The Citroën Xantia (pronounced "Zan–ti–a") is a
large family car
The D-segment is the 4th category of the European segments for passenger cars, and is described as "large cars".
It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "large family car" size class, and the present-day definition of the mid-size car category us ...
(
D) produced by the French automaker
Citroën
Citroën ()The double-dot diacritic over the 'e' is a diaeresis () indicating the two vowels are sounded separately, and not as a diphthong. is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded on 4 June 19 ...
, and designed by
Bertone. Presented to the press in December 1992, the car was produced between 1992 and 2001 in France, with a facelift in the end of 1997.
The ''Citroën Xantia Activa V6'' used to hold the record speed () through the
moose test
The evasive manoeuvre test (; colloquial: moose test or elk test; Swedish: ''Älgtest'', German: ''Elchtest'') is performed to determine how well a certain vehicle evades a suddenly appearing obstacle. This test has been standardized in ISO 388 ...
maneuver, due to its
active anti-roll bars.
This test is conducted by the magazine ''
Teknikens Värld
''Teknikens värld'' () is a leading motor magazine published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
''Teknikens Värld'' was founded in 1948. The magazine is owned by Bonnier Group. Its publisher is Bonnier Tidskrifter AB, a subsidiary of th ...
's'', as a test of avoiding a moose in the road. The second place car,
Porsche 997 GT3 RS was able to manage .
Citroën produced 1,216,734 Xantias during its nine years of production at the
PSA Rennes Plant.
The Xantia was replaced with the
Citroën C5 in 2001, although in its native France stock models continued to be offered as a cheaper alternative until October 2002.
Production of the Xantia at
SAIPA
SAIPA (, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'' lit. ''Iranian Limited Company for the Production of Citroën Autom ...
,
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
from 2001 to 2010 resulted in an undisclosed number of additional units.
Name
The name "Xantia", like some other names used by Citroën before (like
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarde ...
or
Pallas
Pallas may refer to:
Astronomy
* 2 Pallas asteroid
** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas
* Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon
Mythology
* Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena
* Pa ...
) comes from ancient Greek history and mythology.
"Xantia" is derived from ''Xanthos'', mean golden or blond in
Greek language
Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...
.
Xanthos
Xanthos or Xanthus, also referred to by scholars as ''Arna'', its Lycian name, (, Lycian: 𐊀𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 ''Arñna'', , Latin: ''Xanthus'') was an ancient city near the present-day village of Kınık, in Antalya Province, Turkey. The ru ...
is name of an ancient Lycian city (meaning "golden city") in ancient
Lycia
Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...
region. The name is also known for
Xanthian Obelisk, An bilingual Obelisk from
Persian Achaemenid Empire era found in ruins of Xanthos city.
History
The Xantia replaced the earlier
Citroën BX
The Citroën BX is a large family car which was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën from 1982 to 1994. In total, 2,315,739 BXs were built during its 12-year history. The hatchback was discontinued in 1993 with the arrival of the Xantia, ...
(which straddled both small and large family car segments), and maintained the high level of popularity of that model, but brought the car more into the mainstream to compete harder with its mid-size rivals, such as the
Ford Mondeo
The Ford Mondeo is a Mid-size/large family car, large (D-segment) car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford since 1993 across five generations for model years 1993-2022. As Ford self-declared world car, the Mondeo was intended to ...
and
Opel Vectra
The Opel Vectra is a mid-size car (large family car) that was engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel from 1988 until 2010. Available in Sedan (automobile), saloon, hatchback and Station wagon, estate (from model year 1997 onwards ...
/
Vauxhall Cavalier
The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car that was sold primarily in the United Kingdom by Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in ...
.
The car was built from November 1992 to October 2002 in France, totalling almost ten years, including the facelift in December 1997.
It signalled that Citroën had learned from the reception given to the staid
Citroën ZX
The Citroën ZX is a Compact car, small family car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1991 and 1998.
At the beginning of the 1990s, the ZX was Citroën's entry in the class traditionally dominated in Europe by the Ford Escort ( ...
, introduced two years earlier, and criticised by contemporary journalists for its lack of traditional Citroën flair, in engineering and design. Citroën addressed these concerns in the Xantia.
The Xantia also used the traditional Citroën
hydropneumatic
Hydropneumatic devices (or hydro-pneumatic devices) are systems that operate using water and gas. The devices are used in various applications.
