did. After numerous attempts to fix faults such as erroneous fault lights, radio not working - (electrics are their achilles hill - wait for the wet months in the winter!) I and others have simply given up and bought something else. You'll enjoy driving it without a doubt, just hope you don't mind visiting your dealer on an EXTREMELY regular basis. Basically if you can get rid of it now I would, whilst a) it still goes so you can sell it and b) whilst it is still actually worth something - depreciation for the Xsara is amazing - after 10 months mine was only worth £5000 - trust me about this - I've been there! and if you don't, just read the other scathing reviews! The magazine are right to pan this car.