1998 Citroen Xsara 2.0 VTS 2.0 petrol

Summary:

Underrated Hot hatch

Faults:

Nothing to date - only covered 3,000 miles.

General Comments:

Excellent engine mated to a good chassis.

Rear wheel passive steer can catch you out if you unexpectantly have to lift off mid corner - I changed the tyres round to have the newer tread on the rear - improved the problem.

An annoying exhaust "boom" around 3200 rpm - tried realigning the exhaust system, but to no avail.

Rear suspension knocks over potholes, I've checked out the rear suspension flexible mountings (cause of knocking on high mileage ZX's, but there's no movement - "Probably a characteristic of the marque Sir!"

Excellent "A" class mile cruncher without boy racer looks to catch the attention of the local constabulary.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th March, 2003

1998 Citroen Xsara VTR Coupe 1.8 16v

Summary:

Excellent performance, handling and comfort

Faults:

Passenger side window leaked in heavy rain.

Driver mirror outer casing became loose.

Piece of interior trim fell off.

All of the above faults were repaired at no personal cost by the dealer where the car was purchased. They were only to happy to help and even paid my fuel expenses for the journey.

General Comments:

Excellent performance, I was really surprised, when raced at an airfield against a friend;s car (Mondeo ST24) it was only marginally slower.

Four wheel steer makes the car handle excellently, giving a really well balanced and positive feel.

Excellent and very well constructed interior, very supportive seats!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th April, 2001

17th Aug 2001, 11:57

A 1.6 Citroen vs a 24 Valve V6 Duratec powered Mondeo...

It could have been a 1.8TD with kit on I guess.

28th Aug 2001, 11:48

The person above obviously failed to read the original report properly, because it actually says that the car is a 1.8 16valve, not 1.6!!

As I was actually present at the mentioned event, I can confirm the Citroen did very well and lost very little ground to the Mondeo. In fact according to manufacturers figures the Citroen's 0-60 time is just over a second slower than the ST24 - that difference on the road is very marginal and makes the two cars seem a lot closer in performance than the figures would suggest.

1st Sep 2001, 12:12

Dear me.

The Mondeo driver must have been in 5th pulling off.

9th Sep 2001, 13:59

Referring to the comment made by the person on the 28th of August.

I actually own a Xsara VTR 1.8 16V and whilst I make no accusations of it being an st24 eater, I can confirm how close a race between two such cars can be. I have had burn ups with other similar V6 vehicles and found the results to be surprising. On one occasion myself and Vectra 2.5 V6 SRI went flat out from 20 MPH off a roundabout to 90 MPH, it was possible to see the Vectra pulling away slowly, but it was not making a great deal more progress.

1998 Citroen Xsara VTS 2.0 16v

Summary:

A high performance bargain. Love it

Faults:

Annoying side airbag light which is from a loose connection, easily fixed but works its way loose easily too.

Disgustingly high insurance group.

General Comments:

Great car, pulls very well above 3000rpm ,loves being driven on its edge.

Loves the B roads, handles crisply.

Outruns a load of other supposed "performance" models.

Buy used, as residuals are unfairly dreadful.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th January, 2001

1998 Citroen Xsara TD SX 1.9 turbo diesel

Summary:

Possibly the best company car in the world

Faults:

On the 36,000 mile service, my dealer phoned me at work to tell me that there was a problem, a big one! The oil seal around the rocker gasket had leaked into the cambelt shaft and had contaminated the belt, solution = new cam belt at half it's designated life.

The car by this time was 14 months old and Citroen didn't want to do Jack to help me, even though the garage bill was over £450.

Otherwise, no other faults with the car so I'll just put it down to experience.

General Comments:

Feels like a tank on the road, if you do a lot of motorway miles then this has to be one of the best cars to drive. Go for the SX version though with PAS, A/C, full airbags etc, it makes a difference.

On average I drive around 500 miles per week with work etc, I fill the car up once a week and that's it. Performance isn't bad either but it does trundle round the town a little bit due to the diesel factor, the turbo doesn't kick in until around 3000 rpm.

I have to say that I'd definitely buy another one.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th September, 2000

12th Feb 2010, 16:26

I bought the estate version of this off e-bay for £400. We needed to travel to Scotland, and this was cheaper than rail fares or hire car. Having had a Ford Focus TD previously where the turbo blew up on me after 18 months, I love my Citroen. I could get as far as Aviemore from the midlands on a full tank in the Focus, but the Citroen goes all the way with 1/4 tank to spare. That's over 45 / gallon with 170,000 on the clock.

I believe it's been serviced regularly, and I've had it 5 months and just put an exhaust and 2 tyres on. MOT due next month, so it will be interesting to see how it does.

A very comfortable car with enough acceleration when you need it from the turbo. So far very economical too!

1998 Citroen Xsara Exclusive 1.8 16 valve

Faults:

CD player stopped working - found to be caused by the plug dropping out!

General Comments:

Air con not as effective as a sun roof, but this is purely personal.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 11th May, 1999

1998 Citroen Xsara VT 1.4 petrol

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

Lots of rattles, from door latches, rear seat and parcel shelf. Pickup is not good between 40 and 60 mph.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st February, 1999

1998 Citroen Xsara Exclusive 1.8 16V petrol

Faults:

Power steering replaced.

Electric windows failed.

Air Con failed.

Heated rear window failed.

General Comments:

Engine great but let down by niggly faults. Dealer unhelpful.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 7th February, 1999

1998 Citroen Xsara LX 1.4i petrol

Faults:

Nothing up until now.

General Comments:

Having driven the ZX prior to the Xsara and had a few problems, was rather apprehensive but first impressions with just over 1,400 miles on the clock - I am very pleased with the improvements over the ZX.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th January, 1999

24th Mar 2001, 13:41

I have a 1.4 LX I haven't serviced it even though its now on 26,000 and it is as reliable as any other car I have had. I think it is a lot of metal for the price.

1998 Citroen Xsara Exclusive 1.8 16V petrol

Faults:

Handbrake cable makes a scraping noise under the floor when riding over undulating surfaces. Some lights in steering wheel mounted radio controls have blown.

General Comments:

Nice all round, should be more radical in design though.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 3rd December, 1998