in here!
magazine where Mark Gillies tests one. I thought I'd share his test
with you here as quoted:
NEWCOMERS
The zippy 24-valve is an interesting addition to the ranks of sports
saloons, but its rather pricey, and there's no automatic.
Would you pay the best part of £27,000 for a Citroen XM?
And would you consider buying an executive machine that can't be
ordered with an automatic box?
Those are the two biggest single drawbacks of the top-of-the-range
XM, powered by PSA's new 3.0 litre 24-valve engine. Most execs
demand automatics, but Citroen says it currently doesn't have one
that will cope with the 200bhp and 192lb ft of torque developed by
the V6, although you suspect that a quick visit to ZF might sort out
that problem. However, as Citroen is only planning to import only
around 200-300 examples, perhaps the lack of a sludge pump won't
be too much of a problem.
And while the price seems hefty at £26,910, the XM V6 24 Valve is
specced up to the gunwhales. Air conditioning, three-way catalyst,
leather upholstery and heated electric seats are standard: fit those
options to the more expensive Mercedes 300E-24V and BMW 535i Sport
and they wind up more than £8500 pricier than the XM. However, both
the Granada 4x4 and 24-valve Senator are more than £1000 cheaper
at the same spec level, you can kit out a Rover Vitesse to the same
plushness for £25,965, and the well equipped Alfa 164 Lusso is
£4000 cheaper.
Leaving aside those reservations - plus the one about XM build
quality* - the 24-valve XM is an interesting alternative exec sports
saloon. The engine is a development of the existing 2975cc V6, fitted
with four-valve-per-cylinder heads, which have single chain-driven
overhead cams operating the valves via hydraulic tappets and rockers.
In order to inject some low-speed response into the engine, a common
failing on four-valve engines, Citroen has fitted an inlet manifold
that modifies airflow to give good torque characteristics below 4000rpm,
throttle responsiveness between 4000-5000rpm, and power above
5000 revs. Peak torque is delivered at 3600rpm, but there is more than
147lb ft available at all speeds above 1000rpm. A three-way catalytic
converter is fitted as standard. This unit is neatly installed, but
doesn't warm the heart in the same way as Alfa's V6 or the Vitesse's
Honda V6.
The engine is mated to a five-speed and reverse box, while the chassis
has rear trailing arms, a MacPherson-type front layout and Citroen's
Hydractive adaptive hydro-pneumatic suspension. Neat alloy wheels
hide ventilated front and plain rear disc brakes, and are shod with
butch 205/60 ZR 15 Michelin MXV2 tyres.
Inside, the dullness of the leather and plastic trim is relieved by a
few bits of wood capping, which look synthetic and contrived. The
driving position and spaciousness are excellent, and there are some
neat gizmos, such as an electrically height-adjustable central armrest
and radio controls sited on the steering wheel.
Outside, it's the now-familiar Bertone shape, which has a
distinctiveness possessed by very few cars on the road. Also familiar
are the XM vices - overly light steering, a peculiar rock-rolling motion
over tramlines, and a tendency to skip sideways when cornering
over crests - and the suspension's virtues. Over most road surfaces,
the XM rides better than any of its rivals, its flat cornering stance
imbues high levels of grip, and the handling is faithful and fun.
In many ways, the virtues of the new engine should make the XM even
more appealing. It is smooth, emits a pleasant exhaust wail and howl
and endows the car with fine performance - Citroen claims 146mph
and 0-60mph in 7.5sec.
However, despite the tuned manifold, it feels flaccid below 2000 revs,
and has a step in power delivery above 3500rpm. It doesn't feel that
powerful a lump until you look at the speedo and see the speed at
which you are actually travelling. But it's hard to see the day-to-day
advantages of sacrificing flexibility for top-end grunt.
The problem with the XM 24-valve is that it looks expensive compared
with some of its obvious rivals, and doesn't have that many obvious
advantages over its 12 valve siblings. If shopping for an XM, I'd go
for the SEi at £21,684, and use some of the saving to buy an
air-conditioning unit.
ooooooooo, well, stick that in your pipe and smoke it...
Thing is, a lot of people did just that and that's why today we're
knee deep with dead V6 auto Sei's!!
* I don't ever remember much of a bruhoohaahaa about actual build
quality so much as the dodgy electric's due to the design of the
earthing etc. Maybe memory is starting to fail me here. The cars
were and still are today well screwed together in my humble opinion.
Not sure about the rock-rolling shennanigans either but then I'm not
driving mine around Millbrook testing ground every day. Have I been
missing something for the last few XM motoring years then?
I'll see if I can find another test in Performance Car where they
touched on the sales figures but I recall Citroen seriously altered
their sales forecasts for the UK from their original plan.
Andrew
)
). The reason is the anti-rollbar is basically spring with no shocker to prevent "rocking". A hydraulic Citroen relies 100% on it's rollbar to prevent bodyroll, so will "rock" on the anti-rollbar. Normal cars will not do this due to the fact the springs on each corner tend to hold the car in it's "center" position. If you remove a hydraulics Citroens rollbars it would sit on any angle you please in theory 
