Test Drive Citroen XSARA 2000 - 2004 Hatchback

Pleasant exception

It is believed that three-door cars are not very convenient to operate, since the maximum amenities in them are provided only by the driver and the front passenger. Citroen Xsara Coupe is a pleasant exception. Here is comfortable in all places.
 
Externally, Xsara Coupe is very similar to a five-door brother: the same face with widespread eyes painted in the body color molding, feed with red lanterns. And the dimensions of the car are the same. All differences - the number of doors and a small rear spoiler on the coupe.
 
In the cabin, too, almost everything is still: a comfortable steering wheel, a nice flap of the instrument panel, the average console with the climate control control unit, the same slightly overloaded steering wheel switches and located in a non-very convenient location of the power windows.
 
A handle appeared on the front seats allowing one movement to throw back and move the seat. And - welcome to the rear row! Getting to the gallery in Xsara Coupe will not be difficult to even an elderly person. There is enough places there enough to take a mother-in-law with a test of the test without the slightest complaints from their part. If desired, your favorite relatives will be able to open windows (not as usual, but as a window).
 
Since they mentioned about trips to the country, we note the capacity of the luggage compartment. Its volume, like the five-door version, is 408 liters. With a folded back seat - three times more. If it seems not enough, you can install an additional trunk with a loading capacity of 70 kg to the roof, and if you also install the hitch, XSara Coupe will be able to tow a 570-kilogram trailer.
 
In the case of a puncture of the wheels, you do not have to upload all the contents of the trunk on the ground - the reserve is hanging under the bottom of the car. That's just how long she will hold out in the conditions of our criminal climate - it is unknown.
 
Last time we tested a five-door hatchback with a two-liter 167-strong engine, and now they took a car with a less powerful 1.6-liter 16-valve engine. It turned out, his 110 hp quite enough. It is a pity that the car, according to the tradition of tradition, was provided for the test in winter on summer tires. No, everything is in order with the tires themselves. Even on his bare ice, thanks to the correct work of the ABS, there were no problems with braking and did not happen in critical situations. But it was not fully distinguished by an overclocking dynamics. True, it was true, one clean from the snow, but it was so short that immediately after a set of speed at 100 km / h (in 10 seconds) I had to refine.
 
The engine is very elastic. Often, in order not to choke when starting from the traffic light, we drove from the second speed, and the motor successfully coped with this task. Having pleased the long third gear: together with a trap motor, it allowed to calmly go as 30 km / h and 100.
 
At three-door XSARA Coupe, as in the five-door hatchback, the suspension is completely independent. Plus, the rear is endowed with a prominent effect, which has a positive effect on the behavior of the car. The 15-inch wheels showed well, which are smoothing all the irregularities of our roads, passing only minor shoes on the body.
 
In general, the advantages we lit a lot. This is an elastic motor, and good insulation of the cabin, and a very convenient mechanism for folding the front seats. There are no complaints to the dynamics of the car, nor to the energy intensity of the suspension. By minuses, we would only deliver the overload of the steering wheel switches yes weakly protected from the encroachment unclean on the hand of citizens rear wheel.
 
Dealers are asked for XSara Coupe in the simplest configuration (VTR) $ 13900. This is almost $ 1500 less than the price of five-door XSARA with the same engine and also in the basic configuration. The amount is reasonable, even more so that Coupe is more dynamic, and it looks more stylish, so it has more chances to become popular with young people. In any case, we did not have time to return the car to the salon, as a young man immediately acquired. Maybe for yourself, and maybe for a friend.
 
Specifications Citroen XSara Coupe VTR 1.6i
 
Body - 3-door carrier o Number of places, people. - 5 o Curb Mass, kg - 1134 o Full weight, kg - 1656 o Dimensions (length / width / height), mm - 4188/1705/1405 o Maximum speed, km / h - 195 o overclocking time up to 100 km / h , C - 9.7 o Fuel control, l / 100 km: urban cycle - 9.3; Country - 5.5; Mixed - 6.9 O Engine - inline, 4-cylinder, 16-valve; Working volume, cm3 - 1587; Power, hp at min-1 - 110; torque, nm at min-1 - 147/4000; Power supply - Injection O Transmission - 5-speed, Mechanical O Tire size - 195/55R13 O Wheel suspension: Front and rear - independent O brakes: Front-disk, VENT; Rear - disc o steering - with a hydraulic cylinder O price, $ - 13900.
 
Text: Oleg Kalaushin
 

A source: Magazine 5 Wheel