Citroen Xantia 2.1 TD SX
November 2007
The car that stole my identity.
My friend told me about his friend’s father selling his Citroen Xantia that was known to be looked after. The son had done various jobs on the car including a recent clutch and cambelt and this time when I asked questions about the condition, I was told the truth. I’d agreed to buy the car before even seeing it which goes against my grain a little but all the previous conversations and pictures had given me the confidence to do so.
You may remember my previous article about a large French diesel car which hadn’t left me with the fondest memories of such things. My friend had talked me round on the Citroen and to be honest I think he wanted the car more than I did. So we turned up, money in hand and after a short test drive I was happy to take the car home. It was a fun drive back in our little 2 car convoy of a Rover Vitesse and a diesel Citroen until my friend started flashing for us to pull over; as it turns out, prolonged high speed cruising wasn’t the best for his fuel economy but fantastic for mine!
The first small niggle was that a couple of bulbs behind the dash had blown, chief among which was the bulb behind the fuel gauge which made for an interesting drive back in the dark.
It was my first proper drive of a car with hydropnumatic suspension and once you get over the softness of it, you realise that it handled surprisingly well for such a large car! And with the 2.1 diesel, it was perfectly suited for motorway driving; the entire reason for me buying it.
Add to this the novelty value of having a car that could raise and lower itself with the push of a lever never really wore off, although completely redundant in truth and just a quirky bi-product of the system.
Externally the car was in very good condition and in my opinion a fairly handsome old barge; the bumpers and wheels from the ‘hot’ Activa model made an enormous difference. The only thing letting the sides down were the corroded chrome door strips in the side mouldings. Luckily the previous owner had given me a replacement set that he’d not got round to fitting (another sign that it had been cared for).
At the same time I also gave the car the obligatory service just to be sure.
With the outside of car looking in great shape I moved on to rectifying a few of the issues inside. A few pence bought some new bulbs for the dash and after a brief scare that I might have to remove the steering wheel (airbag and stereo buttons to disconnect) it all lit up like new.
Being a slightly less common 2.1 model meant it came with a faux suede interior, very comfortable and plush looking but not the most hardwearing. The drivers side seat bolster had worn through causing an unsightly hole which I needed to take care of. I spent a bit of time looking for a complete replacement black leather interior but I couldn’t justify the expense on such a car. A quote from an upholsterer to repair the existing seat was almost as expensive as the leather option so that was quickly ruled out also. The other option was to find a good replacement seat in the same fabric but that proved almost impossible due to the rarity. While wandering through a breakers yard I noticed that the Peugeot 206 GTi, in some trim levels, came with the same faux suede as the Citroen (left overs in the parts bin?) so I stripped the fabric off a door card and made my own DIY repair. Not perfect by any means but much better than before.
After several months of happy motoring I noticed a steering wheel vibration under braking. As the suspension system allows you to raise and lower the static car, one axle has to be free to move to let the wheels roll every so slightly. Because of this, the handbrake on these cars is on the front wheels letting the rear wheels move. During a long and/or enthusiastic drive, the front brakes will get very hot and putting the handbrake on afterwards (while they cool) can warp the discs, which is what happened to mine.
A new set of discs and pads were ordered and fitted ready for many more trouble free (fingers crossed) months.
The car served me well and was always surprisingly enjoyable to drive, I will never forget how easy it was induce lift-off oversteer in the wet and how controllable that was. Not something your average Citroen Xantia driver would ever comment on but a little eccentricity that I enjoyed.
