Enough of the eight-valve for now
Davey Buitenhuis has just turned eighteen and already has his first car in his pocket, a beautiful blue Citroën Saxo 1.6 VTS. It is an eight-valve (there is also an eager sixteen-valve), but that does not bother the young man from Almere. On the roller bench with it!
This is already the fifth Citroën Saxo
An eight-valve instead of a sixteen-valve? What about Davey Buitenhuis, you’re eighteen? “This one is already full,” he says. He is right about that, because with a top speed of 193 km/h, this French B-segmenter is extremely well equipped. But what’s left after 400,000 km and 22 years? And what is it with the Buitenhuis family and all their Saxos anyway? “My father Jeffrey has already had four Saxos, this is the fifth, but it is for me,” says Davey. He got his driver’s license at the age of seventeen and the reward was worth it: his own Saxo! “Bought for next to nothing. We called it a project car at home, because a lot had to be done. My father and I did that together. This way I immediately learn how the car is put together. We tackled it step by step and then I started driving it. Last week we officially transferred it to my name.”
Davey used to sit in the backseat of Saxo
In addition to the necessary things, this car has also been embellished. Davey is very happy with it. “I grew up with the Saxo, because I always sat in the back seat, so I have a connection with it. The nice thing about a Saxo is that it is actually very affordable, but still fun to drive,” he notes. You can say that. If you are talking about a top three of nice compact French cars, then the Citroën Saxo belongs there. Many AutoWeek colleagues will agree with this.
1.6 VTS also 98 hp
What kind of meat do we have in store? It is a 1.6 VTS, so a fun, playful version with 98 hp. Not bad at all for your first car. Davey also took driving skills training when he started driving the Saxo. “I have no ambitions to become a driver, but besides the fact that such training is more fun than the fair, you get to know your car even better. If you feel what happens when you push the boundaries, I think it would be very useful if you ever find yourself in that situation,” he says. We suspect that we have a sensible motorist in the Netherlands.
Strong plume of smoke
Four tons on the clock, 98 hp on board, the Saxo can prove itself on the roller bench in the residence. Davey’s Saxo is not the first in this section. Citroën’s compact model still has a loyal following of loyal enthusiasts. Not as extensive as fans of, for example, a 205 GTI or a 106 Rallye, but still. The Saxo is impressive.
First test run, calibrate and then all almost one hundred horses go wild. And… the little Frenchman succeeds with flying colors. It almost reaches the specified power and does so without much moaning or groaning. He does blow out a set of strong plumes of smoke at the end. Is that worrying, we ask Ghisbert van Ginhoven. “No, that’s just called a good blowing clean,” says the dynamometer manager. Davey is satisfied. For the time being he continues enthusiastically with this brave Gallic rascal. That 16V may come again in the future. After all, Davey still has a whole car future ahead of him.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl