Year of Citroen Xsara Picasso

The Citroën Xsara is a small family car produced by French automaker Citroën since 1997.

Like its predecessor, the Citroën ZX, the Xsara shared the running gear with the Peugeot 306.

It came in three- and five-door hatchback and five-door estate body styles; the estate was marketed as the Break and the three-door as the Coupé. The straight-4 engine range includes 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0-litre petrol engines as well as 1.6, 1.9 and 2.0-litre turbodiesels.

The original Xsara was launched in 1997, and was available with different engine choices:

• 1.4L (1361 cc 8 valve SOHC) 55kW (74hp) TU3JP 4 cylinder petrol 111 N·m
• 1.6L (1587 cc) 66kW (89hp) TU5JP 4 cylinder petrol 136 N·m
• 1.8L (1761 cc) 66kW (89hp) XU7JB 4 cylinder petrol
• 1.8L (1761 cc) 76kW (102hp) XU7JP 4 cylinder petrol
• 1.8L (1761 cc 16-valve DOHC) 82kW (110hp) XU7JP4 4 cylinder petrol 155 N·m
• 2.0L (1998 cc 16-valve DOHC) 99kW (133hp) XU10J4R 4 cylinder petrol
• 2.0L (1998 cc 16-valve DOHC) 122kW (164hp) XU10J4RS 4 cylinder petrol (used in Xsara VTS)

• 1.9L (1905 cc) 50kW (67hp) XUD9A diesel
• 1.9L (1868 cc) 51kW (68hp) DW8 diesel
• 1.9L (1905 cc) 55kW (74hp) XUD9B SD diesel
• 1.9L (1905 cc) 66kW (89hp) XUD9TE turbodiesel
• 2.0L (1997 cc) 66kW (89hp) DW10TD turbodiesel

In 2000 the Xsara was facelifted; the car was now stiffer (so safety and handling improved), had a new front design and some interior modifications (i.e: new steering wheel). New 1.6i and 2.0i 16 valve engines were being introduced and 1.8L were removed. Now Xsara is offered with following engine choices:

• 1.4L (1361 cc 8 valve SOHC) 55kW (74hp) TU3JP 4 cylinder petrol 121 N·m (catalyst and its position were changed)
• 1.6L (1587 cc 16-valve DOHC) 81kW (109hp) TU5JP4 4 cylinder petrol (new, replaced 8 valve TU5JP engine)
• 2.0L (1998 cc 16-valve DOHC) 122kW (164hp) XU10J4RS 4 cylinder petrol (used till 2002)
• 2.0L (1998 cc 16-valve DOHC) 101kW (135hp) EW10J4 4 cylinder petrol (new, replaced XU10 engine)

• 1.9L (1868 cc) 51kW (68hp) DW8 diesel (used till 2002)
• 1.9L (1868 cc) 53kW (71hp) DW8B diesel (new)
• 2.0L (1997 cc) 66kW (89hp) DW10TD turbodiesel (catalyst was changed, later central silencer was removed)
• 2.0L (1997 cc) 79kW (106hp) DW10ATED turbodiesel (new)

The Xsara provided excellent ride, handling and refinement, but was largely sold on price because of stiff competition from the class leaders the Ford Focus and VW Golf. It was also let down by its staid styling.