2000 Citroen Saxo VTR 1.6
Summary:
A good car for the cost or for someone on a lower budget
Faults:
Overheated and needed a new Radiator.
Power steering failed, inside heater and rear window heater failed due to ignition switch and cost £280 to repair.
Rear window cracked for no apparent reason.
Airbag light flashing on dash due to split wire under passenger seat.
Exhaust Blowing, needed rewelding.
Rear arch bodywork starting to come away from car.
General Comments:
My old Nissan 200sx kept breaking down and in desperation because I needed a car for work I decided that the best car on the dealers forecourt was a Saxo VTR.
I’m 24, earn a decent wage, drive 70 miles a day to work and wanted a fairly economical car.
I have to admit it is a very cheap car to run and insurance is a bargain, it took a bit of getting used to with the pedals really close together and I am not a big fan of the driving position. The other dislike I have is that the brakes are very stiff and often when crawling along on the motorway it can get very tiresome to drive.
Considering I have only had the car for a year I have had a lot of things go wrong with it, new radiator, new ignition switch, rear window cracked for no reason, exhaust needed re welding.
The most annoying fault which I am sure Citroen designed so that they could get more money out of people is placing the airbag wire under the seat, so if you move the seat too far forward there is a chance you will split the wire and cause the airbag light to flash on the dash. This happened to my mates VTR too and cost him £150 to take it to citroen to have the wire re crimped. They told him they had to reprogram the ECU (what a joke).
The handling of the car is superb, the suspension and fat tyres all add to the superb grip, I have yet to lose control of the car around a corner. It is very nippy and although it cannot compete with sports cars it has enough acceleration for motorway driving.
In conclusion the poor build quality annoyed me, don’t buy it if you drive long distances, cheap to insure and cheap to run. It’s a good car for the cost, it’s aimed more at younger people. I definitely won’t miss it when I trade it in for an Audi TT Quattro next week, but that’s a bit of an unfair comparison =)
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 18th December, 2005
25th Oct 2005, 01:34
Your discs are probably warped.