Xsara or Xantia Sedan??

[HONG KONG PUGGY]

We're looking at replacing a car/s heer in the next few weeks and my iwfe (Sue) and I looked at a few cars on Saturday, two being Xsara sedans.
They seem to be a good package, we are yet to drive one, and want to know any little thigns to look out for in 5yr old cars??

Cheers
Chris

 

[Alan S]

Why not hang in for a fortnight and have a yarn at UQ with a few owners and possibly get a drive in one or two?
I have a big mileage Xantia that is absolutely magic all round and feels like it would go forever. At 220K klms it hasn't got a rattle, gets around 40 MPG on a run and doesn't use a drop of oil. It's also worthy of note that it was used to tow a caravan before I bought it.

Chances are here someone will tell you to buy a Datsun or a Mazda. :crazy: :headbang:


Alan S

 

[DoubleChevron]

Depends on what your requirements are.

If you want a medium sized car with plenty of space, usable hatchback body and *brilliant* ride/handling, get a Xantia VSX (seriously get the hydractive model, it rides like a Citroen should).

If you want a little car to run around in that probably will drive and handle much like every other car in it's price range/size go the Xsara. Remember there both just rebadged poogoes, and just like the poogoes (and the *real* Citroens before the poogoe takeover) they'll give extreme milages without trouble (except with the Xantia you get a decent hatchback body and the vastly supperior hydraulic suspension).

My BX that has the same running gear as the Xantia had 280,000kms on it when I retired it up the back yard and parked it next to the others. The drivetrain in the car is still perfect, it burnt no oil and was driven extremelly hard by my wife and I for well over 100,000kms with little other than general maitenance (ie: oil changes).

BTW: There seems to be no premium price for CT turbo Activas either ... If you can find one no doubt you wife will need a shotgun to 'encourage' you out of the drivers seat so she can drive it. See the road test linked on the forum about the Xantia Activas if you don't know what they are (think near 0degrees bodyroll active suspension).

seeya,
Shane L.

 

[donat]

We're looking at replacing a car/s heer in the next few weeks and my iwfe (Sue) and I looked at a few cars on Saturday, two being Xsara sedans.
They seem to be a good package, we are yet to drive one, and want to know any little thigns to look out for in 5yr old cars??

Cheers
Chris

As a former Xsara owner, I had a 2.0 16v 5 speed manual for just under a year and it was a joy to drive in the sense that it was easy to maintain. One thing it likes is going through is front brake pads every 10,000, or perhaps that was my (european) driving style of braking in the last minute. With that said, oil consumption seems an non issue.

Major services occur at 60 and 90 thousand (with a cam-belt at 90k for the 2.0), so try to find one that's already had one done. Dashboards seem to have a tendency to warp in the center closest to the windscreen, as does the arm rest on the passenger's side. Power window motor failure seems to be rife, though I never experienced such a drama.. perhaps this was more of an issue for the series II Xsara.

They're lovely as far as acceleration and cornering goes and dare I say it's on par with a GS in that regard (the cornering, that is.)

They're hard to fault, really. There's no eccentricity about it, so it's quite a simple and straightforward machine that takes you from A to B without any dramas.

I'm sure there'll be a Xsara at Tri-Club day, but I hope that Bruce H will be there in a GS! As far as I can gather, there's about three club members with Xsaras, though there are quite a few with Xantias who would be happy to endlessly talk about their machine(s).

 

[Graelin]

Xsara

I bought my Xsara and used it daily in my business for 3.5yrs.

A 2lr 5speed.

A very god car with two things that required attention

1 - The clutch cables become notchy and stiff and may need replaced.

2 - The brakes on the front juddered after 10,000kms.

This seems to be more of an issue on the 2ltr models. My brothers 1.8 was a lot better. I had heard of this issue and did take it easy on the brakes so they were never abused.

They are a car that I would recommend and just consider the condition of the above when negotiating price.

Drive very well, comfortable in that it is the only car I have had that all the family can read books on a 3.5 hour trip with no hint of feeling car sick. They corner wel I have been behind a 206GTI that was drifting and Xsara keeping up ok.

The two ltr and the 1.8 go well performance wise.

Good luck with your search.

Graelin

 

[TroyO]

1 - The clutch cables become notchy and stiff and may need replaced.

2 - The brakes on the front juddered after 10,000kms.

This seems to be more of an issue on the 2ltr models. My brothers 1.8 was a lot better. I had heard of this issue and did take it easy on the brakes so they were never abused.

No this was a problem on the 1.8L as well. I was driving my dad's 1.8L and it still has the juddering problem with the brakes. The thing is that I have never had this problem with the Xsara Mk2 VTR and VTS. It's seems that this is a problem specifically with the Mk1 Xsara's.

The 1.8L and 2L models do go well, the 1.8L 16V engine is much better than the 1.6L 16V that replaced it.

Troy.

 

[Bruce H]

I hope that Bruce H will be there in a GS!

Was my hope, but I've been trying to fit a sunroof and respray the roof (I HATE sanding!!) and the wet/cold weather isn't helping - lots of bare metal at the moment/ windscreen out/ not going far, and I've got how many more days?

Re: Xantia/ Xsara I have an '01 VTR Xsara, my mum has a '99 SX Xantia. Whenever I hop out of my car into the driver's seat of mum's, I curse not having been a month or two faster in my car purchase and got one of the runout Xantias.

The Xsara is perfectly competent. I think the window issue may be related solely to two door versions; I've done almost 30000ks and have yet to replace brake pads (maybe this service?); nothing major has gone wrong in the mileage I've done.

Since the recent release of the C4, there also seems to be a wide choice of low mileage/ late model Xsaras around the country at good prices; typically you seem to have to have something 2 or 3 years older and/or two and three times the kilometres if spending the same money on a Xantia.

 

[Dave]

I HATE sanding!! and the wet/cold weather isn't helping

I've been sanding back a bumper the last couple of days by hand, hoping to paint before the FCD. I also HATE sanding!!! I feel your pain.

Dave