citroen xsara 1.4i
Discussion
Xsara was a good car. It's a 306 underneath, and they were epic. Rode beautifully and handled sweetly - certainly better than much of the over-bloated dross on sale today. OK, it's a bit uglier (alright...a LOT uglier) but for that money you can't go wrong! I've had two Xsaras; a 1.8 VTR Coupe, and a 1.9TD 5 door.
50mpg though? Me thinks your calculations might be a bit OTT
50mpg though? Me thinks your calculations might be a bit OTT

I was once given a Citreon Xsara VTR coupe, a phase 2 with the 1.6 16v engine in It & finished in a dark wine red with 14inch steel wheels. It was by no means a shed & had been in my family since new but wasn't getting much use.
I ran it for a year during which time i did numerous repairs, replaced an entire exhaust system, several electrical sensors, throttle potiometers x2 , ECU + countless other niggles. It got to a stage where the OBD diagnostics tool was permanently attached so i could reset the ECU as a coasted to a halt.
What annoyed me most about the car was that the chassis/suspension was actually surprisingly well suited to British roads but I could never enjoy driving it as the steering wheel /rack ratio, seating position, gear change, gear ratios, rev limiter, combination of cable/electronic throttle all combined to ruin what could have been something quite special. It's a dam shame when you consider the way people go on about 306 GTI-6/S16 and the VTR is essentially a 306 chassis with a slightly tamer 106 GTI engine in and the VTS is the 2.0 16v of the 306 but it misses out on the 6 speed box.
The final nail in it's coffin was when a captive nut in the chassis leg sheared off and the engine mount needed replacing- I was out on the drive swearing at it when the local "scrap metal" guy drove by an I did I deal to swap the car for a few sets of alloy wheels ( most notably some Mercedes MonoBlock 18s worth 10X the car value)
I'm pretty sure I have a Haynes Manual for a Xsara if its any use to you.
I ran it for a year during which time i did numerous repairs, replaced an entire exhaust system, several electrical sensors, throttle potiometers x2 , ECU + countless other niggles. It got to a stage where the OBD diagnostics tool was permanently attached so i could reset the ECU as a coasted to a halt.
What annoyed me most about the car was that the chassis/suspension was actually surprisingly well suited to British roads but I could never enjoy driving it as the steering wheel /rack ratio, seating position, gear change, gear ratios, rev limiter, combination of cable/electronic throttle all combined to ruin what could have been something quite special. It's a dam shame when you consider the way people go on about 306 GTI-6/S16 and the VTR is essentially a 306 chassis with a slightly tamer 106 GTI engine in and the VTS is the 2.0 16v of the 306 but it misses out on the 6 speed box.
The final nail in it's coffin was when a captive nut in the chassis leg sheared off and the engine mount needed replacing- I was out on the drive swearing at it when the local "scrap metal" guy drove by an I did I deal to swap the car for a few sets of alloy wheels ( most notably some Mercedes MonoBlock 18s worth 10X the car value)
I'm pretty sure I have a Haynes Manual for a Xsara if its any use to you.
aka_kerrly said:
I was once given a Citreon Xsara VTR coupe, a phase 2 with the 1.6 16v engine in It & finished in a dark wine red with 14inch steel wheels. It was by no means a shed & had been in my family since new but wasn't getting much use.
I ran it for a year during which time i did numerous repairs, replaced an entire exhaust system, several electrical sensors, throttle potiometers x2 , ECU + countless other niggles. It got to a stage where the OBD diagnostics tool was permanently attached so i could reset the ECU as a coasted to a halt.
What annoyed me most about the car was that the chassis/suspension was actually surprisingly well suited to British roads but I could never enjoy driving it as the steering wheel /rack ratio, seating position, gear change, gear ratios, rev limiter, combination of cable/electronic throttle all combined to ruin what could have been something quite special. It's a dam shame when you consider the way people go on about 306 GTI-6/S16 and the VTR is essentially a 306 chassis with a slightly tamer 106 GTI engine in and the VTS is the 2.0 16v of the 306 but it misses out on the 6 speed box.
The final nail in it's coffin was when a captive nut in the chassis leg sheared off and the engine mount needed replacing- I was out on the drive swearing at it when the local "scrap metal" guy drove by an I did I deal to swap the car for a few sets of alloy wheels ( most notably some Mercedes MonoBlock 18s worth 10X the car value)
I'm pretty sure I have a Haynes Manual for a Xsara if its any use to you.
The VTS used a quicker-ratio rack IIRC, as well as lots of bespoke suspension bits (well, shared with a GTi-6 no doubt). They're a good steer, but any other Xsara is set up for town driving/comfort, regardless of its badge. The 1.8 16v VTR was similar - might have looked sporty (if you drank 14 cans of Special Brew and stood into the sunlight, squinting) but underneath it was a totally standard car.I ran it for a year during which time i did numerous repairs, replaced an entire exhaust system, several electrical sensors, throttle potiometers x2 , ECU + countless other niggles. It got to a stage where the OBD diagnostics tool was permanently attached so i could reset the ECU as a coasted to a halt.
What annoyed me most about the car was that the chassis/suspension was actually surprisingly well suited to British roads but I could never enjoy driving it as the steering wheel /rack ratio, seating position, gear change, gear ratios, rev limiter, combination of cable/electronic throttle all combined to ruin what could have been something quite special. It's a dam shame when you consider the way people go on about 306 GTI-6/S16 and the VTR is essentially a 306 chassis with a slightly tamer 106 GTI engine in and the VTS is the 2.0 16v of the 306 but it misses out on the 6 speed box.
The final nail in it's coffin was when a captive nut in the chassis leg sheared off and the engine mount needed replacing- I was out on the drive swearing at it when the local "scrap metal" guy drove by an I did I deal to swap the car for a few sets of alloy wheels ( most notably some Mercedes MonoBlock 18s worth 10X the car value)
I'm pretty sure I have a Haynes Manual for a Xsara if its any use to you.
The VTS is the only one that wasn't, and of the ph1/ph2, the ph1 was the one to have as the ph2 lost some of the 'raw' parts, or so I'm told.
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