2002 Citroen Saxo VTR from UK and Ireland - Comments

You people are just anti Saxo. The VTR does 130mph stock cause I've got one, and a lot of videos on youtube prove this.

I am not talking about top speed, cause the Clio will be faster in top end, it's nearer to 150mph, but 0-60 with a good driver in VTR you can stay in front just like I did, and if I was in a VTS he wouldn't passed me.

You just say it quicker cause it is on paper, but why don't you watch VTS 0-160km/h (0-100mph) on youtube and open another window and watch Clio V6 0-160 km/h (0-100mph) and play them together, and the Citroen Saxo VTS gets to 160 km/h quicker! And the V6 is quicker than the 182 or 172; I PROVED MY POINT. People only say Saxos are slow cause of the image they have, but they surprise a lot of quicker cars on paper.

About 7 years ago I used to own a Saxo VTR for just over a year after wanting something a bit more modern than my 1989 Ford Fiesta 1.6S (90 bhp).

I added a fast road cam to that car, along with an exhaust system and performance manifold with panel filter, K&N induction kit and had the carbs re jetted and rolling roaded. The final result was 110bhp (about 85-90 to the wheels), not a lot I know, but it absolutely destroyed the Saxo in terms of performance.

For ages I regretted selling my little Fiesta, anyway I got rid of the Saxo after about a year and replaced it with a Honda Civic 1.8 VTi with 169bhp in a family sized car. This made the Fiesta feel slow with no mods whatsoever.

A year later I replaced that car with a Honda Integra Type R (JDM spec 1.8 197bhp) which was quicker again.

Then I had a chance to drive a modified Saxo VTS (yes it was VTS) with proper forced cold air induction kit, it had been chipped, had the back seats removed for weight loss, performance manifold and exhaust system added and tuned on a rolling road. I was expecting a little road rocket... I was VERY disappointed!

The Saxo was nippy yes, and made a nice noise but performance wise it still didn't feel quick compared to my standard Type R. It would struggle to keep up with the teg if I changed gear before VTEC! I redlined every gear in the Saxo and gave it a good thrashing, but it just wasn't that quick. And everyone goes on about the handling of these cars, seriously take an Integra round a track and you will know what a FWD should handle like.

Far too many people on this site thinking they have the fastest car in the world, when all they have is a cheap french city car built to be a fun little run around. It's not anywhere near as fast as you think it is.

When I had my Saxo, a mk2 one, I had it remapped with a few other minor mods. The remap cost a lot of money and with the other smaller additions it produced 110bhp on the rolling road with a similar torque figure. Top speed was indicated to be 126mph by my satnav when it was 110bhp. So without the extra 10bhp maybe it would have been around 120mph?

1989 Ford Fiesta 1.6 quicker than a VTR?

When will Ford fans they get it into their heads that the 1.6 Fiesta cannot beat the 1.6 Saxo, again go to youtube and check it out; mk1 90hp Saxo beats Fiesta 1.6 Zetec S easy, and then hangs with it when the same Fiesta is highly modded and the mk1 VTR is slower than mk2.

When will you people stop talking about how fast Honda Civic Type R and BMWs are; they're only fast with a good driver. So what if a Civic Type R does 0-60 in 6.4, the average driver probably can't get anywhere near that time, THOSE ARE PRO TIMES BY PRO DRIVERS, but in a Saxo VTR/VTS you not dealing with huge wheelspin like you would launching a Civic Type R, so doing 0-60 in 7 seconds is possible even for a newbie.

And one last thing, the Citroen Saxo is the best hot hatch car around, forget ya high priced Civic Type Rs, Clio 182s, Ford Focus RSs, Golf GTIs, they're not worth it. For the price of a new Golf GTI, you can buy a Subaru Impreza STi, and that is a car to brag about, not some hot hatch wannabe supercar like the Golf.

