What's your favourite Citroen and why?

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Jon

What's your favourite Citroen and why?

Post by Jon »

At the risk of sounding like a sad case yet again, here goes. No particular order, and each one has some good and bad points
2CV6 FOR Great fun, easy to work on (cut my mechanical and welding teeth on them), reliable, fairly economical, easy to insure
AGAINST Have to be handy with the Mig and be good at changing chassis. Not great in accidents.I know this as the Fire Brigade very kindly cut me out of a V reg example in 1986 and was taken to hospital with broken ribs and leg. But hey, I lived.
BEST MOMENTS 1987 World Meet, Portugal, then we toured Spain, Gibraltar, and France over 3 weeks in 17 year old Dyane, without breakdown.
GSA FOR So cheap to buy (can't find many now), reliable if looked after, stable, fast cruiser with trustworthy handling. Good at towing.
AGAINST Fairly poor on fuel, but do unleaded well. Rust as you look at em. Oil Leaks! Front pipes and clutches not for the inexperienced
BEST MOMENTS Commuting Watford to Basildon in GSA Estate purchased for £40 cash over 10 months and 24,000 miles without breakdown.Plus no head gasket or rad to go bang!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
BX FOR Um, cheap, roomy, handling, know lots about em, can be fast and/or economical, pick of the bunch 19D, 17TD, 16 Valve.
AGAINST Bits fall off. Arm bearings....blah blah Not that bad!
BEST MOMENTS BX 16v too quick by half and reliable. Turbo D is great but suffered head/rad/water pipe failure on my last one. But did do Starship mileage. Last 16v met its end in an Oak Tree courtesy of Mrs W due to more power than Visa D she was used to. No injuries, laughed.
ZX FOR Don't rust! We know how to fix them (mostly)Handling great, ride OK, nice gearshift, brakes so-so. Cheaper than a 306 for the same car.
AGAINST Annonymous compared to earlier Citroens. Brakes. 16v stroppy. TD still my favourite, quick, good on fuel, look after them and they don't break (well not often)
BEST MOMENTS TD on way to Frankfurt still accelerates from 160 to 200 klicks to dismay of German maniacs.
VISA Diesel FOR Another bargain for the cash strapped. 1769cc Diesel as 205, C15 so loads of parts. 50+ mpg. Cheap all round.
AGAINST Rust, rust, um rust. Nothing else at all. They're great.
BEST MOMENTS: Too many. Commuting Swindon to Reading for just under a year and only putting about £25 a diesel in a week.Nothing went wrong. Toured all of Ireland 3 years ago, fuel negligable, again nothing went wrong.1000 miles in one week, no bother.
Other Candidates, CX DTR Turbo 2, like a crazy lorry.I Like!
AX GT, back in 89 when I had a new one, yeah! But nor now. How times change.
Xantia, yeah I'm a fan and might buy one when the ZX falls to bits? Have had one HDi. For 10 days before I got my money back.Another story.
Xsara, a heavy ZX that lacks the handling finesse. HDi 110bhp Coupe are nice, but I'm waiting for depreciation before I think about one.
Jon Wood
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Post by vanny »

For me it would be a BX
Been travelling round in the current one for 11years so it kinda grows on ya.
Aspirations to eventualy have a race worthy BX 16v.
Favourite aspect has got to be the tow bar (look left!), and the ride is amazing when its fully working (travlling in Frauds these days make me want to throw up!)
Would i have another Citroen? So long as it went up and down, then 'yes'.
Favourite quote made by a passer by (at Max Power Live 2002);
'Look at the 'king towbar on that'
Most annoying thing about it, when it doesn't work of course.
Greatest moment, when my little baby towed a VW bug on a huge trailer all the way from Anglesey (all without brakes, and spent a week in the garage afterwards!)
Vanny
Merseyside, UK
Citroenbx19rd@hotmail.com
http://www.bxproject.co.uk
Dave Bamber
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Post by Dave Bamber »

