With a Citroën ZX to Moscow and back – From the Old Box

The report we encounter in the AutoWeek from exactly 30 years ago clearly shows a different time for many reasons. Today we don’t want to go to Moscow at all and certainly not in a ZX. Not because the ZX was a bad car, but it could have been a bit more comfortable even then. The ZX took us all the way that way and back. That must be given to him. There were a few things that happened along the way.

Let’s start by saying that the ZX was not an uncomfortable car. On the contrary, we praised its suspension on this long ride. In the Netherlands, the ZX also held up very well between its competitors in terms of comfort. However; on such a long drive, the ZX was a bit under the basket. “Long journeys are possible, but a touring car with the best will in the world cannot be discovered in it. Let alone a trip-to-Russia car. The ZX is not made for such intensive use, because: too thirsty, too little power, too little travel comfort, only wipe/wash installation and a limited luggage space with a particularly clumsy and weak parcel shelf.”

You can already hear it, the editor on duty was done with the ZX after the adventure. Yet it was not all doom and gloom, but more on that later. It was also quite a journey for the compact Citroën. After all, we drove the ZX with the 88 hp 1.6, perhaps it had all gone a bit smoother with the 1.8, 1.9 or 2.0. He also suffered quite a bit. The trip took place in the dead of winter and as we drove further east the roads and weather deteriorated. On a highway in the far east, riddled with potholes, hard blows killed as many as two tires and we bent a wheel. We attributed that entirely to the roads, not the car. We did drive firmly with the ZX and on the German autobahn the 1.6 turned out not to be made for that. Furthermore, the ZX became a bit too light in the wheel at high speed for our taste. It wouldn’t have been such a problem with a slower travel pace, but we just wanted to get there and back quickly.

In addition to the wheel-grubbing highway, the ZX suffered even more misery from the outside. For example, the Citroën was bombarded with dirt, especially in Russia, and the car did not really know what to do with it. The spotlights already showed little added value and were also true ‘dirt magnets’, the front wiper and washer could not sufficiently remove the dirt on the window. The rear seemed ‘because of the streamline of the car and the vacuum that this creates behind the car’ to consist almost of mud. However, we found the rear wiper to do its job well and the rear window heating also deserved a big compliment. Just like the central door locking system, which proved its added value in Poland when a bum tried to get into the car at the border crossing to Belarus.

We ended the adventure on a positive note for ‘our’ ZX, because despite its imperfections it had proven itself as a loyal companion. “It always starts, brakes, steers and springs excellently and only consumed a liter of oil in 5,000 km. That is also important and actually more important than all those other things. After all, you don’t go to Russia every day.” Salient detail: the ZX in question was scrapped 15 years ago today. After this harsh ride, he managed to keep it up for another 15 years.