Description
A hydropneumatic device is a tool that functions by using water and gas. ''Hydropneumati ...
suspension system, which was pioneered by the older
DS. It was initially only available as a
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body style, car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to the main interior of the car as a cargo area rather than just to a separated trunk. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second-row sea ...
(
notchback
A notchback is a car design with the rear section distinct from the passenger compartment and where the back of the passenger compartment is at an angle to the top of what is typically the rear baggage compartment. Notchback cars have "a trunk w ...
) (Berline), but an
estate (
station wagon
A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...
) (Break) version, built by
Heuliez, appeared in September 1995.
Inline with
PSA Group
Peugeot S.A., trading as Groupe PSA () (formerly PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles and motorcycles unde ...
policy, the
Peugeot 406, launched two years later, used the same floorpan, core structure and engines as the Xantia. The Hydractive suspension system was not carried over, and the 406 utilised a more traditional spring suspension.
Sales in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
were strong, and even though it was never able to match the volume of
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
favourites, such as the
Ford Mondeo
The Ford Mondeo is a Mid-size/large family car, large (D-segment) car manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company, Ford since 1993 across five generations for model years 1993-2022. As Ford self-declared world car, the Mondeo was intended to ...
or
Vauxhall Vectra, the car did help Citroën establish a strong foothold in the business car market in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
1998 facelift
The Xantia was given a facelift at the end of 1997. The Mark 1, produced between 1993 and 1997, can be distinguished by the grille integrated with the body of the car. On the Mark 2, produced between 1998 and 2001, the grille is attached to the bonnet. The facelift model also features body colored bumpers and a revised dashboard.
Xantia Activa
The top model in Citroën's Xantia series was the highly engineered ''Activa''. The model was introduced at the end of 1994, and between the spring of 1995 and the autumn of 2001 was built in just over 18,000 copies.
The name refers to the
Citroën Activa showcar. The distinguishing feature of the Activa was the ability to drive around curves without any chassis roll.
This technology is more broadly known as
active suspension
An active suspension is a type of Suspension (vehicle), automotive suspension that uses an onboard control system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels and axles relative to the chassis or vehicle frame, rather than the conventi ...
.
This lack of roll is achieved by active chassis intervention. In addition to Hydractive II, Activa also had undercarriage stabilization (AFS), in French SC.CAR = Systeme Citroën de Contrôle Actif du Roulis, which was the first standard-fitted, active cross-stabilizer in automobile construction. With this system, the lateral inclination could be reduced to a minimum (−0.2 ° to 1 °) by means of mechanical control with hydraulic cylinders acting on the cross-stabilizer bars. This technique enabled (according to the manufacturer's specifications) with optimal road grip transverse accelerations of up to 1.2 g and despite this also offered an above-average high suspension comfort and thus a safer road position. Compared to the standard models, Activa had seats with reinforced side rails, which on the first series (X1) were also pneumatically adjustable.
Activa active anti roll bars
In 1994, the
Activa technology was introduced, which is an extension to the Hydractive II suspension, where two additional spheres and two hydraulic cylinders are used together with computer control to eliminate
body roll completely.
Moose test
The ''Citroën Xantia V6 Activa'' still holds the record speed () through the
moose test
The evasive manoeuvre test (; colloquial: moose test or elk test; Swedish: ''Älgtest'', German: ''Elchtest'') is performed to determine how well a certain vehicle evades a suddenly appearing obstacle. This test has been standardized in ISO 388 ...
maneuver, due to its
active anti-roll bars.
This test is conducted by the magazine ''
Teknikens Värld
''Teknikens värld'' () is a leading motor magazine published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
''Teknikens Värld'' was founded in 1948. The magazine is owned by Bonnier Group. Its publisher is Bonnier Tidskrifter AB, a subsidiary of th ...
's'', as a test of avoiding a moose in the road. The second place car, a
Nissan Qashqai DIG-T 160 Acenta was able to manage .
A
TikTok
TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
video compared a 1996 Citroën Xantia to a 2021
BMW M4 Competition in terms of moose test. The Xantia was able to pass through the object at 73 km/h without flipping a single
traffic cone
Traffic cones, also called pylons, witches' hats, road cones, highway cones, safety cones, caution cones, channelizing devices, construction cones, roadworks cones, or just cones, are usually cone-shaped markers that are placed on roads or footpa ...
