My 1998 Citroen Xantia Activa
Discussion
Jw Vw said:
i actually quite like it! what are they like to drive!?
Much better than a Vectra of the same age, but thats not difficult! Its typical french quirkiness, although not like the olders Citroen's, the brakes are like a switch, the seats are soft and comfy but they do have just enough side support, suspension wise if you have never driven a hydropnematic suspended car before its a little different, it floats over speed bumps (not quite as good as the non-Activa versions) and then becomes taut in the corners with virtually no body roll. Its quite a relaxing experience really, and unlike many cars of the same era, it has a bit of personality and character that so many modern cars lack.Managed to get some work done on the Activa this weekend. The first thing was the brakes.
The reason for replacing them was a judder at most braking speeds, and then before Christmas when it was very cold, this happened.
Can you spot what is wrong? Lucky, i was only in the city when this happened so only a few miles to drive home. It seems the pad had stuck to the disc when i parked up, and because the outer pad was so badly worn (all other pads were fine), it managed to slip out of the caliper carrier and then onto the hub of the disc!
Such a straightforward job though, and they work nicely straight out the box, should be usual strong Xantia brakes when bedded in.
So, with the brakes sorted i went out to bed them in, and made a visit to one of my favourite spots around here, St Andrews Asylum!
It seems to be a bit of a flier for a standard ish car and much quicker than the book figures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkNa7ciBOXw
Still loads to do, including replacing the original radiator which i dont like the look of, getting the suspension fully set up with refurbished height correctors, sorting the minor blow on the exhaust and fitting a straight through backbox to replace the original heavily baffled one. I replaced this on my old one and i was surprised at the difference just a back box made. When you hear how quiet they are as standard it makes sense..
The reason for replacing them was a judder at most braking speeds, and then before Christmas when it was very cold, this happened.
Can you spot what is wrong? Lucky, i was only in the city when this happened so only a few miles to drive home. It seems the pad had stuck to the disc when i parked up, and because the outer pad was so badly worn (all other pads were fine), it managed to slip out of the caliper carrier and then onto the hub of the disc!
Such a straightforward job though, and they work nicely straight out the box, should be usual strong Xantia brakes when bedded in.
So, with the brakes sorted i went out to bed them in, and made a visit to one of my favourite spots around here, St Andrews Asylum!
It seems to be a bit of a flier for a standard ish car and much quicker than the book figures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkNa7ciBOXw
Still loads to do, including replacing the original radiator which i dont like the look of, getting the suspension fully set up with refurbished height correctors, sorting the minor blow on the exhaust and fitting a straight through backbox to replace the original heavily baffled one. I replaced this on my old one and i was surprised at the difference just a back box made. When you hear how quiet they are as standard it makes sense..
I should have added that I now own this particular Silver Activa.
I had been wanting an Activa for a long time, im quite into Citroens and this is something which interests me for that reason, however the experience to drive one is the real reason I had to have one.
I had been searching on and off for a while but most appear to be quite forgotten about examples which need many things doing. When I saw this one for sale I knew it would be a good one, I bought it about 6 months ago. Its is also pretty much the spec I would have chosen, a very late S1 with air con and a cloth interior - seats are fantastic in my opinion. Ive done around 4,000 miles in it, and its great, ive been working through the things its needed and its getting to be a very well sorted car.
Its not my daily car and so its economy is not a worry for me. Its a car for me to enjoy, work on and improve, a project. It is a good one though, which has had a good deal of work done both by me and its previous owner, Kidders.
It certainly is an experience to drive, quite unlike most other cars in the way it feels. When Im driving my Activa my journeys are always so much longer ... Activas are certainly a well kept secret, only around 150 left on the UK roads now too.
I might well make my own readers rides thread at some point, most likely with some up to date pictures of it.
I had been wanting an Activa for a long time, im quite into Citroens and this is something which interests me for that reason, however the experience to drive one is the real reason I had to have one.
I had been searching on and off for a while but most appear to be quite forgotten about examples which need many things doing. When I saw this one for sale I knew it would be a good one, I bought it about 6 months ago. Its is also pretty much the spec I would have chosen, a very late S1 with air con and a cloth interior - seats are fantastic in my opinion. Ive done around 4,000 miles in it, and its great, ive been working through the things its needed and its getting to be a very well sorted car.
Its not my daily car and so its economy is not a worry for me. Its a car for me to enjoy, work on and improve, a project. It is a good one though, which has had a good deal of work done both by me and its previous owner, Kidders.
It certainly is an experience to drive, quite unlike most other cars in the way it feels. When Im driving my Activa my journeys are always so much longer ... Activas are certainly a well kept secret, only around 150 left on the UK roads now too.
I might well make my own readers rides thread at some point, most likely with some up to date pictures of it.
Edited by seatdriver on Wednesday 26th October 22:08
Edited by seatdriver on Wednesday 26th October 22:13
No, Citroën only fitted arcs (anti roll control system) to the xantia activa. It was only ever made as a hatchback. In the UK it only ever had the 2.0 tct (turbo constant torque) engine. Elsewhere it was available with a 3.0 v6, 2.0 16v, 2.1td and in the series 2 the 2.0 hdi 110.
The xm had hydractive 1 on series 1 cars and hydractive 2 on the series 2 cars. It does work very well and the ride in a well sorted xm is superb. They are very controlled to drive but totally different to an activa.
It was never fitted to the xm, which a certain YouTube vid does prove just how good the normal xm suspension really is. We also have an xm, its a great cruiser and good on twisties too but the activa is a totally different thing. Something to experience for sure.
The xm had hydractive 1 on series 1 cars and hydractive 2 on the series 2 cars. It does work very well and the ride in a well sorted xm is superb. They are very controlled to drive but totally different to an activa.
It was never fitted to the xm, which a certain YouTube vid does prove just how good the normal xm suspension really is. We also have an xm, its a great cruiser and good on twisties too but the activa is a totally different thing. Something to experience for sure.
Edited by seatdriver on Thursday 27th October 21:08
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