1999 Citroen Saxo 1.1 East Coast from UK and Ireland - Comments

Brake pads and shoes needed replacing.

For a 1.1, the saxo is a nippy little car. I had mine up to 110mph with four in the car.

Only bad thing is to get the car to that speed you needed to drive it hard, foot to the floor all the time which resulted in a lot of fuel used. I was putting in twenty quid a night just to go driving for a few hours with my mates.

The fuel gauge wasn't any good either. Tank shows half empty, put a tenner in and it is full. Another time it shows half empty, put twenty quid in and it is only two thirds full! work that one out!

Not enough room in the back of the car, people always complaining of cramp, and when they try to climb out of the 3-door, the door trims kept on getting bashed and ruined.

Rubbish handling. Car was soon to be written off by going round a corner. Not a sharp corner mind you, only a small slight corner. The car slid out doing about 40mph (most cars will take this corner about 70mph no troubles). Ended up spinning round in the road, hitting a bank, up on two wheel through this dirt track, hit a tree and ended up half the car over a riverbank.

You sure that wasn't to do with your driving? I've heard most think the saxo sticks to the road like s**t to a blanket!

Perhaps you should have got a VTS?

Of course it's going to be difficult to get 110mph out of Saxo. As for the handling, I think it may be your driving to blame, not the car.

You should of got a VTR/VTS, I've never been in a car with so much grip (even my old mini!). You do have to drive them hard, and as a result they do rattle and shake a bit after a few years - but great fun!

I think the handling aspect of the Saxo is mainly down to the driver. The car has very light steering, maybe slightly too light. However, I had a Saxo 1.1i which stuck to the road, very reliable.

Even when crashing head on into a wall after sliding on some black ice at about 50 mph, myself and my 4 mates would have been killed. We all walked out of the car with only minor injuries. Saxo's are very tough little cars, just got to treat them right in terms of handling.

I've owned mine for over 3 years. I do have pirelli P3000 on the standard rims and I have to say that this car is a truly fun and great handling car. Sadly I have to agree with everyone else; either your dampers were broken or your tires were bald as this car on a track will gradly take the tightest of corners. Money down you probably lifted off the accelerator when you realised the corner was a little tighter than initially evaluated. Either way this doesn't seem like the right fit for you but please go on a few track days to explore the handling. Its both safer and more fun. P.S. I also own a P reg Subaru Impreza STI but find the saxo more fun to throw around corners, although it brings a slightly smaller grin to my face.

Don't mean to be patronising, but sounds like you didn't take the corner properly.

I have a Saxo 1.1 East Coast and it generally sticks to the road well and is very nippy. If you're putting that much fuel in so often you either have a very inefficient engine or drive it very hard.

So how far did the car travel from the road before it stopped?