Citroën Xantia: the car that beat a Porsche in the moose test

The Citroën Xantia is a large family car designed by Bertone, presented to the press in December 1992 and produced in France between 1992 and 2001, with a facelift at the end of 1997. It replaced the Citroën BX and was itself replaced by the C5.

Citroën Xantia at a glance

Based on one source (English Wikipedia).

History of the Citroën Xantia

1992: back into the mainstream

The Xantia replaced the BX, keeping that car’s popularity but bringing Citroën closer to the mainstream to fight the Ford Mondeo and Opel Vectra. It was unveiled on 16 December 1992 at the CNIT in La Défense near Paris, in front of 350 journalists and Jacques Calvet, and built from November 1992 to October 2002 in France, including the December 1997 facelift, with stock models sold as a cheaper alternative in France until October 2002. It also showed Citroën had learned from the reception of the staid ZX two years earlier, and it kept the hydropneumatic suspension pioneered by the DS. At first only the hatchback saloon was offered; the Break estate, built by Heuliez, arrived in September 1995. The Peugeot 406, launched two years later, used the same floorpan, structure and engines, but with conventional springs.

The name

Xantia, like Athena or Pallas before it, comes from ancient Greek history and mythology: it derives from Xanthos, meaning golden or blond, the name of an ancient Lycian city and of the Xanthian Obelisk found in its ruins. The letter X was used on many Citroëns of the era, Citroën working closely with Michelin, which was promoting its X brand of tyres.

Activa: the anti-roll Citroën

The top of the range was the Activa, introduced at the end of 1994 and built in just over 18,000 examples between spring 1995 and autumn 2001. The name came from the Activa show car, and its distinguishing feature was the ability to corner with no body roll at all. On top of Hydractive II, the Activa had the SC.CAR undercarriage stabilisation system, the first standard-fitted active cross-stabiliser in car production, which used hydraulic cylinders on the anti-roll bars to cut lateral lean to between −0.2° and 1°. That allowed lateral accelerations of up to 1.2 g with very high comfort, and the Activa had seats with reinforced side rails, pneumatically adjustable on the first series.

The moose test and the facelift

The Xantia Activa V6 held the record speed through the moose test at 85 km/h, in a manoeuvre run by the Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld, with the second-placed Porsche 997 GT3 RS managing 82 km/h. The 1998 model year brought a facelift: on the Mark 1 the grille was integrated with the body, while on the Mark 2 it was attached to the bonnet, and the facelift car also had body-coloured bumpers and a revised dashboard. Production in Iran at SAIPA from 2001 to 2010 added an undisclosed number of cars.

Design and features

• Hydropneumatic suspension: the Citroën system pioneered by the DS, with Hydractive on some versions.
• Activa anti-roll: active cross-stabilisers cutting lean to under one degree.
• Moose-test record: 85 km/h, faster than a Porsche 997 GT3 RS at 82.
• Bertone design: a shape that shared cues with the larger XM.
• Break by Heuliez: the estate that joined the range in September 1995.

Citroën Xantia versions

• Xantia hatchback (1993): the Mark 1 with an integrated grille.
• Xantia Break (1995): the Heuliez-built estate.
• Xantia Activa (1995–2001): the active-anti-roll model, over 18,000 built.
• Mark 2 (1998): grille on the bonnet, body-coloured bumpers, new dashboard.

The Xantia replaced the BX and was replaced by the C5, and its chassis was used for the Xanae concept. More cars are in the Citroën collection.

Video: Driving a Citroën Xantia HDi Break 1999

Video by Kjell Kriminell on YouTube.

Sources

• Citroën Xantia, English Wikipedia: launch, name, Activa, moose test, facelift, production