1988 Citroen AX TRE 4-door review from UK and Ireland

Seized brake calliper - 61,000 miles.

Cracked distributor cap.

Re-conditioned gearbox and a new clutch at 67,500 miles.

Two new exhaust boxes.

Broken weld on the driver's seat.

Far less rust prone than most British contemporary super-minis.

Has never broken down, very quick and nippy around town.

Comfortable seats, quite good quality trim and a soft suspension with bags of grip.

Still gives superb economy on motorway runs, 50+ mpg.

Overall, reasonable performance and cheap to run and insure.

Rear seats fold down to provide plenty of space.

However, parts are too expensive and sometimes require unusual tools.

Uses quite a lot of choke on short urban runs.

A little noisy at high speed and prone to wheelslip in the wet and bodyroll when pushed hard.

Tends to sit on its springs when loaded with 4 adults.

I still prefer driving it to comparable Fiesta/Novas of a similar vintage because of the easy gear change and the quick acceleration.