Shed Of The Week: Citroen Saxo VTR
Somebody snap this tasty looking Saxo up before it becomes an accessory to murder!
That licence to thrill is boosted by the knowledge that the VTR engine is as tough as the old boots typically worn by Saxo owners. Small boots, ideally, as there's not much room in the off-kilter footwell. You do need to exercise some care with the gearbox, but the cambelt is a fit-and-forget item with an 80,000-mile life expectancy.
Our '02 car is the facelifted model with the headlamp-integrated indicators, new tail lights, more rounded bonnet and wings. At the time it was built, it was the UK's number one selling hot hatch, and indeed the cheapest, which partly explained its popularity and fully explained the nastiness of its cabin plastics.
Will our SOTW even need a new beam, though? With just 59k miles up and a full Citroen service history in the glovebox, this sweet-looking black number may well be exempt not only from the cheese-axle thing but also from the other traits typically afflicting this model, such as leaky sunroofs and rusty rear arches - and to be fair, just about every car that appears in SOTW is prone to those. The same could be said for driveshafts, wishbones, exhausts, power steering pumps and clutches. At this stage in any car's life they've got to be seen as consumables.
Lack of maintenance is the usual cause of trouble with this type of car. Check the oil filler cap for mayo and the coolant for signs that it's been changed more often than once a century. Again the full service history should be your friend. 40mpg is easily attainable, and even hard use shouldn't drop it below 30mpg. Insurance is fair and about three groups below the VTS.
Another advantage the VTR has over the VTS is that it doesn't have anti-lock braking, making this NCAP two-star rated car even more attractive to Shed. If you want to prevent a murder, get in quick.
1 owner from new. Full service history as detailed below (all bar one via Citroen dealerships). MOT recently completed so 11 months remaining until September 2016. I have every tax disc, every MOT and all bills for any work completed on the car for the 13 years I've owned it. Current mileage is 59,220. Interior is immaculate, paint in good order except for some scratches on bonnet and top of near-side front wing. Only other bad points are the engine bay needs some tlc and the remote central locking isn't working, think it may just be the fob as the central locking does work via a key. Car is pretty much totally standard, the only modification is a replacement head unit but I do still have the original. I am selling as I struggle to find the time to use it; it's only covered about 400 miles in the last 12 months.
1st : 28/09/2003 8466m Citroen Manchester
2nd : 24/09/2004 15232m Citroen Chester
3rd : 23/09/2005 21726m Citroen Chester
4th: 21/09/2006 28463m Kwik-Fit Macclesfield
5th: 13/10/2007 34951m Citroen Wrexham
6th: 30/04/2009 41507m Citroen Wrexham
7th: 27/05/2010 47975m Citroen Wrexham
8th : 10/06/2001 51458m Citroen Wrexham
9th : 17/08/2012 54849m Citroen Wrexham
10th : 03/08/2013 56935m Citroen Wrexham
11th : 18/04/2015 59091m Citroen Wrexham
If you wish to test drive please make sure you are fully comp to drive other cars and bring proof, thanks!
I remember a friend upgrading his 1.4 Corsa SRi (after he wrote it off!) for a Citroen Saxo VTS. 120bhp sounded hugely powerful to us back then. I remember driving it down the road and oddly the only thing that sticks in my mind is (as the article mentions) the tiny pedals and how close together they were.
Seem to remember them receiving critical acclaim at the time and bet a tidy one of these is a refreshing reminder of how much fun can be had with small engines in light cars.
I dunno, I'd probably still have a VTS anyway. The engine is more grown-up, and though 20bhp doesn't sound much, there is a fair difference in straight line performance.
Good shed though!
Great little cars and can be ran on peanuts, if your not trying to make race cars out of them that is......
My sister had a very early 1997 VTR with the keypad immobiliser and I drove it for a while after passing my driving test. It was an absolute riot. Not fast by any stretch but just a great little car
Much misaligned largely due to the Max Power effect.
I dunno, I'd probably still have a VTS anyway. The engine is more grown-up, and though 20bhp doesn't sound much, there is a fair difference in straight line performance.
Good shed though!
The gearing is the only bit that spoils this VTR, great cars otherwise and fantastic handlers.
Great little cars and can be ran on peanuts, if your not trying to make race cars out of them that is......
The Saxo in the advert looks immaculate cant be many one owner non chavved up Saxo's left, tempted to buy it myself, they are fun to drive and go surprisingly well for sub 100 bhp.
I loved it! Such a hoot to drive, even if it wasn't very fast.
This looks pretty good for under a grand.
If you do value your safety the later cars could be specced with the "safety pack" which I added to mine. It added passenger and side airbags and I think ABS. although it did mean you lost your glove compartment, it seemed like a small price to pay. not sure how much value the airbags would be though considering the rest of the car was made of old coke bottles...
Its never going to be worth a huge amount but sounds like a decent example and if looked after properly could provide a modest return in three years time.
Never driven a VTR, we have a C1 VTR, with which they kind of ruined any cred the badge had as it has the same 68 bhp as any other C1, 107 or Aygo has which is a shame.
Very nice shed - surely these will not get any cheaper if kept in that condition. Mind you I thought that when I bought my XJS!
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