Citroen Xantia
- Thread starter Spoonman
- Start date
suspension is stupidly expensive to put right at main dealers but can be done cheaply diy and not too unresonable at an independant.
My old man had an estate in 96 and it didn't where well inside at all, remeber the passenger door card falling off although he drove alone 99% of the time. Avoid the 2.1td and activa supension as both are more trouble than there worth. 1.9tdi or hdi is genrally considering pick of range dpending on budget although there are some mega cheap petrol models around.
My old man had an estate in 96 and it didn't where well inside at all, remeber the passenger door card falling off although he drove alone 99% of the time. Avoid the 2.1td and activa supension as both are more trouble than there worth. 1.9tdi or hdi is genrally considering pick of range dpending on budget although there are some mega cheap petrol models around.
Cheers peeps, I'm only looking at them because they seem to be cheap - £600-£700 and quite a bit of car for that. I'm really skint at the moment but need something more substantial than a 1ltr deathtrap for motorways, getting to gigs and so on.
Good for gig mobiles as the suspension soaks up the extra weight of amps etc quite nicely (ferried a few friends to their gigs in mine...)
They are what they are. Relatively old but generally reliable (if looked after) very much like any car of that era.
Mine is worth £400 tops yet if i sold it today, someone would be getting a 1.9 turbo diesel returning 40MPG (35 if driven hard..) that flew through its last MOT, has electric sunroof, windows etc and fully working air con. Bargaintastic really
Body work is probably getting a bit tatty on some, but if you can find an SX spec (not VSX as the suspension is more complex) that is either 1998 onward or even better in facelift HDi spec for your budget, then I dont think you'd be unhappy at all.
Dont be too put off by high milesas the TD and Hdi engines can generaly handle it, but you want to see regular oil changes and importantly, LHM fluid change every 36k (mine hadnt been done when i got it, was a horrible job to do DIY, LHM is nasty stuff but my steering was very stiff till i got round to it) I cant recommend them in petrol models as the engines were a bit naff im told.
Check for damp in the drivers and passenger footwell (LHM leak from the brake master cylinder will make the carpet green on the drivers side or unexplained damp, theoretically on either side, COULD be the heater matrix, a pig of a job)
Other than that, check the clutch bite as they are about £200 to have done on these and of course check for sign of HGF (tends to occur at around 130k on abused TD engines, dunno about the petrols or HDi) as this is an expesnive job too.
Still might be worth considering a 406 though
nicer looking car in my opinion and technically a newer design for the underpinnings on the same age of car, as the Xantia was originally based on the 405 and i dont think they changed it much.
They are what they are. Relatively old but generally reliable (if looked after) very much like any car of that era.
Mine is worth £400 tops yet if i sold it today, someone would be getting a 1.9 turbo diesel returning 40MPG (35 if driven hard..) that flew through its last MOT, has electric sunroof, windows etc and fully working air con. Bargaintastic really
Body work is probably getting a bit tatty on some, but if you can find an SX spec (not VSX as the suspension is more complex) that is either 1998 onward or even better in facelift HDi spec for your budget, then I dont think you'd be unhappy at all.
Dont be too put off by high milesas the TD and Hdi engines can generaly handle it, but you want to see regular oil changes and importantly, LHM fluid change every 36k (mine hadnt been done when i got it, was a horrible job to do DIY, LHM is nasty stuff but my steering was very stiff till i got round to it) I cant recommend them in petrol models as the engines were a bit naff im told.
Check for damp in the drivers and passenger footwell (LHM leak from the brake master cylinder will make the carpet green on the drivers side or unexplained damp, theoretically on either side, COULD be the heater matrix, a pig of a job)
Other than that, check the clutch bite as they are about £200 to have done on these and of course check for sign of HGF (tends to occur at around 130k on abused TD engines, dunno about the petrols or HDi) as this is an expesnive job too.
Still might be worth considering a 406 though
nicer looking car in my opinion and technically a newer design for the underpinnings on the same age of car, as the Xantia was originally based on the 405 and i dont think they changed it much.
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Soldato
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They are very variable. I've owned two, one was excellent the other was so bad I gave up on it and went back to the old one.
The 8v petrol engine are very good but a bit dated. They do however have fairly low gears so they're not idea for motorway driving (at 80mph your doing over 4000rpm).
The 16v engines have naff all low down torque and are a pig to drive round town (particularly as Xantias have fairly heavy clutches). They do go much better then the 8v engine if you drive them hard. They are also more economical if you don't. The gear box on the 16v is plain weird, all gears are in the right place (higher then the 8v) untill you get to 5th which feels like 4th and a half.
My 2.0 16v would use slightly less petrol then my 1.8 8v driven gently. However when driven hard the 2 litre used more.
The 8v petrol engine are very good but a bit dated. They do however have fairly low gears so they're not idea for motorway driving (at 80mph your doing over 4000rpm).
The 16v engines have naff all low down torque and are a pig to drive round town (particularly as Xantias have fairly heavy clutches). They do go much better then the 8v engine if you drive them hard. They are also more economical if you don't. The gear box on the 16v is plain weird, all gears are in the right place (higher then the 8v) untill you get to 5th which feels like 4th and a half.
My 2.0 16v would use slightly less petrol then my 1.8 8v driven gently. However when driven hard the 2 litre used more.
Soldato
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I have 2 Xantia's 1.9td and 2.0 Activa.
They can be picked up pretty cheap, and I'd definitely recommend them for motorway cruising.
There's a few standard problems with them, as with all cars, and all the fixes are well known. Generally not to bad to work on, but the turbo versions have a lot more stuff that usually needs to be removed before access.
