1992 Citroen AX 10E 1.0 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Don't buy one - get a Clio

Faults:

Cam belt went at 15,710 tearing engine to shreds. WHY ME??! - engine being rebuilt at the moment.

Has become very hard to start especially in the winter. New starter motor and spark plugs me thinks.

General Comments:

Fun to drive especially when only 1 or 2 in the car. anymore than that and the brakes become dangerous and forget getting up long hills on motorways and A roads at anything more than 35mph..

Shoddy electronics.

Needs a fifth gear..

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th March, 2006

18th Mar 2006, 16:46

15,000 miles is very low for a 15 year old car. The cam belt should be changed at specific ages if not at the specified mileage - I suspect yours wasn't, and was probably due it's third change.

As a general rule with old low mileage cars, they need a good de-coking session. Get it fully serviced then see how hard you can drive it for a week or so. That should sort out any problems not related to a weak battery or any real damage.

1992 Citroen AX GT 1.4 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Great little hot hatch

Faults:

Car doesn't always seem to like ticking over, and splutters a bit at 5000rpm, think maybe this is due to the carb needing a re-tune. Got a spare carb with the car, so will try fitting this.

Brakes occasionally stick a little, but seem to release themselves.

General Comments:

Surprisingly quick for a 1400. Soft Yoko's make it handle great on 106 Rallye style steel rims. Looks good too.

The guy I bought it from was a bit of a lemon, don't think it was looked after very well, but once it's going, it runs sweet, is good on fuel, and sounds good with Janspeed manifold and Magnex stainless system. Will re-jet the carb to correspond with the exhaust.

Generally agree with all the other comments on here, these are great, fun, little cheap motors. Definitely advise getting one.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th October, 2005

1992 Citroen AX Echo 1.1 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Cheap French tin box, but you get what you pay for and it is great value!

Faults:

Nothing! (Yet...)

General Comments:

What can I say about our little Citroen? It cost me £250 with a years' MoT on it, it's knackered, it looks like it's been pulled through a hedge, the tiny little engine is filthy and it has a funny rumble from the passenger side corner of the car.

But this tough little car runs fine. It's been through the wars for sure, but if it lasts the year (and I've no reason to believe it won't) with minimal maintenance spending then I'm a happy chap!

We run classic cars and this car is (of course) dreadful compared to any of our others, but it's our runabout. It's the car we don't care about, abuse and use daily. It starts first time every time and goes from A to B.

To drive the AX is surprisingly sharp given its diminutive engine. Probably because it weighs about the same as the empty sardine cans it was made out of! I wouldn't want to crash it, but then I don't really want to crash any car I get in so that's kind of a given. It feels solid enough to handle, gives me no cause for concern and starts first time every time.

I'm going to run it until it dies. And when it dies I will quite happily source another one for exactly the same purpose.

Having initially considered this to be an excellent first car, I've changed my mind on that front - it's far too flimsy to be a smart choice for a learner who is statistically more likely to wrap it around a tree. But for an experienced driver dodging around London on the cheap I can think of few better cars!

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

Review Date: 30th August, 2005

22nd May 2006, 06:48

In response to the comment... while I appreciate you walked away from your accident, I'm very pleased to hear, the Citroen AX *IS* very flimsy, I'm afraid. Fact is, when it was launched it was the only 'modern' car that fared worse than the original 1960s Mini in crash testing.

25th Nov 2008, 14:55

I'm seventeen and my first car is an AX '97' Spree. It's a fantastic running car and the only problems I've had from it in 5 months is to replace a worn drive belt (which by the way cost £3.50 from my local car parts shop).

I suppose the best thing about having a little 1.0 litre run around car like the AX is buying a Haynes manual and repairing the car or checking the car myself. With a little car knowledge and the right materials, something that could cost £80-100 from a garage costs me next to nothing; the AX is that simple!!

Plus it's not too harsh with fuel consumption.