Xantia Mk1 vs Mk2 ?

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 25 May 2005, 17:26

Can someone tell me what some of the tangible differences between the Mark1 and Mark2 Xantia's are ? I'm in the process of looking for a Xantia in the 1996 - 1999 age range and of course that covers the crossover point between the two.
Differences I'm aware of: (not having seen a Mk2 in the flesh)
* Mk2 is restyled on the outside including slightly longer length, and wider front guards, and grill is now part of the bonnet.
* Inside - grab bar replaced with a larger glovebox. (Pity, although the glove box in the Mk1 is a joke, I do like the grab bar...)
* 2 litre petrol auto's in Mk1 were all 8 valve (?) while Mk2 introduced 16v as an option for the auto... (?)
* I havn't heard of any V6 Mk1's, was the V6 first introduced in the Mk2 ?
What else ?
Any structural differences in the body apart from the styling changes ? Any differences in the suspension ? Engines ? (apart from what engines are available in what varients) Interior space and leg room ? (I'm quite tall)
Any difference in the driving position ? I find the driving position in the Mk1 SX only mediocre - ok, but I can get a little bit of backache and this seems to be a common complaint. On the other hand the Mk1 VSX with electric seat adjustment seems to have a VERY comfortable seating position for me. How does the Mk2 compare ?
How much interchangability of parts is there between the Mk1 and Mk2 ? For example suspension and hydraulic components in particular...
In short, if I'm looking at cars around the age where the changeover occured, should I be looking for a Mk2 ? Or is the Mk2 just a facelift and minor tweak ? [:)]
Regards,
Simon

Post by **CitroJim** » 25 May 2005, 18:06

Mk2 I believe has anti-sink suspension in addition to the above points... Took some of the character of the whole car away doing that. No longer does the car amuse little children as it goes up and settles!

Ross_K · Post by **Ross_K** » 25 May 2005, 18:20

http://www.parkers.co.uk/choosing/carre ... del_id=129
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Basic 1.6i has adjustable steering column, radio/cassette, split rear seat, twin rear foglights, colour-coded bumper skirts, side mouldings with chrome inserts, remote door mirrors, tweed upholstery; LX adds remote central locking, electric front windows, electric sunroof. SX has heated electric mirrors, front fog lamps, six-speaker RDS audio; VSX has electronic ‘Hydractive II’ suspension, alloy wheels. Revisions in June 94 brought frontal restyling, seatbelt pre-tensioners. Turbo Activa has ‘ARCS’ Active Roll Control system, rear spoiler, alloys, sports seats. Revisions May 97 gave LX models velour/Alcantara upholstery, fog lamps, electric mirrors, rear head restraints; SX has Alcantara trim, rear spoiler (on saloons), alloys; VSX have leather upholstery. 3.0 V6 Exclusive has ‘Auto Adaptive’ transmission, VSX kit plus cruise control, CD player, electric front seats, wood trim. Range was again revised in January 98: new bonnet, grille, stronger body with reinforced door bars, wider track; previous models continued in rebadged form as Temptation 2, Desire 2 and Athena 2 special editions to mid 1998.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">01/01/1998
Revised range with fluted bonnet, new grille, wider track, stronger body with reinforced door bars. All models have immobiliser. All except Base models have passenger airbag and air conditioning. Exclusive models replace previous VSX. Special 'Temptation', 'Desire' and 'Athena' models, based on 1997-spec LX, SX and VSX respectively. Used values 7%-10% lower than 1998-spec LX/SX/Exclusive models. Special edition 'Sensation' 1.8i 16v (£14020) and 1.9TD (£15100). Used values slightly higher than comparable LX models.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 25 May 2005, 18:52

The headlights on the MK2 are better than the MK1.
MK2s have side airbags in the front seats and a passenger airbag.
MK2s have the option of automatic lights and wipers.
MK2s have the HDI engines.
MK2s have traffic master and different stereos to MK1s
MK2s have digital mileometers.
The facelift was when a lot of visible changes happened BUT lots of other changes have happened at other times. As an example, my two Xantias are both MK1s but there is a difference between the bulkheads on the two cars, particularly where it attaches to the inner wings. Anti sink was introduced from 1994 etc etc.
The only change between the MK1 and MK2 that is really worthwhile having is the HDI engine, pretty much everything else is just for the marketing people so they can sell more cars because its a "whole new car".

pete_wood_uk · Post by **pete_wood_uk** » 25 May 2005, 19:03

You mentioned being tall - I'm 6ft and I find that I can get barely far enough away from the pedals in my 97 SX, whereas I can get a bit further back in the HDI. Whether that's due to different seat mountings in the different bodyshells, the difference between saloon and estate, or between the manual seats in the SX and the electric/leather jobbies in the HDI, I can't say. So this contribution has been almost entirely pointless [

] except to say that there *are* variations in driver legroom across the models.
Pete

