1998 Citroen Xsara 2.0 VTS 2.0 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Underrated Hot hatch

Faults:

Nothing to date - only covered 3,000 miles.

General Comments:

Excellent engine mated to a good chassis.

Rear wheel passive steer can catch you out if you unexpectantly have to lift off mid corner - I changed the tyres round to have the newer tread on the rear - improved the problem.

An annoying exhaust "boom" around 3200 rpm - tried realigning the exhaust system, but to no avail.

Rear suspension knocks over potholes, I've checked out the rear suspension flexible mountings (cause of knocking on high mileage ZX's, but there's no movement - "Probably a characteristic of the marque Sir!"

Excellent "A" class mile cruncher without boy racer looks to catch the attention of the local constabulary.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th March, 2003

1998 Citroen Xsara SX 1.8 from Israel

Summary:

A low performance bargain

Faults:

1. The blinker relay "work" from time to time with no touch or use of the handle.

2. indoor light does not go on when open driver door.

3. outdoor driver door handle got broken at 50,000 km.

4. one cooling fan got broken after 25,000 km

5. the a/c grills got broken - driver side and middle one.

6. difficult to drive in a shine day - the glare shield is reflecting on the front windows.

General Comments:

1. This car is cheap when you buy it, and get very expensive in maintenance.

2. The original parts are very expensive.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 10th January, 2003

1998 Citroen Xsara 1.8 petrol from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

Could have got a better car at about the same price or even lower...

Faults:

Noisy clutch.

Acrid smell in the air conditioning.

CD remote does not work.

Remote central locking does not work.

Buckled upholstery.

Air vents in the dashboard fell out.

General Comments:

The car handles well and has good acceleration.

Stupid design such as, all switches are illuminated except the light switches.

The jack is clipped under the car, and it's a good way to ruin your clothes when you are flat out, face down prizing the jack out.

Australian version is very basic, it misses many of the features the Euro version has.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 5th September, 2001

15th Oct 2001, 21:17

There must be some good points about the car for you to have kept the car for so long. Maybe you could list those too.

23rd Apr 2009, 09:16

I'm afraid not, I have a 1999 Xsara as well purchased new. The only reason why we've kept it this long is because it is worthless and difficult to resell. Eurotrash at best.

In reply to 23rd Apr 2009, 09:16

11th Oct 2014, 11:07

"Eurotrash at best." So what cars do you like, American or Asian (Chinese)?

1998 Citroen Xsara SX 1.6 gasoline engine from Chile

Summary:

An acceptable average car

Faults:

Faulty airbag light.

Belt tensioner bolts broke at 13000 kilometers.

General Comments:

The car after being repaired handles well. Only the first gear is too slow.

Car handles well in tight turns.

Silent engine.

Does not spend too much fuel, (12 kilometers per liter)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th June, 2001

1998 Citroen Xsara VTR Coupe 1.8 16v from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Excellent performance, handling and comfort

Faults:

Passenger side window leaked in heavy rain.

Driver mirror outer casing became loose.

Piece of interior trim fell off.

All of the above faults were repaired at no personal cost by the dealer where the car was purchased. They were only to happy to help and even paid my fuel expenses for the journey.

General Comments:

Excellent performance, I was really surprised, when raced at an airfield against a friend;s car (Mondeo ST24) it was only marginally slower.

Four wheel steer makes the car handle excellently, giving a really well balanced and positive feel.

Excellent and very well constructed interior, very supportive seats!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th April, 2001

17th Aug 2001, 11:57

A 1.6 Citroen vs a 24 Valve V6 Duratec powered Mondeo...

It could have been a 1.8TD with kit on I guess.

28th Aug 2001, 11:48

The person above obviously failed to read the original report properly, because it actually says that the car is a 1.8 16valve, not 1.6!!

As I was actually present at the mentioned event, I can confirm the Citroen did very well and lost very little ground to the Mondeo. In fact according to manufacturers figures the Citroen's 0-60 time is just over a second slower than the ST24 - that difference on the road is very marginal and makes the two cars seem a lot closer in performance than the figures would suggest.

1st Sep 2001, 12:12

Dear me.

The Mondeo driver must have been in 5th pulling off.

9th Sep 2001, 13:59

Referring to the comment made by the person on the 28th of August.

I actually own a Xsara VTR 1.8 16V and whilst I make no accusations of it being an st24 eater, I can confirm how close a race between two such cars can be. I have had burn ups with other similar V6 vehicles and found the results to be surprising. On one occasion myself and Vectra 2.5 V6 SRI went flat out from 20 MPH off a roundabout to 90 MPH, it was possible to see the Vectra pulling away slowly, but it was not making a great deal more progress.