You haven't proved your point because a VTS and a Clio V6 are not the cars we are discussing or even close to them. A Clio V6 is completely different for a start, it weighs a lot more than the cars we are discussing and is RWD not FWD. Also videos on youtube prove nothing if you cannot prove whether or not the cars are standard, or whether or not they are being done on an incline or decline or what road surface. Plus the fact that speedo's are not accurate and you cannot judge times with a stopwatch, but only proper timing equipment.

Nobody said the VTS wouldn't keep up with Clio sports to 60mph, in fact we said they would (but you would expect the Clio to be edging it even at 60). But the VTS is not the VTR is it??? What you described i.e. a Clio Sport struggling to get past until 65mph is what would happen if it was pitted against a VTS, not a standard VTR.

Why would other owners lie about their cars being slower than you claim, 120mph tops is about what I would have thought for the 98bhp VTR.

The Mk2 VTR has 100bhp and 0-60 8.5 seconds, I can hang with a VTS upto 100mph, they're not much quicker, and like I said the Clio Sport had trouble passing me; if I hadn't bounced of the limiter I reckon I could have stayed in front till about 75. Everything is possible with a good driver like me.

OK, it doesn't mean anyone has to believe you just because you say it. I certainly don't, hopefully anyone looking to choose between one of these and a VTS or Clio Sport etc won't look at your comments and believe them, or they will come away very disappointed when they actually get a VTR and discover that it goes exactly as fast as a car with that power and weight should go (which I would term as nippy but not quick - barely a warm hatch).

The guy only said the Fiesta felt quicker after putting the power up, and I'm pretty sure you are referring to the Fiesta Zetec S when you say the VTR is much quicker. Without getting too involved in that debate, those two cars are very similar speed wise. The Fiesta has slightly more power and the Saxo is slightly lighter. The Zetec S actually comes somewhere between a 90bhp and 98bhp VTR, so in that situation it would be very driver dependent with such close performance cars.

You seem to put the VTR and VTS as almost the same car, saying they can manage 0-60 runs in 7 seconds dead - a VTS might just crack it with wind behind it and a lot of luck, but the only way a VTR is going to get anywhere near that is if you drove it off a cliff.

How can a VTR owner criticize people who own PROPER hot hatches about buying a 'slow car'? You didn't even buy the VTS, you bought the toned down version with a bit of poke to keep first time drivers happy, not a performance car.

The VTR is on a par with Fiesta Zetec S, Corsa GSi's and the slowest MGZR's (105bhp version). It is plain foolish to argue that it's a lot faster and more in league with the cars you are when you look at the facts and figures. Or would you be able to make any of the cars I mentioned do 0-60 runs of 7 seconds?

Even the owners forums for Saxo VTRs and VTSs wouldn't believe your claims, and that is from other owners who see the car as their pride and joy.

You people clearly don't understand anything I said. I never said a VTR is faster than a VTS, Civic Type R, Clio 182 or Golf GTI. What I said was with a good driver you can stay in front up to to certain speed, which I did do against the Clio 172. When cars are around 2-3 seconds quicker to 60mph you still have got a chance if you react better.

Sometimes people in their 1.1 Saxos, if they react better than me, I have to give it some to keep up, and around 60 I will pass. Same situation with the VTR and Clio 172. I was a better driver than him.

One last thing, a sSxo is not heavy than a Fiesta Zetec, it's the other way round, and don't even compare the Zetec S to the mk2 VTR, mk1 yes, but not mk2.

If you can make a standard VTR or even a VTS for that matter, do 60 in less than 7 seconds, you really must be an amazing driver and should try and get into motor sport, and you should be OK to use the VTR as I imagine it should keep up with most of the touring cars etc, etc at least to seventy - LOL.

Anybody looking at this to find information on the cars capabilities will be sorely disappointed if they believe your claims and buy one, if they think it will actually do what you claim!