ActivaV6uk · Post by **ActivaV6uk** » 25 May 2005, 20:20

interesting that people have issues with the space in these things at 6ft 9" tall and a 42" inside leg i cant say i have a problem in the activas, LX 2L auto, VSX 2l auto or V6 24v...
the shell diference is marginal, the length is made up of the more rounded bumpers and nothing else the extra width is from the use of activa/V6 front wings which meant they could use further offset wheels to give a wider track (so the same settings at the activa). the interior has been redesigned because people said there werent enoiugh places to put things, the main advantage is all the extra airbags, other whise the phase 2 is mor expensive to insure and heavyer.
the V6 was reliesed in 1997 so there are phase 1 V6's around (like mine [:)])
Andy

Chrispy · Post by **Chrispy** » 25 May 2005, 21:35

Anti sink? Mine rises and settles when I start it. Does that mean somethings broken?

Ross_K · Post by **Ross_K** » 25 May 2005, 21:37

More than likely

rbruce1314 · Post by **rbruce1314** » 26 May 2005, 00:44

Mandrake- I dont know what spares sellers are like in NZ, but beware getting a car just before or just after the changeover. For example mine has Mk1 front brakes and Mk2 rears even though it is 7 months into the change. Even the Cit. main dealer gave me the wrong pads: his computer was actually wrong despite entering the correct 'accession' number. With fewer/less knowledgable dealers you could be chasing about a bit!

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 29 May 2005, 16:57

Thanks everyone for the info and advice, I'll take it all onboard.
Sounds like many of the improvements of the later models are just because of the later year, not so much that there was an abrupt change around the Mk1 - Mk2 transition.
One more question - was there ever a manual version of the V6 ? So far in New Zealand I've only seen Automatic V6's for sale, and very very few of them for that matter. (Also very few Manual Xantia's in general - nearly all seem to be Auto's [}:)] ) Pretty strange when you consider that manuals are far more popular than Auto's here in New Zealand for cars in general...
A dealer I talked to claims that all the second hand Xantia's imported to New Zealand from Japan are Auto's, so this may contribute to the predominence of Auto's in the Xantia S/H market here.
Regards,
Simon

xantiav6 · Post by **xantiav6** » 29 May 2005, 19:52

There were apparently no RHD V6 Xantias with manual transmission, certainly not in the UK.
The RHD headlights were improved some time in 1996, but changed again for the Mk2.
When I was in NZ in 1995 I test drove a Xantia SX auto when shopping for a new car. I got the impression that they were selling more manual than auto then. I remember that the Xantia had a poor specification when compared to most similar priced cars. We ended up getting a 3.0 litre V6 Mitsubishi with A/C for the price of the 2.0 Xantia without A/C.
Can you tell us what V6 Xantias are worth in NZ now? I will probably be moving back to NZ next year.

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 30 May 2005, 15:05

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by xantiav6

There were apparently no RHD V6 Xantias with manual transmission, certainly not in the UK.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Very sad to hear that, if its true [V]
<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">
The RHD headlights were improved some time in 1996, but changed again for the Mk2.
When I was in NZ in 1995 I test drove a Xantia SX auto when shopping for a new car. I got the impression that they were selling more manual than auto then. I remember that the Xantia had a poor specification when compared to most similar priced cars. We ended up getting a 3.0 litre V6 Mitsubishi with A/C for the price of the 2.0 Xantia without A/C.
Can you tell us what V6 Xantias are worth in NZ now? I will probably be moving back to NZ next year.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Ah, another Kiwi [:D]
Yes, I vaugly remember that when they were new Xantia's were not very good value for money compared to other cars over here, at least if you just compared them on terms like engine performance, size, features etc...
On the second hand market now though, they seem to be fairly good value, with the best age range at the moment being from about 1995 to 1998. Anything from about 1999 on goes up in price abrupty.
In the 6 months I've been looking I've only seen one (!) V6 Xantia listed online in NZ, and from memory it was about $17,000, although it was a top of the line 2001 model.
Prices of cars are so much higher over here than the UK, even something like a 1997 2.0i VSX Auto is going for around $8000. If you've got a really nice V6 now, I'd seriously look at importing it rather than trying to find another one here, it would probably cost you a lot less, (if you sent it by sea) and you'd have a car you know well....in fact while you're at it, bring one over for me [:D]
A couple of sites to keep your eyes on for Citroen prices in NZ:
http://www.trademe.co.nz
http://www.autopoint.co.nz
Not a lot listed at the moment, but from time to time.... also keep in mind you only see asking prices, not what they might sell for...a few of them are expecting over the top prices [:D]
Here is one that I actually drove (because it was local to me) that I would have bought had it been a 16v manual: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 425470.htm we looked it over very carefully and had a good test drive and it was in pretty immaculate condition including the suspension which was spot on. (Wonderful ride and handling)
Pity it was an 8 valve slugomatic [:D]
Regards,
Simon

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 30 May 2005, 18:56

Xantias have always been competitive on equipment and price accross here, new and especially so second hand.