Fast ride really go like mad after 60mph it shocking for a little car easy to drive and good for long trips. Part abt same price as ford not expensive like Peugeot or Renault good equipment like heated mirrors. Electric mirrors window anti-lock breaks airbags. Recommend it. Had no probs with mind except airbag light and eng management just needed clearing. 35quid main dealer. Rec mend after suspension kit might be a bit softer. Seat lovely on 2001 y reg.

I've owned both a new shape Citroen Saxo VTS and my current VTS and I can definetely say the VTS is in a different league, as someone mentioned the VTR is a warm hatch that is 'nippy' whereas the VTS is the flyer. The gearboxes are the definite weak point, my 75,000 one will crunch 2-3 and now 3-4 if you change gear quick-ish. It gets a lot of stick though so I can't really knock it, the engines are just so sweet, they are rev happy engines right up to 7000 and just 'hum' along around 4000revs, giving impressive acceleration even at motorway cruising speed as its sitting on peak torque at that speed so any acceleration is brisk. Light weight helps too as its only a 1.6. You cannot fail to be impressed, I really don't know if mine's standard as its kept with a sierra cosworth, (though cosworths are heavy the power to weight between the two isn't that much difference, though after that he would probably pull away as he just has more power), and lately a Nissan 300zx auto, again a heavy car but with 286bhp it should have left me, and his car was gleaming red so a nice example - I saw the moment he used the kickdown (as its automatic) cos it lunged like he stamped on the accelerator!
Its been ultra reliable, returning an average 38mpg for alot of town driving, and the usual heavy foot action combined, I can't fault it, doesn't use a drop of oil or water over 10,000miles so far. Handling is typical torsion bar feeling, a real chuck around and predictable oversteer, but I bought mine with lots of tread on the tyres but in the wet it is very slippery. I'm hesitant to replace 4 tyres as they have alot of tread but I wish they gripped better in the wet. I've had no water leaks apart from in one of the rear lights which has partially corroded the lighting board circuit, so a piece of insulated wire soldered from a good point, bypassing the corrosion and soldering again to make a good circuit has stopped any more odd brake light bulb happenings. Temporary bodge but even though it'll be fine I will eventually replace the lighting circuit board.
The heater works very well and quickly, the seats are comfy and a nice dark patterned colour, and also the windows are nicely tinted as standard so glancing in the car gives the impression of darkened windows as dark interior and tinted windows combined has that effect.
I've had many cars, done a review on a few if you want to check out some others, but this car I'm sticking with for a long while, even knowing it'll need a new gearbox when the clutch is due in the next 10,000 or so miles. I don't get hassled by boy racers as mines totally standard, even ride height, and its nice having a standard car when alot of previous cars have been modified.
I must add also that the alarm when it rained caused a few problems in that it kept going off! Standard alarm, if I turned off the interior sensors it solved the problem, strange seeing as the control box is inside the car under the dash, apparently the sensors are hyper sensitive and with no adjustment many owners simply disconnect them, very basically you just unplug them from the control box and hey presto, no more false alarms in the wet! Simple things like windows winding up quickly (electric) and nicely weighted steering, light-ish clutch pedal and ABS brakes add to a nice overall feel when driving the car, mines a Diablo Red which is a colour I've loved and now I finally have one I don't give it a second thought anymore!
I've added genuine Citroen roofbars to mine as I go mountain biking and use cycle carriers on them, the fit is good although it takes a bit of fettling and tweaking brackets so they don't rub when you shut the doors, I've amped up a 12inch sub in the boot and being a 4 channel amp it runs the fronts too (alpines) so boot space is a little limited but being a box shape boot with little intrusion from suspension struts either side it leaves an ok space for shopping and bags etc.
I've serviced mine a few weeks ago, oil, filter, fuel filter, spark plugs and new clutch cable (preventative measure!). All fitting except the clutch cable was straight forward for a DIY-er (I changed a clutch on my old 106 1.1-my parents now own it, and I've also done the cambelt and headgasket replacement on the 106 too as well as a reno 19 16v and clio 16v head gaskets over the years so I can do most jobs myself). Hmm, the clutch cable runs along the bulkhead and up under the steering rams into the car and joining up to the clutch pedal. Access down by the pedals is seriously awkward, as is trying to route the cable under the steering rams, a nightmare! I tried and finally succeeded by running a wire from inside the car through into the engine bay, attacing to a heavier cable, pulling back through into the car, and attaching the other end to the clutch cable and drawing them both through until the clutch cable was in place!
Fiddly is the word!
But anyway to sum up, i'd recommend one of these to anyone, as long as the size and interior space suits your needs, you can't go far wrong, insurance isn't much more than a VTR even though the books say it is- VTS comes standard with a CAT1 alarm for a start compared to just an immobiliser on the VTR.
performance=9/10
driving =8/10
mpg =8/10 38mpg combined
reliability =9/10
looks =8/10
security =8/10
fun =9/10
parts prices =7/10 Genuine Citroen ones
" " =10/10 Non-Genuine ones
Electrics =9/10 power windows,mirrors,reliability etc
overall =9/10

Easy to play with. I use mine for trackdays so it's lowered, yellow stuff brake pads, free flow exhaust and a air filter with heat shield (be wary of the filters aimed ant the 'chav' culture in modifying, all they do is suck hot air into the engine).
Also has a Unichip fitted to recalibrate the engine to the modifications.
Still not the quickest car out there but with sorted brakes and handling in a light weight chassis it can out perform a lot of things on road and on track with a decent driver.
Just a shame the boy racers have spoilt it.

I was lucky enough to purchase a 30,000 mile one owner Citroen Saxo VTS - in silver for £3800, its been quality to drive and I am guessing I will only know how good I had it when I purchase a 'family car'! Top handling, no mechanical problems, some electronic stuff like the alarm sensors not working properly from the off, airbag warning lights have come on the dash board after about 60,000 miles. But I can forgive that because its a driving car. Its got 73,000 on the clock and still going strong after 2.5 years ownership. Mines is a Y reg and I reckon after 1.5 more years (4 years total) will be part exchanged on something newer but it should manage the next 1.5 years with no mechanical probs as I have serviced it yearly. Always gone straight through MOTs (brake pads needed changing though =) Its a fun car but not a for a family or for a refined misses. The ride has my girlfriend moaning a bit on long journeys and when I throw it round a corner. However by myself its a blast. Finally it brings a smile to my face when I eat up a BMW on the way home.....the look on the face of the owner is like "that's just a saxo and its got better performance than mine!".

I would recommend this car to anybody between 18-25! It is such a fun car to drive. The handling is excellent no matter what speed your doing round pretty much any corner! It beats a fair chunk of cars off the lights, most models up to a 1.6/1.8 depending on the year. As I said before you can pout little things on VTR's to make them look good. for example in mine I have put an induction kit on it to give it a bit of a roar, I've lowered it 40mm all round, tinted the windows, put a minor bodykit on front and back, changed the grill at the front to a silver meshing and changed all the bulbs/lights to bright LEDs! Doing little mods like that on the Saxo VTR makes it look very nice and not common at all!
I wouldn't recommend this car to anybody over 6'4" or anybody over 25 years of age as it's more of a fun car for the younger person!
Saxo's are no longer available to buy in the market as new anymore so I would go out soon and get yourself a VTR or if you want to spend a little more money get a VTS and see the fun you can have in the car!

Have got a few cars in my household and the Citroen Saxo VTS is now one of them, in place of my boy's VTR. Group 14 insurance initially seems stupid, build quality is below par and there is no glovebox oddly enough. Economy is not all that great either for a small car, at just 34mpg, and its pricey to tax too.

If you can live with those shortcomings, you will have yourself a small hot-hatch hero. It's just so much fun to drive, with it's old school charm. No electronic gizmos ruining things, just you, the car and the road. Its got a reasonable 120 bhp and revs to about 7200rpm, but its the way it behaves on road that makes it worth while. Oversteer? Understeer? You can do what you want in this car, its beautifully balanced, except for the front nose which gets a little light and twitchy when you launch it from a standstill. Its not perfect to drive, but its just so laughable, correcting its backend on hairpins and giving that little engine a good sound thrashing. 0-60mph comes up in 7.7 seconds, simply astonishing for a n/a 1.6 engine with it's modest power output. My Octavia vRS has 180bhp and 173 lb ft against the Saxo's 120bhp and 107lb ft, and the Octy has similar acceleration off the mark, and only really pulls away at 70 plus (all tested on an autobahn, of course!).

So its pedals are offset and its gearbox is hopelessly floppy, and the brakes seem just mediocre for such a sporting car. But for that, you get a brilliant engine, a sound chassis and, in my opinion, smart French-flair looks. It's certainly not the best quality budget hot-hatch about, the old Golf GTi and Civic VTi will see to that, but with it's 106 GTi shared chassis, it could just be the most fun.

I have owned my Saxo VTS for three years and would recommend it to anyone who is considering buying one. I bought mine from a specialist garage and have to admit I was a bit of a sceptic because of the French connection to begin with! (I owned a Renault 19 16v which spent more time in the garage than Clarkson's GT40!) I can honestly say though, I have never looked back and couldn't part with it now!

I drove a VTR before my purchase and have to say that I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. The main reason I stuck with the idea of a Saxo was because of the handling that was evident. The VTS sticks to the road like glue and acceleration through the gears is impressive. My only add-ons have been a full magnex straight through and a K&N filter. I have lowered it, but not too much as I still want to be able to have people in the back. Citroen are very helpful if you want advice on faults or fault finding although I wouldn't advise taking it to them for any sort of work as they are costly! The insurance for me at 25 with 5 years no claims and 6 points is £250 fully comp, although hearing from younger friends with VTR's this can be quite a lot more if you're a younger age. If you buy one and leave it any length of time and find when you use it again the abs light stays on then this is a problem with one of the 4 sensors (I have got through 3 of them at £75 a pop!) also the Saxo is known for its poor fuelling from time to time due to the lazy lambda sensors. Otherwise I can't fault them, servicing is cheap and the engine, although small... is easy to work on.

I have recently bought an R32 golf but couldn't bring myself to part with the French rocket...so my girlfriend now drives it and she loves it to.

In closing, buy one with fsh, low mileage and make sure the electrics are all good. Mainly though... get the VTS AND NOT THE VTR! Happy trails

I have had this Citroen Saxo VTS car nearly 2 months now and I love it. I'm usually quite bad with cars, I get bored but I can't see me getting bored of this. The speed of this car is just amazing and how quick it picks up, well I'm just chuffed to bits with it!

Not only does it go fast and stick to the road, it also looks good. It's a head turner! I would recommend this car to anyone as I have found mine so reliable.

Thanks

I beg you. Don't buy a Citroen Saxo VTS. Get a CRX SiR instead and save your dignity and respect. Plus girls like it a lot more than a tarted up, French shopping trolley with a chassis set up by neanderthals with a bias towards under steer. Verdict: Smells of garlic and lots of visits to the dealer. Steer clear. Unless you have one, in which case you'll be steering into a tree.

My Citroen Saxo VTS does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds and 60-0 in 3.2 seconds, it does 143mph top speed and sticks to the road like glue, even in sharp corners at 100mph. It has to be the ultimate small car, well it would be if the interior was better as standard.

My Citroen Saxo VTS was a very fast car and it just stuck to the road an pulled like a train, was just simply the best hatchback I have ever driven although it was heavy on petrol. I'd still highly recommended and would have another one any day of the week.

Ive had my Citroen Saxo VTS 1.6 16v for 6 months now, and am overall very pleased with it.

I'll try and give you a run down of my opinions of the different parts of the car, what it's like to drive, and it as a package.

Engine: Brilliant, 1.6 16v, responsive, power stacked (130bhp from the 2000 model upwards) which, in an 898 kilo car, is really quite something!

Brakes: Not confidence inspiring at first, they're pretty wooden, and take some getting used to. Some softer pads would sort this problem, But I prefer the hard pads, they last longer, and once you get used to them, you realise that once you give them a good prod when you really need to stop, the car suddenly wants to stand on its nose! They come into their own, becoming sharp, responsive, and controllable, but only when they're being used hard.

Handling and Suspension:
Bumpy ride, very rattly, but that's the price you pay (and a worthy one if you ask me) for being able to go round corners like the thing was stuck to the road.

Gearbox and clutch: The gearbox by my standards is sweet as a nut, but my last car was a 206 (the gearboxes are horribly clunky on them) and is a great short throw number, which no doubt helps the cars quick 0-60 time.

Looks: It looks great in my opinion, (on the outside) its a shame they couldnt have paid a bit more attention to the interior, its not even sport, apart from a silver gear knob and white dials, and bucket seats, its pretty much like my Saxo 1.1 i had as a first car!

Reliability.
It needed a few switches and things replacing on it, and it feels like a bush is going on the front somewhere at the minute, and it died on me in Kingston, only to find when the AA arrived there was nothing wrong with it! oooook then! but its not done that since.
It has done the occasional running on 2 cylinders, it's done it twice, but only first thing in the morning, and only when it was freezing, new spark plugs would solve that Im told.

One thing you can be fairly confident on, is that when you turn the key it will start in the morning, it's not been so bad that I don't trust it, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't get rid of it, it makes me grin too much when it IS running!

Refinement/practicality.
Let's face it, the Saxo is light, that's why its 130 bhp goes a long way, and it's got performance to make most other cars bow their head in shame, even much bigger ones, and thats the price you pay for little room in the back, a poor interior, and a noisy cabin, I'll admit, on long journeys, at above 60 mph, it does my head in, but you do get used to it eventually, and it's well worth it!

Performance:
130 bhp @6600 rpm,
0-62mph 7.4-7.7 secs
top speed 127mph
Weight 898kg
Combined fuel consumption 35 mpg.

Let's face it, these figures on paper are never going to be sniffed at, and don't be fooled by the Civic type r, 206gti 180, VW Golf turbo gti, all of these are around 6.7 seconds. But a good start off the line has seen me give all of these more than a run for their money, if they do win, it'll only be by a bonnet length.

I have to say though, it's certainly not as exciting as say, a Honda Prelude manual 2.2, VTECH, the 0-60 times are very similair, but the extra thrust makes those cars feel quicker.
No it's not the most reliable thing in the world, there's no space and it's a pain in the backside on motorway journeys.
But that's not what it's built for, and it can at least do these things.
If you buy it for the right reasons, your going to love it, no questions asked.

I have a Astra SRi Turbo 52 reg ,with 250 bhp,5 sec 0-60 sprint and 162 flat out at Santa Pod!!
I have just bought a Citroen Saxo VTS it's a nice car but that's all it is. In no where near the league as my Astra Turbo, she would destroy Saxos within the first few yards. More comfortable, refined,and handling than the Saxo any day, but it is a different class!!