I have a Saxo VTR (mk2) to hand and have a friend with a Clio 182. If enough people want it, then I'll ask him if he is willing to make a vid and post the youtube link to prove which car is faster (within reason), my money is on the 182. Any takers?

The slowest MG ZR (1.4) is not in the same league as my VTR. I know that cause I beat the 1.8 ZR the other night. Everyone on the Saxo forum would agree with me cause people who drive Saxos know they're in their own league. Again you didn't understand me, what I said was why pay all that money for a Golf GTI (hot hatch as you call it) when you can buy a Subaru STi, which is worth the insurance. How can you call a car like a Golf GTI a PROPER hot hatch? It cannot go round corners, it's the size of a tank, and it's ugly, where the Saxo, Fiesta, Corsa look small, nice and are what hot hatches are about = decent acceleration, handling and nice looking.

You compare a 98bhp VTR to all these fast cars, then say don't compare the mark 2 to a Zetec S because it has 8bhp more than the mark 1, which makes it somehow in a completely different league? The Fiesta Zetec S is slightly heavier than a VTR, but has slightly more bhp, meaning it has 107bhp per ton compared to 110bhp per ton of a 98bhp VTR. This is much closer in fact than the mark one VTR, which has almost exactly 100bhp per ton. Where is your logic?

I have pulled up to the lights before in the fast lane and not expected the car next to me to shoot off, so I have to catch up and then overtake, but it is no reflection on the car that it takes a couple of seconds longer, just common sense. Also I will sometimes pull off and sit side by side with something just to see how it goes before putting my foot all the way down and going past, or I will sometimes accelerate up to the limit, then back off and sit at that speed, it doesn't mean the car has ran out of go.

However, you make it seem like from 0-60 most cars are pretty similar and this clearly is not the case. If you have been caught out by 1.1 litre cars etc with 0-60 times of 13 seconds or more, and you can catch out cars with 0-60 times of under 7 seconds then in both cases the faster car wasn't going flat out or did not start at the same time and it just becomes a pointless statement, it's like me saying I can beat a Leopard in a 100m race so long as the Leopard isn't running and I start running before it's even seen me.

The difference between the cars you brought up is a lot bigger than you claim. If more similar powered cars like an Astra VXR drag racing with a Golf GTI can pull a cars length or two in just a 0-60 dash, how is a VTR going to keep the gap so small? The answer is it won't.

A Saxo VTS takes about 24 seconds 0-100 and a VTR about 30 seconds. Six seconds is pretty noticeable, so whilst you could hang with one it would only be in the sense that you could still see him way out in front.

To quote:

19th Apr 2009, 10:24.

"The guy only said the Fiesta felt quicker after putting the power up, and I'm pretty sure you are referring to the Fiesta Zetec S when you say the VTR is much quicker. Without getting too involved in that debate, those two cars are very similar speed wise. The Fiesta has slightly more power and the Saxo is slightly lighter. The Zetec S actually comes somewhere between a 90bhp and 98bhp VTR, so in that situation it would be very driver dependent with such close performance cars.

You seem to put the VTR and VTS as almost the same car, saying they can manage 0-60 runs in 7 seconds dead - a VTS might just crack it with wind behind it and a lot of luck, but the only way a VTR is going to get anywhere near that is if you drove it off a cliff.

How can a VTR owner criticize people who own PROPER hot hatches about buying a 'slow car'? You didn't even buy the VTS, you bought the toned down version with a bit of poke to keep first time drivers happy, not a performance car.

The VTR is on a par with Fiesta Zetec S, Corsa GSi's and the slowest MGZR's (105bhp version). It is plain foolish to argue that it's a lot faster and more in league with the cars you are when you look at the facts and figures. Or would you be able to make any of the cars I mentioned do 0-60 runs of 7 seconds?

Even the owners forums for Saxo VTRs and VTSs wouldn't believe your claims, and that is from other owners who see the car as their pride and joy."

This guy is spot on.