Shed likes murder mysteries. Not because they are entertaining, but because they are a useful source of ideas. One plot line Agatha Christie never came up with was the idea of buying a car for one's 'beloved' that would not offer much protection in the event of an 'accident', ahum. With this is mind, Shed is lining up this enticingly flimsy Citroen Saxo for Mrs Shed. His only worry about the deal is that he might end up being stricken by remorse after her unfortunate demise. You don't see many unbarried VTRs about the place, after all.
Put the best part of 100hp into a 920kg car and only those already lacking a pulse will fail to have fun. Yes, the 16-valve VTS motor is springier to the tune of 20hp, but you'll still feel the blood running back into your cheeks behind the wheel of a VTR. The steering is direct and the chassis supple.
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.
Every fule kno that Saxo rear axles are made of cheese, but they are also not much more expensive, with recon items costing a reasonable £200. A couple of hours labour by your local monkey fitting it and bleeding the brakes should see you getting out of there for not much more than £300 all in. A new beam won't protect her, sorry you, in an accident, but it should tighten up any floppiness in the handllng and therefore help to avoid an accident in the first place. Primary safety, they call it.
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.
Fans of originality will like the fact that the only mod to this car is to the head unit. Unless it's a Binatone or some such, you can't really complain about that. In any case, if you're desperate to preserve that factory-fresh look you can always hammer the original item back into its hole.
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!