What's the XM

[Stefanel1]

If you do not know this car, it appeared in 1989 and was stopped in 1997.

[Guido]

I know the car. I thought they have been sold in Belgium till 99 when C-5 arrived, but I might be wrong. I looking at bying a second hand one to replace my 5 year ZX 1.9D.

[Ssom]

Well.............
The XM ceased production last year upon the arrival of the C5, they aren't that good of a car.............

[Stefanel1]

I guess you know the XM, but some people outside of Europe don't know well Citroën.
Are you Flamand ou Wallon ?

[Guido]

I'm from the Flemish part so Flamand.

[Stefanel1]

From where ? what town?

[Guido]

Sint-Truiden, Limburg.
Can I ask you why?

[Stefanel1]

Just because I'm curious

[vick]

In my mind, the XM was the best sedan on earth, we had 3 XM in our family and we still have an V6 one, it's a fantastic car...

that's my father's XM

[Stefanel1]

Very good car indeed with an extraordinarly handling and comfort.
My father had an XM V6 Ambiance too (Estate)

[D[X]P]

all i know is that it aint a cool car!

[tanirdriver]

"The XM ceased production last year upon the arrival of the C5, they aren't that good of a car............."

Well, apparently Citroën are trying to solve the reliability problems which affect the C5 (a lot of electronic devices onboard). This car seems to be selling quite well in Australasia for a European liftback (I suppose that more than ten examples per year would be considered satisfactory). ;-)

I already drive a Xantia and I love it for its incredible comfort. According to what I've read, the C5 isn't that bad either. I'll wait a few years until prices go down...


Regards,


Tanir

[Ion Pulse]

The XM is one of my favourite cars in the world, and was the last 'real' Citroen. With quirky looks and unusal(typically French features). So I can't wait on the C6 replacment out in 2006.

[tagreath]

I used to own an XM - V6 SEI.
When it was going it was a fantastic car, the ride was second to none, and it was quick too. You would be on the highway cruising along and before you knew it you were doing 100 mph. The fastest I ever took it too was 145 mph (235 kms/h) and there was still some left to go.
Unfortunately I had many problems, first the engine developed an oil leak into the coolant system, then the transmission failed, I got it back on the road and eventually sold it. i was still a little sad to see it go.
Citroen cars have the best ride with the hydro-elastic suspension and one of the coolest features on the XM was that you could switch the ride in an instant from comfy highway style suspension to harder sportier suspension that would take corners like it was on rails.
I live in Canada now and most people here have never seen a Citroen of any description.
Well thats enough reminiscing for now............

[crossfireabstrakt]

On 23rd May 1989, the new car went on sale. Christened XM in order to pay homage to the SM which was the last six cylinder Citroën, it also featured a kicked up waist line that was reminiscent of the SM. Originally available with a choice of a carburettor XU engine bored out to 2 litres, a fuel injected version of the same or a V6, the considerable extra weight of the XM compared with the BX endowed the 2 litre versions with pedestrian performance and even the V6 was slower than the BX 16 Soupapes. In July 1990, a 170 bhp 24 valve V6 was offered. Virtually all the 176 24 valve cars developed problems with oil flow which led to premature camshaft failure. Citroën must have been aware that this engine was stretched beyond its limits but this did not dissuade them from manufacturing such a severely flawed car. Then in 1993, a turbocharged 2 litre XU engine was provided which finally overcame the performance deficit of earlier 2 litre models.

The diesel versions similarly suffered from lack of performance – the XUD was extended to 2,1 litres and offered 110 bhp compared with the 120 bhp of the CX 25 Turbo D which was a lighter vehicle than the XM. Contrast this however with the 143 bhp of the Mercedes 300D. The success of the BMW 325TDs led PSA to drop the 4 cylinder 2,5 litre engine from the C25 van into the XM in 1996. This unit was, at 130 bhp, powerful but it could also be thirsty. Having only four cylinders as opposed to the six cylinder units that powered the Germans which were sold at similar prices and lacking the image of either BMW or Mercedes, its appeal was limited to a small circle of Citroën enthusiasts who, in Britain at least, mainly purchased second-hand vehicles since the majority of them were pre-registered by Citroën dealers.

Following the restyle of 1995 and the fitting of Hydractive 2 which had been pioneered in the Xantia, the XM was not really developed any further. Activa suspension was not fitted to this haut de gamme model but to the mainstream Xantia. The same held true for the new V6 jointly developed by PSA and Renault which first saw the light of day in 1996 in the Xantia and a year later in the XM and also for the auto-adaptive gearbox. The headlamps which had been a source of much criticism were revamped in 1996 but right hand drive cars continued to be fitted with the original, inadequate units – presumably the sales figures did not justify the development of RHD versions. Similar lamps were fitted to early versions of the Xantia but sales were sufficiently healthy here in Britain to justify developing replacements.

Other mainstream manufacturers had abandoned the field to the Germans – Fiat threw in the sponge in 1995 and Ford did likewise in 1997. Apart from the Germans, the only other players are Saab, Volvo and GM with only GM being a volume manufacturer.

In 1989, 46,282 XMs were sold worldwide. In 1990, a total of 96,196 were sold and thereafter, numbers declined rapidly - 49,119 in 1991, 43,487 in 1992, 20,977 in 1993, 20,591 in 1994, 17,799 in 1995, 12,500 in 1996, 9,594 in 1997, 7,500 in 1998 and only a couple of thousand in 1999. More than 45% of total XM production occurred in the first two years of an eleven-year run. From 1996, in its home market of France, the XM was outsold three to one by each of its German competitors. Production ended without any sort of fanfare in June 2000.
Approximately ten per cent of all XM production went to the Netherlands where the car continues to be very popular with customers and where values hold up well. Contrary to the position in Britain, most specialist Citroën dealers would be happy to have ten low mileage, late model XMs sitting on their forecourts since they have waiting lists. Many former DS and CX specialists are now turning to the XM as their clients have learned to recognise its very real qualities.
In the French Contrôle Technique (MOT) statistics, the XM came out as the third most reliable luxury car – after the Mercedes 190 and BMW 5 series. In the 1998 EuroNCAP safety tests, the XM was reckoned to be one of the safest cars in its class – not bad for such an old design.

At launch, PSA said that 4 x 4 versions of the XM would follow, together with a classic three box design intended primarily for North America.

The XM fell between two stools – it was not different enough to attract the hardened Citroën enthusiast but was too different to appeal to mainstream purchasers. In efforts to attract mainstream purchasers, the feel of the brake pedal was made more conventional thanks to the insertion of a deformable tube in the brake valve to make the pedal feel spongey. DIRAVI was only fitted to left hand drive V6 models and was quietly dropped in 1997. The DIRAVI equipped cars actually had lower geared steering than the lesser XMs. The non-turbocharged XM 2 litre was slower and substantially thirstier than the BX19TRi and furthermore, thanks to its Hydractive suspension did not ride as well.

In some respects, the XM continued in the traditional Citroën mould – it was released prematurely – by at least eighteen months – and suffered from considerable teething problems which gave it a reputation from which it never recovered. The use of totally inadequate wiring and connectors was a recipe for disaster and was undoubtedly brought about by the PSA bean counters’ desires to reduce costs wherever possible. Quality control was not all that it might be – many cars suffered from water leaks and an appetite for front tyres and brakes did not help either.

And here in Britain, the majority of dealers hated it. They hated it because it was a slow seller and because of its reputation for unreliability. The result was £10k depreciation in the first year. And for the hapless owner of one of these cars, there was the hostility and ignorance of the dealer network to add to your woes. To an extent, the hostility was understandable – why tie up capital in a vehicle that might sit in your showroom for six months when you could shift a dozen Xantias in the same period? The ignorance is a direct result of the hostility – few dealers ever got to work on an XM so it was terra incognita to them. Diagnosing intermittent suspension faults cost the dealer man-hours that could not easily be passed on to the customer.

And then there is the appearance - a car that looks like a hatchback in a market that eschews them as utilitarian. Unusually styled cars do not normally sell well in this area of the marketplace. Nor do front wheel drive cars.

Yes, the XM was undoubtedly a failure in commercial terms and yet it offers all of the traditional big Citroën strengths and virtues; the ability to make light work of long journeys in adverse conditions, unique styling, excellent aerodynamic performance, good economy (V6 aside), superb comfort and luxury; the list goes on. It offers a unique driving experience and in true Citroën style, looks like nothing else on the road.

When it was launched, I observed that it looked as if it had been designed by a committee that had never met. Familiarity has led me to modify my views – I think it is a great design which is let down by detailing. The concave flanks do little for the aesthetics and the leading edge of the bonnet should be continued to the line above the headlamps. There are too many panes of glass in the much-vaunted "band of light" while the front quarter lights are so designed that when it is raining, the exterior mirrors are worse than useless thanks to the water running across these panes. I like the exterior door handle design but some people have likened these to RSJs. It is a pity that the rear wheels are fully exposed. The design has not dated because it is essentially right – just like the DS and the CX. I suspect that C5 will look old-fashioned in 2012.

CAR magazine’s acerbic comment was "It will be a great car when it is finished". Unfortunately, it was both never finished and is now finished. It was never finished since development ceased. It is finished because production has ceased.