Today we are talking about Citroën Saxo, a small but remarkable hatchback that was produced by the Peugeot-Citroen Group from 1996 to 2004.
Citroen used the name Saxo for the first and the last time. The predecessor of Saxo was Citroen AX, and the successor in this niche got the name Citroen C2. In Japan, where the name Saxo was already registered by Honda (although never actually used), this car was sold under the name Citroen Chanson. Citroen Saxo was very closely related to Peugeot 106, produced by the same Peugeot-Citroen Group. But these two cars had a large number of distinctions everywhere: in exterior design, in the interior, in the range of engines, and even in the performance of similar engines. So, these differences go way further than a simple badge-engineering and I don’t think that it’s reasonable to tell about both cars at the same time. I will tell the story of Peugeot 106 in another video someday later, don’t know when yet.
The Saxo was built as a small 3-door or 5-door entry-level hatchback. Personally, I like the 3-door version more. I think that the appearance of side doors on 3-door models is particularly elegant, as well as door handles. The 5-door version had simple and rather boring door handles. Also, the most interesting, hot versions of Saxo were produced with 3 doors only.
All Saxos had front-wheel drive only. The cheapest and the least powerful versions were very simple and included almost nothing of comfort and safety features. But they were cheap and very popular because of that. The better trim levels could have the air-conditioning, manual-operated sunroof, electric power steering, rear disk brakes, instead of drum brakes, ABS, and airbags.
The range of engines included five gasoline engines and one diesel engine, all naturally aspirated. The smallest engine had just 954 cc delivering a pathetic 49 bhp and 54 lb·ft (73 N·m). Another small engine, 1.1-liter, could produce 59 bhp and 69 lb·ft (89 N·m), still low but better. The 1.4-liter engine made 74 bhp with 89 lb·ft (121 N·m). This is already a decent number for such a small car. By the way, this engine was the only one available with 3-speed automatic transmission. All others were paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox.
Like almost all small European hatchbacks of the era, Saxo trim levels and engine range were clearly divided by two parts. The first one, the one we talked about before this moment, is rather boring, slow, entry-level cars that usually were bought by young boys and girls as a first car. Particularly in the United Kingdom where these versions had very low insurance rates – a big thing in the UK. But there was also another part of the range – fast, angry, dynamic, and active hot hatches. And for Saxo, there were two sportive options: VTR and VTS both with 1.6-liter engines with fuel injection. VTR had 8 valves and these engines could make 89 bhp in 1997-99 and 97 bhp after restyling in 1999 with 0-60 in 9.4 seconds and a top speed of 193 km/h (120 mph). The most powerful Saxo, VTS with a 1.6-liter 16-valve engine produced 118 bhp with a max speed of 205 km/h (127 mph) and 0-60 miles in 7.8 seconds. And these two versions are the most interesting in the Saxo range. These are the ones you’d probably like to buy and drive.
Well, 97 or 118 horse powers don’t look like a sports car. But don’t forget that the weight of these midgets was only 935 kg or just over 2K pounds. This meant a very decent power-to-weight ratio resulting in good acceleration and made the car suitable both for city driving and for outperforming many of more serious cars of the era in acceleration and racing. The VTR and, especially, VTS versions of Saxo were, without doubt, real sports cars. The cheapest and the most affordable sports cars in the world at that time. They became the first ticket to the racing world for many talented racers. It was cheap to buy the car, cheap to modify it, and easy to work with it in your garage without expensive equipment and the support of a large racing team. In Europe, Saxo even had its own racing series, and it was rather popular at that time, and even was broadcasted on TV.
Sébastien Loeb, who is the most awarded rally racer in whole history, the winner of the World Rally Championship 9 times in a row from 2004 to 2012, started his career in Citroen Saxo. And actually, driving Saxo with its light weight, front-wheel drive, and very short wheel base was all about the rally driving style. The only way to be quick in the corners and don’t lose the control was to point the car in the right direction, step on the gas pedal, and don’t release the gas pedal until the end of the turn. Saxo was very prone to side skidding of the rear part of the car in corners. And the only way to keep it on the route was to provide a permanent acceleration momentum to the front wheels to compensate this skidding. It wasn’t easy to learn how to deal with. But once you understood how to drive Saxo, it gave you so many bright and unforgettable joy and satisfaction that couldn’t be reached in many bigger and more expensive cars like, say, Aston Martin DB7.
It’s interesting to mention also that Saxo had a fully-electric version in 1997 under the name – surprise-surprise – Saxo Électrique. It had a nickel-cadmium battery with 112 kWt/h capacity. But the range was only 40 miles (or 66 km). Of course, it didn’t have any success, but it was 11 years before the appearance of the first Tesla Roadster.
Also, it’s interesting that the right-hand steering versions of Saxo sold in the UK or Japan never had the air conditioning that was available for some left-hand steering trim levels. The reason was that the car was so small that Citroen engineers couldn’t place the blower motor into the right-hand car because of the location of the windscreen wiper motor. There were some aftermarket solutions for this issue but they didn’t work well.
Anyway, Saxo was very popular, particularly in France, UK, Spain, and Portugal. Almost 1.5 million cars were sold in total. Of course, it never was sold in the United States because Citroen left the American market a long time before. But now, some of these cars are already older than 25 years, and this means that you can legally import them to the States.
The current prices for Saxo in Europe are very interesting. In the UK, the VTR version now costs from 2 to 6 GBP, and slower versions with 1.1-1.4 engines are as low as 1200-3000 Pounds. On the continent, you can find a 1.1 Saxo for as low as just 800 euro and 1.4 for 1-5K euro. But you don’t want them, trust me. The one you may want is VTR with a current price tag from 3500 to 10K euro. And if you look for the most interesting and the rarest one, VTS, you should be prepared to pay 15-20K euro.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to find the VTS now, particularly in the original form and good condition. Many of these cars were bought by younger street racers, heavily modified, and driven until unconsciousness. But it’s still possible. Not easy but possible. And maybe we can help you.
VTR and VTS were very different in driving from the rest of Saxos. While regular Saxo was a rather slow and lazy entry-level hatchback, VTR and VTS were real “pocket rockets” with a great power-to-weight ratio, very good handling, and a lot of French rallying driving fun. They were cars for badasses, the cars with a clearly visible and felt rally soul and love from the first corner. Saxo VTS was one of the most capable and cheapest sports cars in modern history. A car that grew the whole generation of European race drivers. And now, they are becoming classics. So, if you want one, don’t wait too long, the offering is shrinking and the demand is increasing.
Citroen Saxo was a simple, small but spacious enough car for a young driver. Lightweight, practical, powerful enough, enjoyable, funny, cheap, and good for the environment. Probably, the kind of cars we really need now in America but we never had many hot hatches here for any reason.