The Citroën Xsara () is a

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

C-segment The C-segment is the 3rd category of the European segments for passenger cars and is described as "medium cars". It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "small family car" size class, and the compact car category in the United States. In 2011, the C- ...

family car, produced by the French automaker

PSA Peugeot Citroën The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...

, under their

Citroën Citroën () is a French automobile brand. The "Automobiles Citroën" manufacturing company was founded in March 1919 by André Citroën. Citroën is owned by Stellantis since 2021 and previously was part of the PSA Group after Peugeot acquired ...

marque, from 1997 to 2006. The Xsara was a development of the

Citroën ZX The Citroën ZX is a small family car produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1991 and 1998. During the beginning of the 1990s, the ZX was Citroën's competitor in the class traditionally dominated in Europe by the Ford Escort and ...

and

Peugeot 306 The Peugeot 306 is a small family car built by the French car manufacturer Peugeot from 1993 to 2002. It replaced the 309. Peugeot gave the 306 many updates and aesthetic changes to keep up with the competition, and it was replaced by the 307 in ...

, which shared a platform and running gear. It came in three and five door

hatchback A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...

(

notchback A notchback is a design of a car with the rearmost section that is 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 ...

) and five door estate

body style Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars. The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 ''Road vehicles – Types ...

s; the estate was marketed as the ''Break'' and the three door as the ''Coupé''. The styling shared cues with the larger

Bertone Bertone is an Italian surname meaning "descendant of Roberto". Notable people with the surname include: * Alicia Bertone, American academic, researcher, and veterinary surgeon * Catherine Bertone (born 1972), Turkish-born female Italian marathon r ...

designed Xantia, but was regarded as bland by the motoring press. The straight four engine range includes 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre

petrol engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

s as well as 1.6, 1.9 and 2.0 litre naturally aspirated and

turbocharged In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...

diesels. In some countries, such as Portugal, the 1.5 litre TUD5 diesel engine was also available. The Xsara was 1998 Semperit Irish Car of the Year in Ireland.

Chassis design

The familiar range of PSA powertrains drove the front wheels of a seemingly conventionally designed chassis. At the front was a standard

MacPherson strut The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles, and is named for American automotive engineer Ear ...

layout with

anti-roll bar An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) wheels ...

, while the rear used the PSA Peugeot-Citroën fully independent trailing arm/torsion bar set up, which was first introduced on the estate of the

Peugeot 305 The Peugeot 305 is a medium-sized car produced by the French automaker Peugeot from 1977 to 1989. It was offered as a four-door saloon, five-door estate, and as a three-door van body derivative. History Origins During the mid 1970s, the motoring ...

. However, PSA's chassis engineers employed some unusual features, including passive rear wheel steering, though less than on the ZX, (by means of specially designed compliance bushes in the rear suspension), and inhouse developed and constructed shock absorbers. At high mileages, this is prone to wear of the axle mounting bushes which is easily fixed. It is also prone to wear in the rear axle trailing arm bearings, which then wear the trailing arm axle tubes, requiring an expensive rebuild or a replacement axle assembly. The diesel and larger capacity petrol engines are canted as far back as possible in the engine bay, in an effort to put as much weight as possible behind the front axle line, also reducing the centre of gravity, while improving weight distribution and minimising

understeer Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Oversteer is what occurs when a car turns (steers) by more than the amount commanded by the driver. Conversely, understeer is what occ ...

Overview

Pre-facelift

Citroën Xsara Break Millesimé 20090720 rear

The original Xsara was launched in September 1997, and was available with different engine choices: *1.4L (1361 cc 8 valve SOHC) TU3JP

4-cylinder The engine configuration describes the fundamental operating principles by which internal combustion engines are categorized. Piston engines are often categorized by their cylinder layout, valves and camshafts. Wankel engines are often categorize ...

petrol 111 N·m *1.6L (1587 cc) TU5JP four cylinder petrol 136 N·m *1.8L (1761 cc) XU7JB four cylinder petrol *1.8L (1761 cc) XU7JP four cylinder petrol *1.8L (1761 cc 16-valve

