1996 Citroen Xantia dimension from UK and Ireland - Comments

Remote central locking fob did not work on purchase, cost £15 to re-solder joints, now its perfect.

Wheels marginally out of alignment, therefore needed an optiflex (4 wheel alignment)

Cost £25.

Stepper motor ensured occasionally car kept stalled in neutral, normally in the most awkward location!

Cost £50 to clean it up.

A nice car, which probably sits between lx and sx, as it is lx trim with air con, velour and colour coded everything as std.

My first Citroen and feels unstable at high speed over large bumps, which I am told is normal, rather unnerving.

The ride quality is very good and so is acceleration.

A strange squealing noise when turning the car left round tight corners, I am told this is old age and normal, it does not affect driving so ill take my local Citroen garages word.

Build quality is very good and looks superb in met green with grey velour interior, a feel of quality.

Radio cassette system is also of a high quality, with cps and Dolby b, just a shame no cd player.

So far generally a good reliable car fully loaded with spec and reasonable costs to run and maintain, just a shame about the heart attack steering at motorway speeds on some uneven surfaces, and no its nothing to do with suspension. Nonetheless a bargain compared against equivalent Japanese and German competitors.

I completely agree with this review. exactly the same experience/prejudices with my xantia with way high VFM above most other cars I have bought. Equal ride with the SLK I used to have (in better days) though not in acceleration. Road holding good if suspension looked after same as all cars.

This is the original posters reply/update.

Many thanks to the above comment, I would like to add the handling has improved since I got rid of a couple of budget tyres and fitted some proper tyres on. So I would recommend any prospective buyer of a xantia budget this into their purchase prices. i.e. good quality tyres.

A year on the car has (touch wood) proved to be very reliable, I have added (the now compulsory) cd player by buying a cd walkman and a wire to connect to the head unit, quality is great and I can now play all my fav music, superb!

I am the original reviewer, I'm sure everyone is eager for the final update!

I sold my 1.8 16 valve Xantia earlier this year and brought a Xsara. The Xantia was a good car, but the fuel consumption was not good, between 20-23 mpg around town and only a maximum of 35mpg on the motorway, so I sold it. The Xsara gives better mpg around town than the Xantia did on the motorway! The Xsara is also a petrol BTW.

The Xantia was 100% reliable, but the fuel prices meant it was not really viable, although overall it was a good car.

Now these cars are very cheap and old, you must proceed with caution, although the Internet and owners clubs help for a good purchase.