Faults:

Mostly electrical. Too many to list.

As with any car, oil changes are a must and I kept it serviced. Mechanically, the usual parts were replaced expected of high mileage - brakes, exhaust, etc. Looking at the cars history, it had the famous "pneumatic suspension" repaired at a dealer when fairly new for over £2500!! Thankfully not during my ownership.

Interior is surprisingly sturdy despite lots of cheap looking plastics used. Outside the paintwork was a little faded.

General Comments:

Good looking in red, the Xantia is a sharp car. Inside is also nice looking. Seats are a bit too soft but are comfortable. LX is mid range and was suitably equipped at the time.

This was one of my first French cars and was warned off due to reliability concerns. Although it was not great, most repairs were cheap enough to fix, and thankfully the major suspension problems the car was famous for was fixed before I got it.

1.8 petrol could average 35 mpg, and was quick enough for me. I've heard the 1.9 TD was the engine to have, high 40's mpg with decent acceleration, about as good as it got in the 1990's. The car handled very well for its size.

Ended up trading it at 10 years old and higher mileage. In general it wasn't as bad as some people made it out to be, but I couldn't recommend a Xantia nowadays. Maybe the updated 1998 models are slightly better. And I've heard the more modern Citroen C5 is much better, but cannot comment as I have never had one. I did however go on to buy a Renault Laguna from roughly the same time period, and was virtually identical to the Xantia in regards to reliability and running costs. Good looking nice to drive French cars, you could have for cheap if you have the patience for their common irritating faults.

Faults:

Speedo transducer failed twice.

Intermittent remote locking.

Leaky rear hatch door seals.

Drowned motor in floodwaters due to very low air intake.

Persistent engine oil leak.

Driver's door electric window winder failed.

Hydraulic leak in rear suspension.

Replacement accumulator sphere.

General Comments:

Despite the niggles, the car is a seriously pleasant drive, great ride, not too sluggish and hugely drive-able.

Comfortable seating, and logical and easy to use controls.

Also the wagon has bucket loads of space.

Very reasonably priced, as compared to your average Japanese fare of this era, and a damned sight better to drive.

Despite niggly electricals, the basic mechanicals and hydraulics are reliable, and I expect to get big km's out of the car before it dies.

Would readily consider a turbo diesel wagon if I could find one.

Faults:

I got a bit of a lemon for my first Citroen, there was a lot that needed doing for the first year, and one by one I had them done. First I was stung badly by the local Citroen dealer, then I got to know the local independent specialist (vital as a Citroen owner).

As different things were repaired (front suspension complete, spheres, brakes, radiator, clutch, clutch cable, hot plugs, LHM pumps, filters, oil, exhaust...), it became more new than old; with almost all the suspension replaced it drove like a dream!

The engine had run on synthetic oil when new. and had a good service history.. up until a couple of years before I bought it.

I just loved driving it though, and way more so than any previous car. You can drive a Xantia in two completely different ways, economy or fast, and neither make much difference to the excellent fuel economy of those 1.9 diesels. I wish I had it now, or even a 2.1TD.