CITROEN Saxo 5 doors Models/Series Timeline, Specifications & Photos

Citroen introduced the Saxo in 1996, and by the time it introduced the facelifted version, it managed to sell around half of a million of them, and that was just the beginning.

The Saxo was a badge-engineered Peugeot 106, which, in turn, was based on the Citroen AX platform. In 1998, Citroen unveiled a facelifted version for the smallest member of its family. That led to a slight increase in sales over the 1997 figures. The sales fell under 100.000 units per year only in 2003, when the car was ready to leave the market and made room for its successor, the C2.

At the front, the 1998 model featured different headlights with curved lines instead of the angular ones from the 1996 model. The grille sported a wider opening, like a smiling face, with the "double-chevron" chromed badge enlarged in the middle. On its sides, the carmaker replaced the black rubber-strips with body-colored ones but kept the trim level badge on the front doors. In the rear, Citroen applied the same "round-it" theme design to the taillights.

Inside, the main difference was the new steering wheel with a three-spoke design and an airbag. The non-facelifted version sported a two-spoke design. Citroen didn't see any reason to change the rest of the dashboard design, which featured rounded lines and triangular-shaped vents.

Under the hood, the French carmaker removed the 1.6-liter gasoline engine from the lineup and left only two gasoline and one diesel version on the offer.

Based entirely on the Peugeot 106, the 1996 Citroen Saxo was a small-segment vehicle built in large numbers, in three and five doors versions.

After years of weak presence in Europe on the small market, the Saxo came up and saved the day. Even though it was the same vehicle as its sibling brother, the Peugeot 106, the Saxo had better success. Interestingly, the 106 was based on the previous Citroen AX, which was developed to be a Talbot, but never made it to the production version. The 1996 Saxo styling made it more appealing to the younger generation.

Its front fascia featured rectangular headlights, with separate, clear turn signals mounted on the corners. The grille featured two narrow horizontal gaps to help to cool the engine. Citroen learned the hard way what a completely masked grille did to a water-cooled engine on the previous non-facelifted AX. On its sides, the five-door version featured black door-handles and mirrors. The carmaker showed the trim level on the front door's black plastic molding, which protected the bodywork from parking door-scratches.

The interior had a wide range of options. It didn't even have central locking for the base version, but there were bucket seats, air conditioning, and nice stereo systems on the top models. In the rear, the carmaker mounted a folding bench to expand the otherwise small trunk from 280 liters (9.9 cu-ft) to 953 liters (33.6 cu-ft).

In the five-door version, the Saxo offered a choice of four engines, gasoline or diesel. All versions were paired to a five-speed manual, and the 1.6-liter version was available with a three-speed automatic gearbox.