, whereas the M4 had to slow down to 29 km/h while it flipped 3 traffic cones during the moose test.
Detailed description for AFS / SC.CAR

Both (relatively thick) transverse stabilizers (front 28 mm, rear 25 mm dimensions) were located diagonally (front left and rear right), and were connected to the wheel joints by a differential hydraulic cylinder.
These cylinders were connected to a control valve, which was operated directly by the front cross joints with connecting rods over a spring-handle mechanism. The occurring rolling moment (side slope) had the opposite effect on the cross joints - one wheel springs in and the other out. Thereby, the control valve (inclination corrector) was pulled out / pushed in by means of the connecting rods in a direction out of its rest position (straight ahead), whereby a pressure proportional to the rolling moment was formed in the hydraulic cylinders.
Thereby the hydraulic cylinders changed position and acted against the bias of the cross stabilizer. They "pressed" the body over the cross-stabilizer bars against the rolling torque further horizontally, enabling cornering with up to 0.6g transverse acceleration with −0.2 to 0.5° lateral inclination. From 0.6g transverse acceleration, the cylinders returned to the starting position, from which the Xantia Activa tilted up to 1° in the curve until the curve limit area was reached, which corresponded to the value of a sports car with a correspondingly tighter tuning.
As these active roller stabilizers worked independently of the Hydractive II undercarriage, the suspension could be almost completely maintained even at extreme cornering, giving a significantly better road position in these situations than with conventional wheel suspensions. When driving straight ahead, a solenoid valve was operated by the control unit for the Hydractive suspension, which connected an additional spring ball in the hydraulic control circuit of the cylinder. Thereby, the stiffness of the tightly tuned stabilizer bars could be minimized "virtually" by gas filling the spring ball to reduce the movements and increase the comfort. Likewise, they had a damping effect on the control circuit, so that there were no undesired oscillations during straight-ahead driving due to suspension-related, short-term operation of the inclination corrector.
Activa engines
The Xantia Activa was available with the following engines (not all engines were necessarily available in all countries):
Petrol: 2.0i 16V 97 kW (132 hp), 2.0i 16V 110 kW (150 hp), 2.0i Turbo CT 108 kW (147 hp) and 3.0i V6 140 kW (190 hp).
Diesel: 2.1 Turbo D12 80 kW (109 hp) and 2.0 HDi 80 kW (109 hp).
The Activa could be recognized by the standard-fitted rear spoiler, the "Venise" alloy wheels, the car-painted bumpers (on the first series), the black roof canopy (depending on the year of construction), special front seats with distinctive side members and the Activa logo instead of engine displacement badge.
Hydraulic suspension
The Xantia was the last Citroën to use the green fluid, LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minéral), a
mineral oil
Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils.
The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...
. Later cars, such as the C5, used LDS instead.
The Xantia also was the last Citroën vehicle to use a common hydraulic circuit for suspension, brakes and steering like the pioneering
Citroën DS
The Citroën DS () is a Front-mid-engine, front-wheel-drive layout, front mid-engined, front-wheel drive executive car manufactured and marketed by Citroën from 1955 to 1975, in fastback/sedan, wagon/estate, and convertible body configurations ...
.
The Xantia had several variants of the Hydraulic system:
*
Hydropneumatic suspension
Hydropneumatic suspension is a type of motor vehicle suspension system, invented by Paul Magès, produced by Citroën, and fitted to Citroën cars, as well as being used under licence by other car manufacturers. Similar systems are also widely u ...
(5 spheres)
* Hydractive 2 suspension (7 spheres)
* Hydropneumatic (anti-sink) suspension (6 spheres)
* Hydractive 2 (anti-sink) suspension (8 spheres)
* Activa
active suspension
An active suspension is a type of Suspension (vehicle), automotive suspension that uses an onboard control system to control the vertical movement of the vehicle's wheels and axles relative to the chassis or vehicle frame, rather than the conventi ...
SC.CAR (10 spheres)
Hydractive

From an engineering perspective, the Xantia's biggest advance was the suspension. From launch, the more expensive models were available with an enhanced version of the
XM's
Hydractive, Hydractive II or H2, computer controlled version of the
hydropneumatic
Hydropneumatic devices (or hydro-pneumatic devices) are systems that operate using water and gas. The devices are used in various applications.
Description
A hydropneumatic device is a tool that functions by using water and gas. ''Hydropneumati ...
self-leveling suspension.
