Chosing an used Citroen - three options

This is the Forum for all your Citroen Technical Questions, Problems or Advice.

Moderator: RichardW

Post Reply
Thunderbird

Chosing an used Citroen - three options

Post by Thunderbird »

I need a second car. The options I am considering are:
1. Xantia V6 Activa '2000
2. Xantia 2.0HDi '1999 (have one).
3. XM V6 manual '1997
4. XM 2.1TD auto '1997
The prices are very close.
Mileage perspective: 10.000 miles per year.
Comfort, power, and economy are the main factors (although power and economy don't mix). Economy = fuel economy + low maintenance costs.
Based on your experience, can you help me though the decision?
Thunderbird
tomsheppard
Posts: 1801
Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by tomsheppard »

Easy! the diesel Xantia wins. you can't pay the same for a petrol!
The activa is a swine if it goes wrong
The XM can be difficult.
The Xantia wins hands down
(But a good BX estate is cheaper to buy and very much cheaper to run!)
rg
Posts: 280
Joined: 23 Nov 2002, 02:02
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:
Contact:

Post by rg »

Thunderbird,
XM v6 late-model quite rare. But the best of the V6
XM 2.1 auto box life is questionable above 100K. I doubt if you would find a low mileage one.
How about the 2.1 manual or 2.5 (but also rare..)
rg
'97 XM 2.5 Estate
Stuart McB
Posts: 1635
Joined: 03 Oct 2003, 00:50
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:
x 1

Post by Stuart McB »

Even though I ain't got any of the vehicles your thinking of, before I had my 2nd Xsara I had a good look at the Xantia diesel. Got to say that even the basic spec motor was worth the money for me. If the wife hadn't been with me I'd be in a TD Xantia now. I was only after spending about £1500 quid and the local rag and auto trader were full of realy good looking motors. Had a look at a handful with full Citroen history 1 owner from new and looked brand new. Go for the Xantia.
Stempy
Posts: 1626
Joined: 26 Feb 2004, 23:21
Location: Cloud Cuckooland
My Cars: C5 V6 Mk1 assainated by wife
Renault Kangoo 1.6 auto, tarted up and remapped
Still missing the Xantia V6
Not missing the AX
Contact:

Post by Stempy »

Head says 2.0HDi, heart says V6 Activa
Mosser
Posts: 448
Joined: 21 Jun 2004, 01:52
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by Mosser »

What about a 2.5td S2 XM manual ?, 37mpg was about average on my one, i used to have one of those and it was a fast limousine, well worth considering if you can find one, it needs to be 1995 M or later to be S2 i believe
Niek
Posts: 135
Joined: 18 Sep 2002, 18:09
Location: Netherlands
My Cars:

Post by Niek »

Hi,
The 2.5 only came as S2 and manual.
I'd definetly go for the 2.5, thought hard about it till recently but figured that the savings w/r to petrol are only 4 eurocents/km. It would take me around 70.000 km to retrieve the Eu 2.500 extra investment. ie not worth giving the '95 2.0 16v up for. But I will one day have one!
Goodluck with your choosing
James.UK
Posts: 1169
Joined: 14 Dec 2003, 23:12
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:
x 2

Post by James.UK »

>>Comfort, power, and economy are the main factors (although power and economy don't mix). Economy = fuel economy + low maintenance costs.<<
Why not get a nice 1.9TD Volcane? (pref pre ECU, so even less things to go wrong?) They are very comfortable, very quick, very reliable, and very economic.. Seems to fit your requirements nicely... And very cheap to buy as well [:D]
Thunderbird

Post by Thunderbird »

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Stempy</i>

Head says 2.0HDi, heart says V6 Activa
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Stempy, that is where I stand right now.
Concerning the XM 2.5 I haven't found one in good condition.
I've found out most XM spares get more expensive than Xantia ones and stocks are also lower, meaning the chances on waiting a longer time for a specific spare that fails is much higher on the XM.
'Head' says 2.0Hdi mostly because of economy and comfort:
- 7L/100kms on HDi. 14L/100Kms on V6.
- Suspension comfort in almost every situation.
'Heart' says V6 because it's one of a kind:
- No body-roll, allowing extreme fast cornering (only on dry roads).
- Performances of the V6 (especially aceleration).
- Degradation of comfort while cornering.
Well, I believe that in most Head-Heart duels, the Heart usually triumphs...(life is too short)
tomsheppard
Posts: 1801
Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by tomsheppard »

Only the parts man wins! Good luck with the activa but don't pay too much; remember it is an old Citroen except more compliated so nobody wants 'em!
Thunderbird

Post by Thunderbird »

Tom,
The last generation V6 block is more solid and resistant than the HDi.
The Activa suspension is indeed more complicated, but aren't most complications common to both suspensions (Activa and non-Activa)?
For instance, the only trouble I had with my current Xantia suspension was a loss of gas in spheres. The suspension got too hard and I replaced all the spheres, which fixed the problem. The Activa has two more spheres, so, replacing them all will be a little more expensive (33% more). This only happens once in 4-5 years.
Do you know of any complications that is specific to the Activa suspension and does not happen in other Xantia suspensions?
Thunderbird
tomsheppard
Posts: 1801
Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by tomsheppard »

I thought that the Active had ten spheres and was controlled by ecus and electronic valves. I have known people tear their hair out trying to debug them and Citroen dealers tend not to be very good at diagnosing problems which can make them expensive and frustrating if something electronic goes awry.
Thunderbird

Post by Thunderbird »

Tom,
By other words, you're saying «If you want a family sportive car, look else where, like BMW, because Xantia Activa's suspension is a headache.».
tomsheppard
Posts: 1801
Joined: 19 Dec 2002, 14:46
Location: United Kingdom
My Cars:

Post by tomsheppard »

No, not BMW. From your posting, comparing four cars, None was a Sporting car.
If that was what you wanted, you wouldn't seriously have asked me to consider a Diesel XM automatic?
I'd avoid the Activa for all the reasons stated. If I wanted a sports saloon, I'd buy an old Saab 900 or aT5
Thunderbird

Post by Thunderbird »

I never said I was looking for a sports car. I just concluded from your words that Citroen's offer in matter of sportive saloons was not a good option.
In fact, comfort is a major aspect to me, and those alternative models you mentioned are far less comfortable than a Xantia Activa (on straight line).
I only wanted to clear out if Xantia Activa's suspension was really something to stay away from, and you succeded in convincing me of that - if, as you say, many Xantia Activa owners can't get over the suspension problems, as Citroen dealers don't find the solutions, buying one would be seeking for hard times.
Thank you.
Post Reply