Test drive Citroen XM 1997 - 2000 hatchback
Entertaining hydraulics
Many heard about him, but few people dealt with him. They are afraid to buy him, first remembering a complex hydraulics; The owners do not want to hear about sale, claiming that nothing more convenient and reliable has been invented. The social status of the owner is vague. Guess what the president of France is going to? Why Citroen XM? Conceptually, all cars of a respected French brand, starting with the legendary Fantomas DS, are very similar. The Citroen XM produced since 1989 is a very common representative of this tribe, in addition, it is widely known in the narrow circles of Russian fans of the double chevron. The unusual appearance from the habit cuts the eyes - the creations of Citroen designers are mostly distinguished by a certain share of avant -garde (this applies not only to form, but also to content) ...
The fear of our compatriots before representatives of the French brand arose thirty years ago, when aerospace DS 19 began to appear in the Moscow courtyards. Kohl car rests on the asphalt - hydraulics died. The fascinated buyers of these cars did not take into account the absence in the USSR at least some kind of hint of service. Love at first glance ended with widow. Only a few could cope with the exotic structure - from among especially devoted. Dubious quality, the repair sometimes allowed the patient to reanimate, but very not for long ...
Without delving into technical details, we recall that the work of the Citroen XM suspension provides a hydraulic pump and the sphere filled with compressed nitrogen, of which there are from five to eight (in the most difficult design - one on the wheel, plus in an additional field on the bridge, plus central - battery, battery, battery Plus another, ensuring the operation of the brake system). Through a flexible membrane, the gas interacts with a liquid, the circulation of which is controlled by the system. The driver can choose the usual or sports mode of the suspension, the rigidity of which increases by turning off two additional spheres.
The size of the road clearance is regulated from the driver's seat and has four values. The owner of the Citroen XM may not carry a jack with him, to change the clearance as much as possible to change the wheel and, by putting a brick or log to the desired side, lower the car - he coquettishly settled the leg. By the way, pulling the stalled Citroen to the place of repair is not easy, since not only the brakes, but also the steering amplifier are associated with the hydraulic suspension system. A feature of the design allows you to slow down (up to 120 times) with an unemployed engine, but to turn the sophisticated steering wheel only a weightlifting. You can activate the systems of the system by including the highest transmission in the mechanical gearbox of the towed car.
The aforementioned hydraulics provides Citroen XM by extraordinary smooth movement. Even lying police and tram tracks are overcome imperceptibly. The relief of the country road can be felt only indirectly - by jumping of the car walking in front. The roll in corners is practically absent, the car passes their pancake. All this, of course, refers to a serviceable car ...
Over time, the gas from the spheres disappears, and the time comes to change them. This happens after about 130 thousand km of run. The replacement of small areas can be made yourself, with three central ones it is more difficult - it is better to puzzle the car service.
Periodic diagnosis is recommended for any machine, for Citroen XM it is even more relevant, because it allows you to identify diseases of the hydraulic system at an early stage. The intuition of the owner who paid attention to changes in the behavior of the machine is also important.
Such that everything would die suddenly and immediately, at the service station that we visited, could not recall, but talked about Citroen XM, brought from some kind of wilderness, the reason for the complete replacement of the hydraulic system of which was the know-how of the Soviet locksmith-flooded into it brake fluid. They told - as the opposite example - and about XM, a working escort machine (it sometimes visits this station). This, having wound 230 thousand km on wheels in rather tense mode, survived three Mercedes! And I have not yet been sick yet ...
The biography of the copy that has fallen into our hands is devoid of any tragedies, although the chronicle of his European life is quite foggy. The fate of the car is typical for most of it. Ten years of life, seven of them in Belgium. Mileage - about 150 thousand km. Operation is everyday, despite the weather and time of the year. Service is minimal, only if necessary. Lightless storage; Despite this, the condition of the body is very good (except for several dents).
The leather salon is well preserved. Wipers, adjustments of seats and mirrors are electric, everything works fine. A single -spoke steering wheel is an unusual solution, but convenient with high -speed rolling. The buttons on it are a radio control panel. Subsequently, with the advent of a pillow of safety, unusual rudders disappeared, and with them a particle of corporate charm. The air conditioner is located on the ceiling. The services of the rear passengers are separate air ducts and adjustments. An additional removable rear window that separates the interior and trunk helps to maintain heat in the cabin if the fifth door is open.
The Citroen XM computer knows how to swear in four languages \u200b\u200b(French, German, the rest are not identified, but similar to the Scandinavian), there would be a reason - an open door, unsteady seat belts or any problems. Two information displays were given to help the spoke.
Under the hood is one of the best XM-Ov engines, a three-liter 12-valve V6, together with a five-speed manual box, providing excellent dynamic characteristics that provide the machine. (You can find the motor and smaller, for example, 2 liters of gasoline, or more poetry-a turbodiesel with a volume of 2.1 or 2.5 liters. Experts advise avoiding 6-cylinder 24-valve engines due to their low reliability.) After buying a car for preventive purposes, four wheeled spheres of suspension, ball supports and steering rods were replaced. The most serious breakdowns during operation are a switch and an electric gas pump, which Japanese managed to replace. The parking brake cable has recently broke. The control of the control of a manual box was ill, he crackled one of the CV joints (he drove with a jumped protective cover for a month). The right computer display is periodically turned off (indication of gasoline consumption, temperature, mileage, time, etc.).
Hydraulics gets sick - the car began to quickly sag in the parking lot, rises for a long time in the morning (there is a suspicion that the tightness of one of the spheres is broken). This is also felt in motion: the rolls in corners increased, and in this regard, XM has become like ordinary cars - you can forget about pancakes. Otherwise, there are no problems.
Among Citroen XM hijackers are unpopular. They say that they are stopped by the lack of demand caused by the unusual design of the machine. Not a gift and an anti -angle complex controlled with an IR -brook (a light beam is not a radio signal, you can’t catch it with a scanner) ...
The pluses in this specific machine, in our opinion, are more than minuses. The main advantage is the unique possibilities of suspension. Some also like a strange steering with a complete absence of feedback (a feature of the amplifier). Wide unification with Peugeot 605 (engines, transmission, salons, etc.) greatly facilitates the search for spare parts during independent repair. And the disadvantages ... The main one is again the suspension. But it works, and not bad - despite its age, and there is already a worthy service in Russia now.
Alexey Strelkov
Source: Magazine Motor