This used extra suspension spheres to allow a soft ride in normal conditions, but taut body control during hard braking, acceleration or cornering.
These models feature an innovation first seen on the
ZX, and then subsequently fitted to the facelifted XM, a programmed self steer rear axle. On sweeping curves and tight bends alike, the rear wheels turn in line with the front wheels, sharpening responses and adding to driver pleasure.
[Citroën - Xantia]
/ref>
Engines
Power came from the familiar PSA XU series petrol engines, this time in 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 displacements, a 2.0 16 valve version for the Xantia VSX, a turbocharged
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...
2.0 engine, from 1995 onwards, a 1.8 16 valve and a 2.0 16 valve engine. In 1997, a 3.0 V6 engine was offered as top-of-the-line. This engine was also offered with the Activa suspension system, a rare version with fewer than 2600 built.
The popular XUD turbodiesel units in 1.9 (turbocharged: , low pressure turbo: , or not: 71 hp) displacement proved to be the best selling engine.
The biggest diesel was a 2.1 TD with . In 1998, PSA introduced the HDi direct injection turbodiesel (in two versions: , and intercooled 109 PS). For an economical diesel engine, the HDi offered the kind of throttle response normally seen in a gasoline engine and quiet high speed cruising at a top speed of .
United Kingdom models of the Activa came fitted with a XU10 2 litre turbocharged engine also fitted to the Citroën XM 2.0CT and Peugeot 605 SRi. It produced 150 bhp and 171 lb ft of torque and was a 'low-blow' type for smooth power delivery rather than outright bhp.
Iranian production
The Citroën Xantia was produced in Iran from 2001 to 2010 in four different Variants.
All models produced in Iran were produced only with a five-speed manual gearbox and a five-door liftback body. The Xantia was the first Citroën produced by SAIPA
SAIPA (, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'' lit. ''Iranian Limited Company for the Production of Citroën Autom ...
ever since the Citroën Dyane
The Citroën Dyane is an economy car, economy family car produced by the French automaker Citroën from 1967 to 1983. The Dyane's design remained almost completely based on the Citroën 2CV and its underpinnings, but at the same time received a ...
''Jian'' (1967-1980).
The February 18, 2000 contract, that renewed the relationship, called for SAIPA to serve as a center for exporting Xantia to the Middle East, Central Asia, Russia and Ukraine. In 2001, 9,500 out of a total 12,000 cars to be made in Iran, were expected to be sent abroad for being sold. At least 40% of parts would be made in Iran.
According to SAIPA, The Xantia was one of the best products produced in the history of car manufacturing in Iran. Production of the Xantia ended in 2010 due to the lack of spare parts from France and Citroën.
Full production figures of the Xantia in Iran are unknown.
Sales
Sales in Iran and production by SAIPA.
Iranian models
Xantia 1800 Superlux: This model is based on the French model 1.8i 16V SX with the removal of some equipment such as the sunroof, rear wing, body-colored flaps, aluminum rims, cruise control and removal of a number of electronic car alarm sensors and a different car audio system.
Xantia 2000 X: This model is based on the French 2.0i 16V SX model with the removal of some equipment such as front passenger airbags and side airbags, ABS anti-lock brakes, sunroof, rear wing, body-colored flaps, front fenders, cruise control and removal of a number of sensors. Electronic car alarm and car sound system were changed.
Xantia 2000 SX: This model is based on the French 2.0i16V SX model with the removal of some equipment such as side airbags, sunroof, rear wing, body-colored flaps, cruise control and removal of a number of electronic car alarm sensors and a different car audio system.
Xantia Facelift or Xantia 2: Xantia Facelift was similar to the SX 2000 model in terms of engine, gearbox and equipment, with the difference that the front and rear bumpers were changed by Saipa's designers.
Chinese production
The Citroën Xantia, along with the Citroën XM were assembled by the firm of CKD in Huizhou, Guangdong province. This venture lasted for only two years from 1996 to 1997, and production numbers were extremely low. The cars were imported to China more or less fully assembled with only minor additions done in China as a way to avoid the high import tariffs on cars that existed at the time. Both cars were badged as XM.
The vehicles full name was Fengshen Xietuolong XM.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citroen Xantia
Xantia
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Mid-size cars
Hatchbacks
Station wagons
2000s cars
Bertone vehicles
Cars introduced in 1993
Cars discontinued in 2010