Photo: Timo1990NL via Flickr
Being merged into PSA has had a dramatic effect on Citroen, a brand famous for its left-field views on how to make cars. Their cars began to become more mainstream in the 1980s, when they were forced to share parts with their Peugeot counterparts, in order to save costs.
Now, one of the last great car to be made by Citroen was the XM, a huge wedge-shaped hatchback, which was low and very futuristic-looking for the time when it was first launched. It made its debut in 1989, and its Bertone design immediately caught the attention of motoring journalists, who either liked it very much, or hated it completely, as is the case with many cars made by Citroen throughout their history.
It was kept in production until late in the year 2000, and it got a replacement five years later, in the form of the C6, which is its spiritual successor, though the two cars actually differ quite a lot. Now, while the modern C6 is still a ‘very French’ car, it is not nearly French enough to compete with the XM, a car which still embodied Citroen’s desire to do things differently and most of the time better than their competition.
If you get to see one in good nick today, we can assure you that it will draw attention, as its shape still is utterly unique, unlike anything else you get to see these days on the street. It is truly the last proper luxury car made by Citroen, yet it was never really appreciated due to some reliability concerns and the aggressive push by the Germans to instill in people’s minds the idea that their cars are better, especially in the early 1990s, and so the XM never really got the attention we say it deserved.
It was kept in production until late in the year 2000, and it got a replacement five years later, in the form of the C6, which is its spiritual successor, though the two cars actually differ quite a lot. Now, while the modern C6 is still a ‘very French’ car, it is not nearly French enough to compete with the XM, a car which still embodied Citroen’s desire to do things differently and most of the time better than their competition.
If you get to see one in good nick today, we can assure you that it will draw attention, as its shape still is utterly unique, unlike anything else you get to see these days on the street. It is truly the last proper luxury car made by Citroen, yet it was never really appreciated due to some reliability concerns and the aggressive push by the Germans to instill in people’s minds the idea that their cars are better, especially in the early 1990s, and so the XM never really got the attention we say it deserved.
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