Citroen Xantia Activa 2.0 Turbo

...have no idea what a Citroen Xantia Activa is (which, to be honest, is most people) I’ll fill in some background – without trying to be too dull! The Citroen Xantia was launched about 10 years ago and is typically French and quirky – the “Hydro-gas” suspension system is the most obvious difference to most other cars. Instead of having regular springs and shock absorbers, the Xantia is equipped with a gas / fluid based suspension system, which, once ...
...on the clock from a Citroen specialist. All Xantia require a full overhaul of the suspension at 60,000 so make sure it’s been done otherwise you’ll have a big bill.

The interior is free from squeaks and rattles, but the suspension has a habit of groaning in cold weather. There’s also a tendency to over inflate the back end, which comes down with a bit of a thump after a couple of minutes driving.

It returns about 350 ... more

I’ve written many opinions about cars on here, and although most have been joint purchases by myself and partner, but this time I’m going to write about my car; the one I use everyday.

Many of you will have also noticed how picky and critical I am about the design of cars, so you might be wondering why my own car is something widely regarded as a reliability nightmare. Read on, and I’ll try to explain.

Background

For those of you that have no idea what a Citroen Xantia Activa is (which, to be honest, is most people) I’ll fill in some background – without trying to be too dull! The Citroen Xantia was launched about 10 years ago and is typically French and quirky – the “Hydro-gas” suspension system is the most obvious difference to most other cars. Instead of having regular springs and shock absorbers, the Xantia is equipped with a gas / fluid based suspension system, which, once pressurised, allows you to float along on a sort of magic carpet ride – the idea being is that the fluid suspension can react quicker and absorb more bumps than the conventional sort.

The difference with the Activa suspension is the addition of a load of electronic trickery and 4 large hydraulic rams at each corner. Basically, as you go round a bend a car will lean (or body roll, if you prefer). The Activa system notices any body roll and adjusts the rams to compensate – so you go round a bend perfectly level. This means that it can out handle just about anything on the road. When you couple it with a silky smooth ride with the cornering ability of a rollercoaster you should (should being the operative word) have the makings of a great car.

The Activa was introduced in 1996 and mine is a 1999 model, on a T plate.

Driving Experience

If you’ve never driven a Xantia before, they take some getting used to. The driving position isn’t ideal and the pedals are spaced at an awkward angle (for my money the brake and accelerator are too close together). The brakes are also mightily fierce and have all of 2 cm’s travel before you are having a full ABS moment.

The engine is an old design but fits the car perfectly. It is 2.0 litre, petrol turbo engine, although the turbo is more about relaxed cruising than out and out performance. It does have the disadvantage that the mechanicals are eerily quiet at speed and you need to keep one eye on the speedo to avoiding a driving ban.

The gear box isn’t the last word in refinement either – 1st gear is very low (meaning you have to change up quickly) and the overall action isn’t what could be described a slick. Fast changes into 3rd gear are normally met with a ‘crunch’ and reverse can be hard to find when parked.

The complex suspension is both wonderful and annoying. Before setting off for the first time you have to wait for the STOP lights to go out while the system is pressuring. This can take about a minute and you can feel the car rising off the ground into its normal driving position. There is a button on the dash board to alter how firmly you want it set, but to be honest there isn’t much difference between them.

Out on the road, it all becomes worth it – speed bumps are soaked up with little fuss and motorway driving is relaxed. On fast country lanes and traffic islands the Activa suspension really starts to shine – turn quickly and the car just ploughs round the bend. Because there’s no body roll, you won’t get much of a warning before it runs out of grip (and dumps you in the nearest hedge) so it’s best to temper your enthusiasm until you and vehicle are intimately acquainted. I defy anyone to drive this car without having a fixed grin on their face.

Comfort, Looks and Design

From the outside, it just looks like any normal Xantia. Being the later model it has a revised front end which looks slightly less pretty than the original version, but it’s all pretty mundane. The only way to tell an Activa from any regular Xantia is a discrete badge on the front wing, a boot spoiler and slightly fatter tyres.

Inside, there’s a fair amount of toys and it all seems well put together. There all the electric windows and mirrors you could want, together with an electric driver’s seat. Though finding the correct position takes a lot of adjustment and because there’s no memory feature anyone who drives the car is under pain of death not to adjust the seat!

You also get a decent amount of space and wide opening doors. There’s even a sun blind built into the rear window. Boot space is good, but the spoiler makes it a heavy old thing to open. The rain sensitive wipers are frustrating in drizzle (as they don’t notice it), but are great when encountering spray on a motorway.

Upfront there are a couple of trays to put odds and ends in as well as covered door pockets (which are great for leaving things out of sight). Everything was designed exactly the wrong size to hold an open can of coke – so they must balanced between your legs! The glove box is very small and holds roughly the same amount of junk as a flower pot.

You also get a traffic master system (which I don’t think is partially helpful) and very cold air conditioning. The air con isn’t that great to use and the slider controls look dated. There’s a silly automatic temperature and fan control system which is infuriating. A millimetre of difference can change it between a dessert heat or an artic blast. The fans speeds can be set on “Auto” (for Auto, read: whatever it feels like), or “Max” (full blast); everything in between makes no difference what-so-ever.

As a nod towards safety you get his and hers airbags as well as side ones in your seats. You also get standard ABS brakes. It’s an old design, so I wouldn’t think it’ll hold up all that well in a fight with a tree – so it’s best to drive with caution.

Reliability

I’m frantically holding onto some wood as I write this in case I jinx it; but so far it’s been rock steady. I bought the car with 60k on the clock from a Citroen specialist. All Xantia require a full overhaul of the suspension at 60,000 so make sure it’s been done otherwise you’ll have a big bill.

The interior is free from squeaks and rattles, but the suspension has a habit of groaning in cold weather. There’s also a tendency to over inflate the back end, which comes down with a bit of a thump after a couple of minutes driving.

It returns about 350 miles on a full tank (60 litres) of unleaded, which is better than my previous 2.0 Mondeo auto, but not very good by today’s standards.

Insurance is pricey, being a group 15 – most companies will laugh at you if you are under 25. I pay £600 per year (25 with 8 years no claims), but I did have quotes of over £2,000.

Summary (and why I won’t part with it)

Even though the car has so many areas which annoy the hell out of me, I wouldn’t choose anything else for my daily transport. The fact it looks like a regular car is great – you simply drive with the knowledge that you can show a clean pair of heels to any boy racer that pushes their look. But it’s more than that, it’s the knowledge that I have got something which is so different from everything else on the road, but without making sports car like compromises.

If you decide to buy one, don’t moan at me if breaks down all the time and it costs you thousands in repair bills. Find a good one and be lucky!

If there’s another car out there which delivers so many smiles per mile, I’ve yet to drive it.
 

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