Citroen Xantia: Owner Review

Author: Andzhei

The saloon ergonomics is okay, the seats are nice and comfortable. There are enough of adjustments to seat comfortably behind the steering wheel without getting too tired even while long-distance travels. The radio-recorder location is very convenient (it is on the steering wheel) and therefore you can turn the volume up or down, change the stations, or even choose the automatic search without even looking at the recorder. There is also a "Pause" button on the wheel which is of great use when you need to turn the volume off immediately. Instrumentation panel is readable and isn't at all tiring, the green light is a nice one. The only thing is the switched on conditioner indicator, it's like invisible on a sunny day, there is a need for a more powerful one. Conditioner/climate control was operable (I checked that at a special station) but I think it's kind of weak on a hot day however I never switch on the heating to its maximum in winter, it is indeed hot.

Front visibility is superb but when I parked backwards I had to look in the side mirrors as you cannot see anything in the mirror because of the antiwing on the trunk lid. Rear window remains dry when driving in the rain on a high speed. The headlamps are indeed weak, especially lower beam. All Citroen automobiles have problems with lower beam as far as I know (I used to own Citroen XM for a year before buying Xantia, so its lower beam was even weaker).

1.6-liter engine. It is believed that gasoline is the best for the automobiles of this class because of the reduced fuel consumption. Average fuel consumption on the high way was 6.2 - 6.7 liters per 100 km however there is one "BUT", that level concerns such speed as 110 - 120 km/h and if you do over 130 km/h the fuel consumption reaches 9 - 10 liters. I twice had do go on a long distance trip and that was about 1000 km of a pretty bad conditioned road so I filled up the tank (that is 65 liters) before going there and stopped at the gas station only when arrived to the place and that's taking into consideration the fact that the conditioner was on and there were four grown-up people in the saloon. The fuel consumption was 8 liters per 100 km in summer and 9 liters in winter when driving in the city. That is the engine is quite an efficient one however isn't that powerful. When you are driving in the mud on the second speed the engine deals with it applying every effort and digs in the ground if you shift to the first speed. Generally speaking my automobile suffered a lot as I used it for fishing and hunting rides both in summer and in winter. Once I was on the way home from the forest, it was raining cats and dogs before that and the road was awful, there were deep puddles all over so the automobile did a great job and did it easily.

The steerability is great, I had Hydroactive - 2 installed so it assured perfect road adherence for the automobile of this class, there is never a roll, or a sway, the car runs smoothly and comfortably. I passed a "laying policeman" without reducing the speed and without sways, I only heard the suspension operating and that was it. I once tried driving VW Passat B-4 so I thought I would break the roof with my head, there is no suspension if compared with Xantia. I once replaced the spheres and that was the only problem I encountered with. Antiroll bar end is the weakest point of the suspension, I had to replace it thrice. There brakes were problem-free, ABS was sometimes kind of slow in winter but it didn't happen often so I never repaired it.

The trunk volume isn't impressive, I wanted the trunk to be bigger however the seats fold comfortably if you know how to do it right, there is a secret.

The advantages. Comfortable suspension, fuel economy. You can change the road clearance, it can be adjusted for the mud and at the same time it can make your car lie down on the ground which is very convenient as you can "lay" it on the asphalt near "Parking Prohibited" sign and not a single wrecker will ever drag it away to the penalty parking. The car is perfect for the city, you can leave it near your house and sleep soundly as the car thieves won't take it.

Repairs, maintenance. Along with schedule maintenance (filters, belts, rollers, oil, and brake blocks replacement) I only once washed the casing ventilation system which is a weak point and that is within 80 000 km. I thrice replaced antiroll bar ends and 4 spheres out of 6 just when I bought the car. I had to replace both lower beam lights and that was it. This automobile was the cheapest one I owned during the last 8 years if talking about expenses and I drove a lot of them during the last 8 years. So I'm satisfied with the car.