1994 Citroen AX first impresion 1.1i
Summary:
Fun affordable and cheap
Faults:
Nothing. The only thing that's gone a bit pear shaped is a rattle in the front of the car. This was attributed to a broken drive shaft which was replaced before I got the car. The ratle persists, but the car is still runing strong.
The only real thing that has broken is the knob for controlling the fan speed.
General Comments:
I love the AX it is a great first car. You can comfortably carry 4 people and some luggage. The engine is willing and sips petrol. I get 14km to the liter and I drive like I'm in a rally, so with some calmer driving much better mileage should be possible. The siting position is fine for me, but I'm pretty short at 1.75m. The only things I don't like about my car are the wheels and tires and the 3 stud fitments. The car is very nippy around corners and it handles pretty safely even at the limit. As far as fun to price ratios go this car is great.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 26th April, 2006
5th Jun 2015, 07:29
You state that the Citroen AX is "not far off 2CV territory". The Citroen 2CV is one of the most successful cars ever made spanning over 42 years officially. I drove one half way around the world; used it in the UK; and then sold it after 18 years of use.
Dashboard lights failing:-
On most "more modern" cars from this era (1990s) you will find that some of the dashboard lights do fail by 15 years of age. I cannot comment on the AX exactly, but I know on lots of other cars, including the Citroen ZX I believe, the lights are live and on all of the time (day or night). This reduces the life of the bulbs.
They cost very little money to replace. On my Citroen XM, which is 16 years old now, I took the dashboard apart and replaced the one or two that were blown. It is called routine servicing.
Noisy diesels you mention. Well diesels are noisy, particularly from this era; and on lightweight small cars, the noise is more pronounced and amplified.
It was these "environmental/economical" measures that enabled the Citroen AX to be in the Guinness book of records as the most economical production car ever.
In 1990's I had a turbo diesel Fiat Uno; brought over from Italy, as the turbo diesel version was never sold in the UK. Hard starting was and is often a "trademark" of diesel cars of this era, with a bit of age.
Remember the 1990s was the real start and take off of small engined diesel road vehicles. Diesel mania.
I have never owned, but only been a passenger in a Citroen AX. However if one needs an economical car, a Citroen AX diesel or petrol is high on the list. The key to it was the light design.