Suspension can put some people off, but it's quite simple really and if it needs to be renewed it's 5 spheres (or more for the higher spec models, my activa has 10 i think) these are £20 each and some hydraulic fluid.
Most parts are quite cheap to replace if needed.
Good brakes, great comfort on motorway. The seats are a bit rubbish in the TD, the Activa has good seats. TD is quite slow, cruises at 80 at 3000rpm can be a bit noisy, but after a while you don't notice. I do mostly town driving in it and got an average 25mpg over the year, but longer distance driving went up to 35+ mpg. Since I put slightly bigger tyres on front it seems to accelerate slower and I do most driving at 1500-2000 rpm.
The Activa will do 70 at 3000rpm, and will easily cruise at 110 happily and still accelerate if need be. Fuel doesn't last long though. Engine seems to like Vpower much better than normal unleaded.
edit: pretty sure the seats recline. The TD drivers seat has recline and height adjustment, and the passenger has only recline. The activa has lumbar aswell. The passenger doesn't have height adjust, and all have forward and back adjustment....
They can be picked up pretty cheap, and I'd definitely recommend them for motorway cruising.
There's a few standard problems with them, as with all cars, and all the fixes are well known. Generally not to bad to work on, but the turbo versions have a lot more stuff that usually needs to be removed before access.
Suspension can put some people off, but it's quite simple really and if it needs to be renewed it's 5 spheres (or more for the higher spec models, my activa has 10 i think) these are £20 each and some hydraulic fluid.
Most parts are quite cheap to replace if needed.
Good brakes, great comfort on motorway. The seats are a bit rubbish in the TD, the Activa has good seats. TD is quite slow, cruises at 80 at 3000rpm can be a bit noisy, but after a while you don't notice. I do mostly town driving in it and got an average 25mpg over the year, but longer distance driving went up to 35+ mpg. Since I put slightly bigger tyres on front it seems to accelerate slower and I do most driving at 1500-2000 rpm.
The Activa will do 70 at 3000rpm, and will easily cruise at 110 happily and still accelerate if need be. Fuel doesn't last long though. Engine seems to like Vpower much better than normal unleaded.
edit: pretty sure the seats recline. The TD drivers seat has recline and height adjustment, and the passenger has only recline. The activa has lumbar aswell. The passenger doesn't have height adjust, and all have forward and back adjustment....
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Thats odd, my girlfriends Xantias clutch is very light!
Very reliable, electrics are a nightmare, very good on fuel for the size of car (although hers is a 1.9TD)
Comfortable ride, the handling is a little wobbly, hers cost £600 12months ago (1997 P reg) and she was recently offered the same price for it which isn't bad!
Personally, I'd prefer a 405 / 406 tbh.
Oh the engine immobilizer key pad thingy keeps playing silly buggers but thats just down to those French electrics.
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I agree about the 406, I would have went for this one if I had the cash.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-PEUGEOT-...oryZ9859QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2002-PEUGEOT-...oryZ9859QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Associate
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I’ve had two Xantias, neither of which have given me any real trouble, outside of usual servicing, on my V6 the cruise control wasn’t working when I purchased it, but it was an easy fix costing nothing, I’ve also had a little trouble with the Hydractive suspension but again it was an easy fix costing less than £30.
My first Xantia was a 1.8 16v and it wasn’t brilliant for motorway driving, the seats didn’t offer a lot of support and has been mentioned 70 mph is something daft like 3500 rpm. My newer V6 is much nicer is this respect, with more sound proofing, brilliant seats and much lower revs at 70 mph.
Make sure you check the suspension before you buy; it should be nice and soft especially at the back of the car, if not then you’ll probably need to fit new spheres. You should also be able to hear a metallic click coming from the engine bay every so often, if there is less than 30 seconds between clicks you’ll need a new accumulator sphere, finally, using the lever on the centre console, check that the front and back of the car moves up and down properly and settles back at the normal position correctly.
My first Xantia was a 1.8 16v and it wasn’t brilliant for motorway driving, the seats didn’t offer a lot of support and has been mentioned 70 mph is something daft like 3500 rpm. My newer V6 is much nicer is this respect, with more sound proofing, brilliant seats and much lower revs at 70 mph.
Make sure you check the suspension before you buy; it should be nice and soft especially at the back of the car, if not then you’ll probably need to fit new spheres. You should also be able to hear a metallic click coming from the engine bay every so often, if there is less than 30 seconds between clicks you’ll need a new accumulator sphere, finally, using the lever on the centre console, check that the front and back of the car moves up and down properly and settles back at the normal position correctly.
Actually the 406 is based on the same platform as the Xantia, the Citroen BX is based on the same platform as the 405.Still might be worth considering a 406 though
Really? I thought at least the first gen of Xantia's (the 1992 K reg ones etc) would at least be based on the 405. Im probably wrong though.
I just remember a Cit engineer telling me that its underpinnings were based on the 405, had been modified over the years but never truly updated as they didnt need to.
Either way i dont suppose its important, its a wallowy old thing regardless of what its based on
I just remember a Cit engineer telling me that its underpinnings were based on the 405, had been modified over the years but never truly updated as they didnt need to.
Either way i dont suppose its important, its a wallowy old thing regardless of what its based on
Soldato
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Either way i dont suppose its important, its a wallowy old thing regardless of what its based on
Lol, I've driven both the 405 and the 406, the 405 is actualy better for chucking round corners.
I had one as a courtesy car and despite not being familar with the car I was taking corners much faster then I would take them in the Xantia without even relising I was doing it.