The Citroën ZX is a small family car built between 1991 and 1998. It was Citroën’s entry in the class dominated in Europe by the Ford Escort and Vauxhall/Opel Astra, a segment the company had briefly abandoned when the GSA ended in 1986.
Citroën ZX at a glance
| Maker | Citroën, France |
|---|---|
| Production | 1991–1998 |
| Launched | 16 March 1991 on the continent, May 1991 in Britain |
| Segment | small family car (C) |
| Drag coefficient | 0.30 to 0.33 |
| Suspension | MacPherson struts front, trailing arms and torsion bars rear |
| Rear seat | bench on a sliding platform |
| Estate | from January 1994, on sale in May |
| Sales target | about 230,000 a year, half outside France |
| Rally Raid | won the Paris-Dakar |
| Replaced by | Citroën Xsara in September 1997 |
Based on one source (English Wikipedia).
History of the Citroën ZX
Filling the gap left by the GSA
The GS had been a radical small family car in 1970, winning European Car of the Year, and was facelifted in 1979 and turned into the GSA with a hatchback. But the larger BX was so successful after its 1982 launch that PSA delayed a direct replacement for the GSA when it was discontinued in 1986. Development of a new C-segment hatchback began, at first expected to be launched as the Citroën FX at the start of the 1990s. The ZX was officially launched on the left-hand-drive continental markets on 16 March 1991, with British sales from May, initially with petrol engines only and the diesel later that year; it reached the market a few months before the new Opel/Vauxhall Astra, and the sales target was about 230,000 cars a year, half outside France.
Rally Raid first
A three-door Rally Raid version had already debuted in 1990 and won the Paris-Dakar, which started just after Christmas; the first prototypes had appeared at the Baja Aragon on 20 July 1990, and the first examples of the ZX were built in 1990. Drag resistance ranged from Cd 0.30 to 0.33. The estate debuted in January 1994 and went on sale in May, followed shortly afterwards by a mid-cycle facelift. The car also went on sale in New Zealand at the beginning of 1993 as a five-door 1.6 Aura or turbodiesel, with the naturally aspirated diesel and the Volcane GTi 1.9 joining a few weeks later, though the local unleaded petrol was of such low octane that only uncatalysed cars were offered at first.
Packaging and equipment
Interior space and value were praised by critics and buyers. The unusual rear seat was mounted on a sliding platform that could be moved rearwards for more legroom or forwards for cargo space or to tilt the backrest, although only the seat backs folded forward on cars so fitted, while lower specification models had more ultimate capacity because the cushion folded up and the back lay flat. Equipment was good for the class, with most models getting power steering, electric windows, an electric sunroof, a driver’s airbag and anti-lock brakes as standard or optional, at a competitive price. Underneath, the front used MacPherson struts and an anti-roll bar and the rear PSA’s independent trailing arm and torsion bar arrangement from the Peugeot 305 estate, with the same passive rear-wheel steering through compliance bushes found in the Xsara. The ZX chassis was used for the Peugeot 306 in 1993, and the front half of the same platform, with the rear from the 405, under the Berlingo, Partner and Xsara Picasso.
Design and features
- Sliding rear bench: the seat moved fore and aft to trade legroom for luggage space.
- Low drag: a drag coefficient of 0.30 to 0.33 for a compact hatchback.
- Rally Raid: the three-door competition car won the Paris-Dakar.
- Good equipment: power steering, electric windows and sunroof, airbag and ABS.
- Shared chassis: the basis of the Peugeot 306 and, in part, the Berlingo.
Citroën ZX versions
- ZX hatchback (1991): three- and five-door.
- ZX estate (1994): the Break.
- ZX Volcane and GTi: the sporting models, with the 1.9 GTi.
- ZX Rallye Raid: the Paris-Dakar-winning competition car.
The ZX came after the BX and was replaced by the Xsara; its Chinese version is the Fukang. More cars are in the Citroën collection.
Video: Old Top Gear 1991 – Citroen ZX
Video by celticmadliam on YouTube.
Sources
- Citroën ZX, English Wikipedia: development, launch, estate, packaging, chassis
