1992 Citroen XM VSX from UK and Ireland - Comments

Head gasket at 186000 miles.

Hydraulic pump replaced at 120000 miles.

Driver's side front electric window regulator at 100000.

Blower motor replaced at 150000 miles.

Take a good look at an XM from all angles, what do you see?, well you will either hate it with a passion forever or (like me), you will fall overwhelmingly in love with it, and you are then bonded for life and there's nothing you can do about it.

So, what's all the fuss about, it's only a car, people who haven't seen one will say, some will say it's the ugliest car they have ever seen?

Well it's an XM, and think for a second that this car was launched in 1989; back then cars were well let's say, ordinary.

Suddenly that was changed in a instant, this Citroen changed the family car forever and no other make or model had ever done that before with exception to the jelly mold Sierra, but even that didn't cause such a stir.

Open the door and you are suddenly staggered by the luxurious and spacious tardis like cabin with buttons and gadgets everywhere.

Sit in it and you will wonder where your co-pilot is, because of the vast void between the seats, filled by a huge center console with buttons galore, the center arm rest could be a seat itself, (and it goes up and down at the touch of a button).

There is a slight problem at this point because you are now sitting in the most comfortable seat any car has ever had to offer. Suddenly it wouldn't matter what the car looked like externally.

You have a glance around the cockpit, and the inner-child comes out in you, you want to play with all those gadgets, but that's when things went horribly wrong!

Unfortunately Citroen put so much thought into the XM to make it perfect that when the jigsaw finally arrived, it was far from perfect. Sadly it was doomed.

Technology that hadn't even arrived yet had been crowbarred into every available corner. Things weren't looking good.

Ironically the car itself was extremely well made, rock solid in-fact, every piece of trim fitted perfectly and wouldn't fall off. Cars used to rust back then, this wouldn't, every single square centimeter was galvanized, every panel down to the smallest piece of trim was screwed on, most cars looked plasticy, the XM didn't.

So let's go for a drive, gobsmacked? Of course you were, where did all those potholes and speed humps go? Did the road fairy replace all the tarmac with marble overnight? This truly was the the most remarkable car I had ever driven, and throughout my career, I have driven a lot of them.

On the motorway, I won't give a particular speed but the word "road-noise" wouldn't be in any dictionary, although "flying-carpet" would have to be corrected, (look under XM)!

OK, it's a big car, big cars are lazy, tend to wallow a bit perhaps? Big cars with big enough engines are quite fast, they don't really like sharp bends or being thrown around corners without squealing with under-steer and upsetting your passengers, but this is an XM and it's different.

At a set of lights you find yourself next to a hot-hatch and the person behind its wheel has looked across at you and thinks no more of it, the lights change and suddenly he's in your rear view mirror quite bemused. How can a car which weighs nye on 2 ton leave the planet at such speed? Well again Citroen had put a lot of thought into this and came up with an engine and transmission so perfectly matched that all they had to do to turn it into a lightning bolt was add a turbo; this was just a 2 litre engine in a big car and it worked perfectly.

The 2.1 litre turbo diesel was no slouch either, and worked perfectly with the automatic transmission. Unfortunately there was another glitch, the auto box, they were notoriously bad, that's a bit unfair though, they just wasn't man enough for the job and coupled to the V6 plant they would literally explode.

If you are lucky enough to have a good 2 litre turbo petrol or 2.1 litre turbo diesel coupled to an auto box, as long as the oil and filter for the transmission has been regularly changed, you shouldn't have any problems, (listen out for a slight screech when changing from 2nd to 3rd, the band for 3rd gear tends to slip as it grips. Pull the dip stick from the transmission and smell the oil, if it smells burnt, (you will know if it does!), then change the oil and filter).

Don't be scared of the auto box, just check its history.

I would personally avoid the V6 auto.

So does it handle well? Good question, big heavy car? We have already discussed its rocket power and magic-carpet features. So two ride selections, normal and sport. Normal mode means just that, you're driving sensibly and you're quite happy on your magic-carpet and marble road, this normally takes a while to get used to, after all its your first XM.

OK, so you now find yourself going fast along a country lane with plenty of potholes, sharp bends, spilt tractor diesel, it's slightly damp. Slide the switch to Sport mode, OK now suddenly some pot holes have come back and the magic-carpet has rolled up, but you're not disappointed because it's reassuring to know you're still driving a car.

Now I'm sure you've heard the expression "handles like it's on rails", well add to that "and there's a big magnet pulling me onto those rails" and that's not a bad description, your XM will not roll no matter how tight the bend is or how fast you're going! (remember this is a big car), suddenly it's as nimble as Saxo, (I've driven one).

The grip is unbelievable, the handling is precise and controlled, no matter how tight you push into a bend, it will not lose grip. It doesn't under-steer or over-steer, braking and accelerating around country lanes is effortless in your XM, and the power to pull you up out of a bend and then up a 1 in 4 is priceless.

If you're brave, carry out this little experiment; nice straight clear road, touch 60 or 70 dependent on what road you're on, switch on normal (magic-carpet mode, then gently steer side to side, not too harsh, you will notice a very slight roll. Now slide the switch to Sport mode, carry out the same movements on the steering wheel, the car stops rolling and stays absolutely level, a computer senses this movement and compensates instantly to any lateral imbalance keeping the car completely flat, go fast around a bend (safely!) you will be amazed at how flat and level it rides.

XM's are good, very good, but equally bad, buy a lemon and you're gonna be dipping into your pocket quite a lot.

Buy a good one and you will never regret it.

The trouble is it's a gamble, for say £500 you could buy a high mileage one privately and as long as it's been looked after with plenty of receipts, plenty of service history, you can't go wrong, but drive it away and something major goes wrong, (and with XM's it's always major), then your £500 asset will be worth scrap.

Buy from a dealer, expect to pay upwards of £2000 but you have some warranty to play with!

Mileage isn't really a factor, it's servicing that lets them down, it's crucial they have good history. Service parts are not cheap!

Oh, all those gadgets, most of them will have packed up at some stage and will have been repaired (wait until you see all those receipts!).

Now the XM has a list of common faults as long as Southend pier, but don't let that put you off. One thing I can guarantee is there will be something wrong with your XM if you buy one, be it a dash bulb or blower motor, (the list is too long) but as long as it's mechanically sound, you will have a nice cheap car which will still make heads turn! (although not necessarily for the correct reason).

Check for suspension leaks, and the pipes are sound, and if your dealer is really nice, he will have fitted new spheres on it, all seven of them.

So on conclusion, would I buy another one? Of course I would.

Nice review! Fun to read =)

Regarding your comment on the auto box;

"they were notoriously bad, that's a bit unfair though, they just wasn't man enough for the job and coupled to the V6 plant they would literally explode"

I can't say I agree. Yes, they can be troublesome if oil changes are neglected for years and years and then shocked with wrong type of transmission fluid (wrong = fully synthetic Dex3), but with proper service the auto will give you no problems. It also has partial lockup in 3rd and full lockup in 4th to give direct response and better gas mileage.

To me, the XM V6 Exclusive with automatic transmission, cruise control and DIRAVI (full hydraulic variable countersteering) is the ultimate XM. The XM is intended as an effortless cruiser, and the mentioned features really elevates the XM to another level in that regard.

A word of advice; pitch black burned transmission oil, jerky/hesitating shifting and high mileage specimens hardly calls for a sensible used XM auto purchase...

Z.

Thanks for reading my review, I do go on a bit, but the XM deserves all comments, good and bad, it's one of a kind and hopefully won't completely vanish. Keep looking everyone, go get an XM!!

Please comment on my review, hope it was helpful.