Citroen Xantia Activa

Was driving towards my local town the other night, on a super-twisty road that I know pretty well. Spied a Citroen Xantia ahead and figured I’d be on him in no time. Several (quick) corners later, he was further away and I had to work really hard just to maintain that gap.

Looking more closely I realised that the Xantia was completely flat through all the corners and carried impressive speed. Rolled up behind him at some traffic lights, once into town, and there was the “Activa” badge on the boot.

I used to own several Xantias and always fancied an Activa as a fun/track car. They were way too heavy and underpowered in 2.0 Turbo form and Citroen never imported the V6 into the UK. Still, a few tweaks would liberate 25 extra horses and you could certainly put the wind up a few folk on twisty roads I’m sure.

Dug round a bit on the web and apart from finding the usual blurb about the Activa pulling more Gs than a Honda NSX I also found the list of highest speeds recorded from Swedish automotive magazine Teknikens Värld in their fabled “Moose Test”. The one where the Merceded A Class tipped over forcing Mercedes to fit ESP as standard to all of them.

Anyway, top speed of any car they tested was 85kmh by a V6 Xantia Activa. Pretty amazing huh?

Citroën Xantia Activa V6 -99 85
Porsche 996 GT2 -04 82
Porsche 997 Carrera 4S -08 82
Porsche 997 GT3 RS -08 82
Porsche 997 GT2 -08 81,5
Porsche 997 Carrera S -08 81
Porsche 997 Carrera S Cabr -05 81
Audi R8 4,2 FSI -08 80
Chevrolet Corvette C6 -05 80
Opel Omega 2,2 (sportchassi)-00 80
Nissan 350Z -04 79
Porsche Boxster S -08 79
BMW Z4 sDrive35i -10 78
Ford Focus RS -10 78
Porsche 997 Turbo Cabriolet -08 78
Porsche Cayman -08 78
BMW 330xd Coupé -07 77,5
Audi S8 -06 77
BMW M3 Coupé -07 77
BMW M3 Sedan -08 77

I don’t know what point I’m trying to make but I guess I still want one although they’re getting few and far between and I can see myself up to my elbows in spheres, rams and bright green fluid……

my mate in leeds is mad for them – swears it is an awesome car …. maybe he is right !

There is a garage in Welwyn Garden (BL Autos) that converts 2.0T Activa’s to V6 manual Activas. There are a couple around – very quick machines. Check out the FrenchCarForum

There is a garage in Welwyn Garden (BL Autos) that converts 2.0T Activa’s to V6 manual Activas. There are a couple around – very quick machines. Check out the FrenchCarForum

That’s just what I don’t need to know.

Now I’m off to have a look at all that when I should be working. 🙂

I had a VSX which used to corner well (active rear suspension, but always fancied ith Activa for the flat cornering.

Theres on on Pistonheads for £500.00

there’s a couple of places that’ll happily drop the V6 lump in for you, in V6 form they make Awesome cars, Amazingly comfortable cruisers but also unbeleivably great handling on the twisties too!

like all hydropnuematic Cits they need the Sphere’s and fluid kept on top of, many people buy them then dont touch them and when it all goes Hard and boucy scrap them!! silly! although on the activa there are 10 sphere’s rather than the usual 5/6 (6 if you have anti sink) to deal with,
good mate of mine in wales is Citroen mad, swears by Xantia’s, is one of his mates that converts them,

top Q car in the right hands! and they come up very cheap too!
out handled a lotus on a top gear test back int he day, early eleise i doo beleive on a slalom cones test,
lad on one of the French car forums i used to moderate on had one, Mahoosive argument sprung up from a load of modified clio owners who wouldnt beleive the Xant was capable of cornering so well even with video proof, but bizarrely enough, none of them were Brave enough to put there modified 16v’s or williams up against a std activa on a twisty track when thwe gauntlet had been laid!!!!

If you feel brave, think about a V6 24v XM.

I followed a hot 5 series BMW long the old A9 in the rain in my old 2.1td XM estate. Where he was body rolling and sliding the XM cornered flat barely needing to brake for corners. XMs had an active ride system that stiffened the steering and brake response when either driven in sport mode or just sportily. Really advanced but sadly maligned and misunderstood cars. I’d have another tomorrow.

XMs make great biking cars.

Interesting info gents. Thanks.

There’s also a better looking deal on Pistonheads for £600.

I’ve never been brave enough to buy an XM 😳

Interesting about folk not believing the cornering abilities. I’d have thought one look at that Moose Test List would’ve settled any arguments.

Here’s the LINK

Had a 2.0 turbo for a few years, good low to mid range grunt, so it punched above its weight for the size of engine. Good Q car but had a big appetite for tyres, ate Michelins for breakfast, Contis lasted longer. They depreciated fast even for French cars, bought mine a year old for just over half list price and got sod all for it when I traded it in about 3 years later.

We used to get them at work on long term loan as a perk from Citroen UK because we bought a lot of chassis and I agree they held the road like nothing else I have driven the only concearn was if and when they did let go it would be pretty spectacular. Never had the balls to drive it hard enough to find it’s limits. My mates trick was to just leave his foot planted on the throttle from a standing start up through the gears along Esholt sprint to the corner and round without braking. We also had a golf VR6 and an Audi A4 T sport at the same time going back 13 years we were regularly seen racing the 3 against each other.

I had a 2litre Turbo Activa for a bit. Everybody who ever went in it couldn’t believe how well it went round corners, in fact thinking back now, it really did stick like shit to a blanket round the twisties!

The 2 litre 8 valve turbo was pretty unremarkable though, lots of bottom end grunt yeah, but only 150bhp and no top end. Oh, and the small matter of absolutely rubbish fuel economy (mine averaged 24mpg no matter what), though it was dead reliable… Until the spheres started going hard, the exhaust went and… Well, I’d done 12k miles in it, it had only cost me £900. Sold it to someone for £300 who wanted the engine for a 205 project (something I quite fancied, as with a bit of cylinder head porting, wind the boost up, these engines make 220bhp easily).

I like the sound of them…

My biggest humiliation was at the hands (wheels?) of a Smart, which I could not catch in my Alfa 156 V6. Christ only knows what was powering that thing, it certainly wasn’t limited to 84mph and a 0-60 of 18.5secs.

My biggest humiliation was at the hands (wheels?) of a Smart, which I could not catch in my Alfa 156 V6.

Well it’s big of you to own up – if it was me, I’d never mention it, to anyone 😳

Was the 156 running on 3 cylinders?

Cheers mboy – good to hear from an owner. I think it could make a great “Q” car.

I think it could make a great “Q” car.

Only round the twisties really. Too big, heavy and underpowered otherwise. Oh, and they struggle to get the power down too on anything other than perfect roads, FWD, torquey engines and lack of any kind of traction control or LSD don’t help in the slightest there.

That and surely they’ve all been scrapped by now?

Was damned good for scaring the crap out of people with how fast and how flat it went round corners though while I had it…