Citroen Xantia Activa: Catch It While You Can

Wafty Citroens are something of a guilty PH pleasure, Keith picking one on the brink of extinction

Cast your mind back almost 20 years, and seemingly out of the blue, Citroen offered us a driver's car that near-as-damn-it re-wrote the rulebook. The Xantia Activa had something that no comparable car could offer at the time - computer-controlled active suspension (the 1991 Toyota Soarer Active wasn't sold here and was a tad more expensive).

V6 Activa LHD only. More's the pity

This set-up promised to combine F1-style roll-free cornering with that legendary magic carpet ride that Citroen was renowned for. There had to be a catch, surely? Well, weight and complexity certainly were - the Activa tipped the scales at a whopping 1,410kg, was equipped with 10 suspension spheres, two hydraulic rams and had three ECUs to control them.

But in 1995, none of that really mattered. For here was one of the 1990s lowest-key Q-cars. Performance from the refined 150hp 2.0-litre LPT engine was hardly earth shattering - say, 8.5 seconds for the 0-60mph dash and 130mph all out. We were sadly denied the quickest Activa powered by PSA's delightful 24-valve 3.0-litre V6 - it was beset with RHD conversion problems, apparently. However, what it could do in corners was utterly sensational.

Sit here and be amazed

It's a well known fact that with roll angles programmed-in of no greater than 0.5 degrees, the Xantia Activa could demolish all of its rivals in terms of cornering speeds, and trade g-loadings with the supercar elite. Given the car remained effectively flat at all times, optimal tyre contact patches were maintained, and driver confidence was always high - some would say too high.

I experienced that huge ability first hand back in 2006, when I put my Rover Vitesse on ice, and bought a £500 shed from a Citroen specialist I was good friends with. It was his 'smoker' and when I said I wanted it off him while waving some used notes under his nose, he couldn't resist parting with it. Driving it after the Rover was a revelation - after the first roundabout, and dialled-in to the lack of steering feel and hair-trigger brakes, I just ended up going faster, faster and faster. And faster still. Eventually, I was monstering B-road corners in a style akin to Tron's light cycles, and equally amusingly.

Keith was so enamoured he bought one!

Garages are scared of Xantia Activas because they'll tell you they're fearsomely complicated, will break down constantly, and be impossible to fix. Well, I don't know about that - I ran my dog-eared example for a year, and it never missed a beat. Aside from an amusing rocking from side-to-side at traffic lights, it was perfect in the suspension department. I'd possibly still have it now, had some half-wit in a Cavalier Mk3 not T-boned me on a roundabout on the one day I was pootling.

Nowadays, all Activa hissy-fits are curable. Hard ride? New spheres are £30 a pop. Rocking and rolling? Clean or renew the anti-roll control bars. Leaking hydraulic rams? They can be rebuilt for reasonable money. You can even buy a piggy-back ECU to override the ageing in-built control systems. All other servicing is straightforward, and Xantias are actually far better made than most people give them credit for - the only downside is even the youngest example is 13 years old, so age-related jitters are an inevitability. That and PSA's shameful policy of not stocking spares once a car's been out of production around 10 years.

And how the magic happens

Buying one could be tricky - at the end of 2013, there were 41 taxed examples on the road, and a further 40 on SORN. There was an Activa SOTW back in 2009, but I think we're beyond even that, and they're now supping in the last chance saloon. Despite this, Activas are currently worthless - you can pick a project for as little as £400, and even the best ones seldom fetch more than £2,000. But there are plenty of knowledgeable enthusiasts and specialists who will help keep you on the road.

But here's food for thought: Take your Activa to my friends at BL Autos in Welwyn Garden City, bring along a Xantia V6 donor and a small pot of cash, and they'll combine the two to create a 200bhp, actively-suspended, innocuous-looking GTI-beater. Admit it - you're more than a little tempted.

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clubsportguy

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