Hi. I live in France. I currently have a 1998 (actually 12/97) Xantia V6 3.0, 24v, in its "Exclusive" series. Bought it in March in Switzerland. Previously, I owned a 2.0i 16v, which was pleasant already to drive, mainly due to its hydraulic suspension (Activa) that makes it very comfy. The V6 has automatic transmission, and comes to 194 bhp. Its given to a max. speed of 238 kph (148 mph), and does the 0-60 mph in less than 7.8 sec.
No need to say it's fast, and there are many guys on the roads who are bloody surprised, with their Audi A3 2.0 TDi, or BMW 328i, to see a rather discrete looking family car shaking them off as I do.
The Exclusive version includes cruise-control, leather seats, heating seats, automatic airco, CD loader (10 CD's) in the trunk, electrically controlled seats, electric sunroof, and, although an automatic gearbox, it accelerates pretty well (there is a 3 positions-selector, allowing to switch from "normal" to "sports" or "snow", which changes its behaviour).
All I can say is that it's, for sure, not the most up-to-date design, and its qualities in crash-tests are rather outdated too, but, for the kind of price it can be found for, no doubt I wouldn't have found anything better equipped or faster.
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