Great thread Jon! Here goes....
Favourite has to be 2CV<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>. Buckets of fun, I always grin like the Cheshire Cat in one. A total hoot!
AGAINST. Mine didn't like starting in the rain. Rust, lots of it.
BEST BIT. Chassis breaking 10 days before a trip to France, replacing it in 4 evenings, and doing the holiday with no problems. 1998 2CVGB International at Worcester. Great atmosphere and the best fireworks display ever.
DS<img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>. A mate had one a few years ago. We spent a fantastic afternoon whafting around London waving at the peasants in Mercs and Beemers.
AGAINST. They make the Space Shuttle look easy to work on.
BX<img src=icon_smile_sad.gif border=0 align=middle>. Fast, economical, cheap.
AGAINST. Front suspension. Never got mine right, the struts kept seizing. I got well fed up with LHM leaks, split pipes, spheres etc etc. So did Mrs B. Sad to let it go though.
BEST BIT. Thrashing back from Spain 2 years ago, very overloaded. Once the suspension sorted itself out the car felt fantastic with a smooth floating ride.
Flame proof suit on.....
BERLINGO<img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle> Ok, I know it's not what you would call a "true" Citroen and it's made from bits of 205's and 405's, but get a bit of weight in one and you get the Citroen float.
AGAINST. Is it a true Cit?
BEST BIT. Coming back from Alicante a few weeks ago with the outside temp well over 100 with the aircon full on and the speedo showing 165kpa......<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>
Berlingo HDI Wicked<img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle>Red
Edited by - Dave Bamber on 03 Sep 2002 21:07:29
Jon

Post by Jon »

aaahhh Dave.
Um, yeah, I did not even metion the Berlingo, despite owning one! Don't know why.
Berlingo Multispace 1.9D Forte 2001:
FOR Loads of room, sliding rear doors handy for loading up baby. Looks a bit daft.Tall, like 2cv. Drives and handles quite well for a van.
AGAINST Slow on hills and in headwinds (like 2cv)Uses lots of diesel when I drive it on motorways. Depreciation. Mysteriously drawn to collisions with stationary objects (car, parked lorry, gatepost so far)Thanks Mrs W.
See you on Saturday in Blackpool Dave!!!
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Post by alan s »

Living in a Citroen desert I feel pretty much out of this one.
We have a whole different set of values when it comes to these cars.
Believe it or not, I've never actually driven anything as "modern" as a Xsara or a Xantia and the diesel range of BXs never made it out here either. I know of a couple of Citroen enthusiasts who recently went upmarket with their cars & actually bought XMs<img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>
Both were in the $30,000 vicinity - We never even got to see the ZX and to my knowledge, the Berlingo comes in the "commercial" version only so far. I know of only one C-5 and he's a day & a halfs drive away from me. SO; mine will be a collection of more exotics and in a lot of cases, surprises and distant memories for a lot of you guys over there.
2CV....Economical, different and a practical vehicle if you live in the right place.
Against; Price...A$8000 to $14,000 for a 17 year old car with a fair mileage is not real good value unless the vehicle is being used for business as advertisement. Also have safety issues here with Aussie love affair with massive 4WDs and the 'drive through everybody' mentality of those driving (aiming) them.
SM ....Will still look modern in 100 years time! Very sporty in both looks and performance; after all "Big Charlie" had them made for a reason. Would be ideal investment car for someone with a bag of notes under the bed. Seems the only Country that scraps them for bits is the US, hence as the vehicles are being bought by overseas enthusiasts, more will stand a chance to survive. One of only a few Cit models that appeal to general car collectors.
Against;.....Have had a habit of stretching timing chains on their Maserati motors and devouring motors. Rebuilt motor will set you back about the price of a new mid range Citroen although I understand modern technology has overcome this now...ideal car for Pools winner <img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>
GS.....Cheap to buy, heaps of second hand bits around, tend to be a case of own one & declare it the best car you've ever owned or be like me and wish you did own one but just can't bring myself round to taking the plunge.
Against:...R.U.S.T.
CX........Possibly the most misunderstood car Citroen have ever produced. I get the feeling that Peugeot having just taken control of Citroen when this was released, were in limbo with this one & really didn't know which way to jump; whether to "do a Panhard" a 'la Citroen or press on, so didn't really start to seriously sort the teething troubles out for around 10 years. The lack of service advice was their biggest failing. The marketing also left a bit to be desired.
Everyone & his dog seemed scared to work on them but by todays standards, they really aren't all that bad. I've owned (and still own) a few. They are solid, reliable, comfortable, stylish (still turn heads) beautiful to drive and perform well. Rarely if ever heard of anyone wearing a motor out. The options in the transmission was superb & suits everyones requirements. 4 & 5 speed manuals, 3 speed c-matic (a magic set up) and later 3 speed fully auto.
I have driven literally hundreds of thousands of trouble free miles in them.
Against; Oil leaks and rust.
BX..... The fantastic plastic. Performs and handles like a sports car whilst normally giving the fuel consumption of a smaller less performing car. Has space to burn, rides better than most cars on the road, is a practical design; drop the rear seats and you have a panel van, tows so well you'd think it was going to stretch the draw bar on anything you towed. With a couple of exceptions, it is possibly the easiest car to work on that I've seen. Reliability is almost legendary and would knock the sox off most Jap & all Korean junk on the market. Rust is almost unheard of.
Against;....Don't think Cit did themselves any favours by dropping the bulletproof front suspension of the CX in favour of these Mc Pherson strut types; tends to make me imagine things like "Ford on fluids". With all the trouble they went to in rustproofing the car, it is strange that they didn't think of the lines under & did them in a rust resistent material as an after thought on later models.
Why they did a quality valve stem oil seal on the 8 valve motors that seems prone to failure whilst at the same time a better quality non troublesome type on their 16V motors is another mystery. Don't agree with the philosophy of "Loves driving - hates garages" as it had a couple of negative effects; made people lax in servicing their cars which they paid for later in the life of the car and created a culture of mystifying a very simple car by some in the repair industry so as to allow some to "catch up" as it were when the cars eventually did come in to get serviced. As time has gone on & more people have got themselves "savvy" to the basic workings of this car, these opportunists have come back to the field or moved on.
Of this lot though, I suppose I n
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Post by hardmanm »

