Citroën XM

The Citroën XM was a full-size luxury automobile produced by the French manufacturer Citroën between 1989 and 2000.

History

Launched in 1989, the XM was the modern iteration of Citroën’s ‘haut de gamme’ models, a replacement for the Citroën CX. There were many advances, including a part-galvanised body shell for improved rust resistance; that this has been successful is proved by the fact that most surviving XMs have very little corrosion. There was also the option of a 3-litre V6 engine – the first in a big Citroën since the Maserati-engined SM of 1970.

The XM was built on the Peugeot 605 floorpan - the two models fared similarly in both teething problems and market acceptance.

The XM was voted European Car of the Year for 1990.

Introduced as demand for large cars began to contract, the XM did not enjoy the commercial success and iconic status of its predecessors, the CX and the DS. Outside its historically-loyal home market, sales were lower, especially after the first few years.

With total sales over its lifetime of just 330,000 units and no replacement, the XM might be considered a failure. But - despite it's common roots with the Peugeot 605, the XM may still emerge as a collectible car, as is the case with the DS and CX.

Suspension

The hydropneumatic suspension (featuring grapefruit-sized metal spheres containing nitrogen, acting as both springs and shock absorbers) gained a very sophisticated electronic control system called Hydractive which used sensors in the steering, brakes, suspension, throttle pedal and gearbox to feed information on the car's speed, acceleration, and road conditions to on-board computers. Where appropriate - and within milliseconds - these computers switched an extra pair of suspension spheres in or out of circuit, to allow the car a smooth supple ride in normal circumstances, or greater roll resistance for better handling in corners.

The ‘Hydractive’ system was a little "ahead of the curve" when the car was launched and early versions could be unreliable. Many problems stemmed from the sensitive electronics controlling the car's hydraulic system, often caused by the poor quality of the multipoint earth blocks — one on each inner front wing, one at the back, and one under the dashboard. These tended to corrode (especially the ones under the bonnet), causing all manner of intermittent faults which were hard to diagnose. On later cars, these were changed to screw terminals bolted through the bodywork, and most of the older cars have been modified in a similar way.