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

) XU7JP4 four cylinder petrol 155 N·m *2.0L (1998 cc) XU10J2C four cylinder petrol *2.0L (1998 cc 16 valve DOHC) XU10J4R four cylinder petrol *2.0L (1998 cc 16 valve DOHC) XU10J4RS four cylinder petrol (used in Xsara VTS) *1.5L (1527 cc) 43 kW (58 PS; 57 hp) TUD5 diesel *1.9L (1905 cc) XUD9A

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

*1.9L (1868 cc) DW8 diesel *1.9L (1905 cc) XUD9B SD diesel *1.9L (1905 cc) XUD9TE

turbodiesel The term turbo-diesel, also written as turbodiesel and turbo diesel, refers to any diesel engine equipped with a turbocharger. As with other engine types, turbocharging a diesel engine can significantly increase its efficiency and power output, ...

*2.0L (1997 cc) DW10TD turbodiesel *2.0L (1997 cc) DW10ATED turbodiesel

Facelift

In September 2000 for the 2001 model year, the Xsara was facelifted. The car was now stiffer (safety and handling improved), had a new front design and some interior modifications (i.e.: new steering wheel). The facelift also saw the introduction of multiplex wiring. New 1.6i and 2.0i 16 valve engines were being introduced and 1.8L were removed. Now Xsara is offered with following engine choices: *1.4L (1361 cc 8 valve SOHC) TU3JP four cylinder petrol 121 N·m (

catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...

and its position were changed). *1.6L (1587 cc 16 valve DOHC) TU5JP4 four cylinder petrol (new, replaced 8-valve TU5JP engine) *2.0L (1998 cc 16 valve DOHC) XU10J4RS four cylinder petrol (used till 2002) *2.0L (1998 cc 16 valve DOHC) EW10J4 four cylinder petrol (new, replaced XU10 engine) *1.4L (1398 cc) HDI 50 KW 68 PS DW4TD 01. 2004–31 December 2004 *1.5L (1527 cc) 43 kW (58 PS; 57 hp) TUD5 diesel *1.9L (1868 cc) DW8 diesel (used till 2002) *1.9L (1868 cc) DW8B diesel (new) *2.0L (1997 cc) DW10TD turbodiesel (catalyst was changed, later central silencer was removed) *2.0L (1997 cc) DW10ATED turbodiesel (new) The model of 2002 had slight interior modifications (e.g. a different way of controlling the sound system from the steering wheel). In February 2003, there were also some exterior modifications (e.g. new front bumper, new instrument panel design with

Eurostile Eurostile is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed by Aldo Novarese in 1962. Novarese created Eurostile for one of the best-known Italian foundries, Nebiolo, in Turin. Novarese developed Eurostile to succeed the similar Microgramma, which ...

typeface (to replace the Futura typeface) with dial design from the

Peugeot 307 The Peugeot 307 is a small family car produced by the French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroën, under their Peugeot marque, from 2001 to 2008 in Europe, and was the successor to the Peugeot 306, which was discontinued in 2002 after being in product ...

). The Xsara hatchback was discontinued in Europe, and replaced by the C4 in November 2004.

Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile Dongfeng is the romanization of several Chinese names of which most notably "East Wind" (); it may refer to: People's Republic of China * Dongfeng (missile) (), series of ballistic missiles of the People's Liberation Army * Chinese series of dies ...

, a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between

Dongfeng Dongfeng is the romanization of several Chinese names of which most notably "East Wind" (); it may refer to: People's Republic of China * Dongfeng (missile) (), series of ballistic missiles of the People's Liberation Army * Chinese series of dies ...

and the

PSA Group The PSA Group (), legally known as Peugeot S.A. (Peugeot Société Anonyme, trading as Groupe PSA; formerly known as PSA Peugeot Citroën from 1991 to 2016) was a French multinational automotive manufacturing company which produced automobiles ...

, continued to manufacture the Xsara hatchback one more year. In Europe, the Xsara Estate continued to be produced until 2006 and did not get a replacement. The Xsara Picasso small MPV was continued, concurrently with its successor that was based on the C4, 'Picasso' becoming the name for MPV derivatives of any Citroën model.

References

External links