Come on, the ultimate Citroen has to be the SM. I live in California and I've just started looking for one, I'll keep you posted. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there's a single SM owner on this forum.
The SM has all the best features of a CX with a Maserati V6 engine (I always thought the CX could have done with a nice V6), making it the fastest front wheel drive car in the world at the time of launch and for years afterwards.
Cons : There are none (only joking!)
Mark
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Post by clarkekd »

I have never seen one, but what about the 2CV safari ? Only Citroen could be crazy enough to make a 4WD by putting an extra engine in the other end of the car.
The Traction Avant must have been thought pretty weird too, until everyone else gave up building cars on chassis and put the engine in the front. It looks good too !
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Post by Zummerman »

I think it's time another sad person put in a good word for the XM <img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>. I'm on my third; (very sad) the first was fantastic, a nearly new manual V6 Si bought to carry my customers to ports and airports in style and comfort. The idea worked and the car was very popular with the punters. The second was a 10 year old 2.0 Sei - almost as good and now I have a 1990 V6 Si auto - as good as the first <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
For: Grace, Space and Pace (where have I seen that phrase before?)It's a great drive. Reliable <img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle> yes, if looked after properly. Flexible. it's a bigger panel van than the BX and the current one has a split rear seat, even more useful. Cheap, certainly at the age of my last two. Most importantly it's the only car I've found that will accommodate my 9.6 metre inflatable, a 3.5 HP outboard and all their bits and pieces in the boot with the back seat still available for use.
Against: Poor reputation (don't know why...) Lack of knowledge on the part of dealers. The odd electrical glitch, usually fixed quickly and easily.
Significant others: CX 22 TRS, fairly quick, economical (for it's size) and simple mechanically - it has a carb! It broke a timing belt shortly after I got it - the service history said it was only 20k old - which bent three valves. The frustrating bit about that was that I had to buy a full set of valves just to replace the three damaged ones. A simple enough job to do though. The boot was too small - see above. CX 25 Safari, bags of space but no security. Nice pokey engine and smooth 3 speed auto box. Also lots of terminal rust. BX 19RD great, comfortable and very economical motorway cruiser but performance lacking for overtaking cross-country. The BX 16V on the other hand was every boy racer's ideal machine. Very fast, overtaking no problem, but not enough room for the customers, hence the first XM. If I ever get into having a second fun car it'll be a 16 Valve.
Cheers, and thanks Jon for a great thread <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
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