Citreon Xantia?

[CountryPug]

My driving instructors car was a ford focus, in my opinion it was a very forgetable car. It sorta did everything OK but didnt specialise in any department. I guess thats the point and why they're so popular, give me a 306 over one anyday.lol

The Xantia, now thats a great car! Its so comfortable its unreal and the handling will always give you a giggle, although i don't know if you can call it 'handling'

[jasper5]

I had 2 Xantias, they were both fantastic cars, the first one got written off by someone driving into the back at a roundabout off the motorway, the towbar was embedded inside the cylinder block of the Astra that ran in the back.
I learned a lot about the Xantia, I'm an expert on the suspension system
I've changed several of the dreaded clutch cable plastic fitting on the pedal, I even made my own metal replacements ( I still have one somewhere in the house.)
Handbrake cable replacement is a nightmare.
Have a look from the back of the car, if you see the rear wheels folding inwards like the 406, the trailing arm bearing have gone, swine of a job
You can adjust the ride height of the suspension by moving the linkage on the rear anti roll bar, it needs moving in 1000th of an inch.
One very common fault is the rear suspension ride height linkage seizing up, also there is a tiny plastic link rod that breaks off causing the rear suspension to drop and not be able to raise, they cost a couple of quid and you need a modified clip on either side of the link rod ball joints to stop the rod from dropping off in the future.

As for the C5, if you think the 406 is a nightmare on electronics, you aint seen nothing like a C5

[FarmerPug]

The xantia i almost bought one when buying my 406, an uncle has had one for about 8 years, this thing has the dung drove out of it, its used for pulling all the time and the clutch, gearbox and engine are all fine with 180k on the clock, the spheres need changed i think every 3 years its just part of the cars servicing schedule, and there is enough citroen specialists to get parts from, for comfort they are great nice and smooth but a bit wallowier than the 406 thats the choice you need to make they are both similar cars the 406 seems to be set up to be more of a drivers car, the xantia is more focused towards comfort. I was also in an activa once these cars can handle very well but i dont know how reliable the electrics are, the electrics put me off the c5 and its looks but it is a comfy car and the hatchback can hold massive loads. I would happily buy an xantia without a worry about its suspension, there is plenty of guides about working on the suspension, and enough xantias lying around in scrapyards to get cheap parts.

[Bailes1992]

Right I'm going to avoid this idea all together. I'm going to have the Focus and if it's expensive to run then I'm going to look at Passat's and Bora's. Or even something Jap like a Honda Accord or something.

[Doggy]

I'm going to look at Passat's

Do you have insomnia?

[Bailes1992]

I'm going to look at Passat's

Do you have insomnia?

I drive a 406 without falling asleap dont I

Might even have a look at some E46 325tds's aswell.

[waue1978]

Don't you mean E36 325tds? Had one of those couple of cars before the Xantia & I can honestly say that you would not be disappointed. The engine sounds proper agricultural from the outside when compared to modern diesels, but fairly quiet inside & the performance was fan-bloody-tastic. Mine was a 97 with 110k & it pushed you back in the seat under acceleration & still had plenty of grunt to kick the arse out on dry roundabouts (with the traction control turned off) & the E36 is a fantastic handling car anyway. Only downsides are a pathetically small boot (I had to change for an E39 520i to accommodate the wife's crap when going to visit the outlaws in Eire) & it'd be damn near impossible to pick one up with less than 150k on the clock these days. If you do though, make sure it's the tds (intercooled) & not the plain td.

[Bailes1992]

I'm thinking about it. Insurance is another £300 hike, although I can afford it. And I think you can run them on cooking oil but now 100% sure. Do there fuel pumps run off the timing belt like the XUD lumps?

[waue1978]

Don't know about the fuel pump as nothing ever needed doing under the bonnet in the 6 months I had it, but I wouldn't bother with the cooking oil in it. Mine was pretty good on fuel. Drove it like I stole it most of the time & the average fuel consumption for my whole ownership was 43mpg. Trip computer could store 2 readings so left one running since I bought it & used to reset the other if I wanted to see what a trip cost. Here was mine:

[Bailes1992]

Image isn't comming up Well if thats the case I might very well consider one. I'm stuggling to get 40mpg out of mine on a daily basis.

[FarmerPug]

why a bora, when there is so many cars out there do people buy boras, its a very bland car.

[Bailes1992]

why a bora, when there is so many cars out there do people buy boras, its a very bland car.

Cheap, reliable and remap very well.
Same with the Passat.
Some BBS splits, coilovers and they look awesome

[CountryPug]

why a bora, when there is so many cars out there do people buy boras, its a very bland car.

Cheap, reliable and remap very well.
Same with the Passat.
Some BBS splits, coilovers and they look awesome

Should also add cramped and uncomfortable to that list .............aw sh*t i'm getting old

[FarmerPug]

They are quite a loud diesel, and inside apart from the blue lights where did the flair go.
but its still a bora no matter whats done to them in terms of modifications, the front end is just too square and ugly looking, the passat on the other hand was designed from scratch to be a passat, its no afterthought of the golf development and quite a good car

[STALLED]

Dude - don't get a Bora.

E36's are a bit scrappy - it's getting hard to find a good one. Remember, the last of them came out in 1998 - so you are buying another 12 year old car (with associated age related wear and tear)...

Passats are stogy to drive - They lack in the driver dynamics department compared to the 406. Yes, they have nicer plastics - but that doesn't mean that they are well built!