‘Again a real Citroen’
In the 1990s, we became acquainted with a lot of new middle class cars that have determined the street scene for a long time. The Citroën Xantia was one of them, although – as befits a Citroën – it always remained a bit of an odd man out.
While compatriot Renault was preparing the Laguna for the introduction and Ford had just presented the Mondeo, Citroën came up with a brand new successor to the BX: the Xantia. It was immediately clear that Citroën had taken a less extravagant course. It already did that with the ZX and its big brother was not quite the design statement on wheels as we were used to from the brand.
Conservative and separate
“Just like the ZX, the Xantia follows today’s fashion, which dictates that a real mid-sized car around 40 grand should above all be solid, offer a lot of comfort and have an appearance that shows the inner qualities.” The Xantia did have things that showed a more extravagant side. For example, the nose was reminiscent of that of its special big brother, the XM, and the butt of the Xantia was remarkably short and quite high.
We already wrote that a middle class car had to offer a lot of comfort and that was of course good with the Xantia. At least when it came to the suspension comfort. Citroën naturally had a reputation to uphold in that area and also provided the Xantia with the well-known hydropneumatic system. “Assisted by a pair of armchair soft seats, reminiscent of the famous DS, the gas and liquid-controlled suspension provides a ride comfort that is unparalleled in this class,” was our first impression. By the way, there were different versions: “A straight-forward version for the simple model and a computer-controlled Hydractive II system for the higher-ranking Xantias.” Later, the Xantia Activa would become the crème de la crème in this area, with its active suspension.
Comfortable and entertaining
The workplace of the Citroën Xantia was also somewhat reminiscent of that of its big brother. Citroën also took a more conservative direction here, because in the BX it was still a special story with, for example, the button clusters behind the steering wheel instead of regular levers. It all looked much more organized in the Xantia, especially less French. We were pleasantly surprised. At this first meeting we went on the road with three different versions of the Xantia: the 103 hp 1.8i SX with the regular hydropneumatic system and the Hydractive II equipped 2.0i SX (123 hp) and 2.0i VSX (155 hp).
The 1.8 with the standard suspension system was fine in our opinion, not fast but more than sufficient, but both 2.0s were very nice, especially the VSX. “Those who love driving, appreciate comfort and accept the challenge of Citroën’s special suspension system, should definitely go around the block with that 2.0 VSX. The introduction on the Andalusian winding roads has convinced me in any case. Especially with the suspension in sport mode, the fastest and most expensive Xantia kept track effortlessly and docilely on that stretch, proving that comfort and driving performance need not be enemies.”
Later the range would of course be much more extensive, including a series of diesel engines and of course the V6. In 1995, the Xantia Break also appeared.
6,500 in introductory year
All in all, the Citroën Xantia had left a first impression that inspired confidence. Citroën again had something special in its hands in the middle class, only now in a more accessible jacket. In the year of introduction, 1993, more than 6,500 were sold straight away in the Netherlands, followed by more than 9,200 in 1994. That was immediately the peak, because after that it slowly dropped back to 5,500 in 1997 and 2,800 in 2000. In total, the counter here at 47,510 pieces. This means that the Xantia did not come close to the BX (124,158 units), but it sold about as much as two generations of the C5.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl