Alex Unleashed on Cars- Citroen Xsara VTS (From Unloved Hatch to Rally Champ)

The Citroen Xsara is generally seen as a sub-bar offering from Citroen, at a time when Citroen were trading their quirky and unique image for a more mainstream and sales friendly image.

The Xsara is disliked mainly for its boring looks and for being very middle of the road, not overly exciting or revolutionary, just satisfactory.

But I say the VTS coupe is actually a very good car and one of the best hot hatches of the late 90s. It uses the same 2 litre 167 BHP 4-cylinder engine as the Peugeot 306 GTi-6, but the Xsara is faster as it has a 5-speed gearbox as opposed to the Peugeot’s 6-speed, this allows it to do 0-60 in 7.7 seconds, faster even than the VW Golf GTi mk4, Rover 200 BRM and the Alfa 145 Cloverleaf. It will also top out at 137 MPH, which for the 90s was at the top of the pile in terms of performance save for the bonkers Clio V6 and the various Group A homologation specials.

In the corners, the Xsara VTS was praised for having sharp brakes and steering whilst being less twitchy than the ZX. With further praise for being agile and eager with the aforementioned steering offering plenty of feedback to the driver and having a good chassis.

On the subject of the looks, I like it, it’s handsome and the lack of rear doors makes it looks a little funkier than the conventional hatchback. The later facelift the car got in 2000 didn’t do it any favours though, with a now C5-style front that made the car very awkward looking. 

On the inside, the Xsara VTS has a reasonable amount of kit and for a cost when new price of £17,545 in 1998 which got you air-con, six-disc CD player and plenty of airbags and undercut the Peugeot by over a grand, though the interior itself isn’t remarkable.

But what really makes the Xsara VTS great is its impact on rallying. The Xsara in its twilight years became one of the dominant forces in rallying alongside Ford, Subaru, Peugeot & Mitsubishi, thanks not only to its 315 BHP turbocharged 2 litre engines but also because Sebastian Loeb, one of the most decorated racing drivers of all time piloted it to his first 3 WRC titles and 3 manufacturers titles before switching to the newer C4. In fact, the Xsara WRC won 32/58 races it entered, an incredible result for what most journalists considered a forgettable and dull road car. 

Overall, I know the Xsara is not the greatest hot hatch ever made, but it’s a lot better than some would give it credit for, it’s good to drive, fast, well-equipped, and it’s the car that catapulted Sebastian Loeb into the WRC history books. I know its not as great as a MK1 Golf GTi or Honda Civic Type-R EP3 but it’s a lot better than people think it is.

Year Produced: 1998-2004

Engine: 2 Litre 4 Cylinder

Top Speed: 137 MPH

0-60: 7.7 Seconds

Power: 167 BHP

Torque: 142 Ib/ft

Weight: 1100 KG

Rivals: Peugeot 306 GTi-6, Volkswagen Golf GTi, Honda Civic VTi, Rover 200 BRM

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