1992 Citroen ZX Reviews - Page 3 of 9

Idle valve faulty and valve stem seal worn at 61000km (although it took 13 months and 19000km for dealer to diagnose valve stem seal!)

75000km Front and rear callipers, front discs and brake balance valves replaced, rear discs ground.

Luckily these jobs were done under warranty.

Heater hose blown.

Radiator replaced.

Numerous instrument bulbs blown, luckily there are lots in the cluster and you can wait for several to blow, before you have to get in and replace them.

Paint has lost its oxide on bonnet.

This car handles very well and is reasonably powerful. It out performs most of the more popular GTIs.

Brakes have great feel, but need more stopping power.

It has a high specification level for your money and is very comfortable to drive.

Good luggage space available with sliding rear seat.

Once its early problems were fixed, this car has been very reliable.

Use independents for servicing.

Brakes every 50 000 km

injections change every 150 000 km

transmission change on 190 000 km.

Fuel system required complete overhaul.

Suspension bushes needed replacing.

Engine drank oil at an alarming rate.

Cold-start problems in winter (eventual reason for changing).

Early hesitant acceleration (not totally dissimilar to turbo-lag, despite the car not having a turbo charger, carburetor system needed replacing).

Numerous rattles, and electrical gremlins, particularly notable were windows and central locking.

My first car. For £400 I couldn't really have done better. It wasn't totally reliable, which I admit. But despite this, I was surprisingly sorry to see it go.

For a 1.4 8v engine the car was fast, notably because it was light. As it shared the same 205/306 suspension it was similar to drive, though, had much greater body roll for a softer ride.

The trouble is, if you ever tried to categorise it as a comfortable car, you'd be disappointed. The boot was small, though legroom, quite good. The driving position forced a leg-around wheel type position, and the seats were overly soft French-types, that while comfortable at first, lack any support for longer journeys. Also wind, road and engine noise were all quite loud. As indeed were all the rattling bits of trim.

But even for that I loved this car. It lacked power-steering, but at speed, you wouldn't know, (parking, however, was awful). The visibility was great when it was dry, but in the wet the single-wiper never cleared enough of the screen for my liking.

It rode and handled beautifully. Escorts, Astras and the like (of the same mid-90's era) had nothing on this car. It may have rolled a lot, but it wouldn't lose it's nerve, hanging on around country roads with tennacity.

In fact, when it came to replacing it, I looked at several models, including the Xsara, Megane and Rover 200 that seemed inferior to my tastes in driving ability. It was only the 306 and Focus (the latter being the eventual choice) that seemed an improvement.

So it was cheap, though running it was a pain (repairs costing more than equivalent Ford/Vauxhall marques), it was roomy enough to carry three mates comfortably (though four college bags filled the boot, and not in any style - she's not much of a looker), and from the driver's seat, she was beautiful.

If you're looking for a car that will happily take you to college and back, and give you a love/hate relationship, then this is the one. But be warned, this is no motorway muncher, noise and support are just too lacking.

Power steering pump failed after 6 months - £350 (explained the bad handling)

Cloud of white smoke emerged from under the bonnet at a roundabout - sticky caliper. £40.

Sticky brakes again.

Dashboard light failed & plastic strip guarding radiator keeps detaching from the bumper (cured every few months with super glue)

Parking brake light kept flickering when going around bends & inclines. Very annoying, however the car functioned OK. Eventually turned out to be low brake fluid (I would have thought it would have been covered at it's regular 6k mile service).

Sunroof temperamental at closing - opens OK with some clunking.

Annoying rattle from plastic strip on inner roof support.

Binding brakes, causing lack of acceleration & yowling noise, especially when cold.

Middle section of exhaust fell off.

Bodywork beginning to wear badly.

Passenger mirror thumped when parked (help in place by duct-tape)

Drivers mirror (glass section) fell off.

Impressive specs when bought especially in comparison to Pug 309 equivalent, single electric mirror seems odd. Comfortable, with plenty of legroom. Non-factory CD interchanger does impinge on boot space.

The sliding rear seats (French feature?) are excellent, especially if you want a larger boot.

Very comfortable and has been fairly reliable, brakes being the temperamental aspect. The brakes themselves don't seem to be especially good and seem prone to sticking, despite several visits to a garage.

Handling initially was atrocious - seems to have been caused by failing power steering pump from 2nd hand purchase. Replacement cured fault, but the turning circle of the car is embarrassing to say the least.

The other major gripes are the acceleration, which is either good or diabolical, but this may be due to it being the non-turbo model. Also the single wiper is pretty poor especially in very heavy rain. Gearbox & clutch could be better - they are very 'slushy' but it is now a elderly car, used heavily by a learner driver.