Citroen Saxo VTS Review

Overall Rating

Manic little 1.6 16v, very good pick-up, very enjoyable to chuck about, cheap to buy, smart looks.

Build quality, offset peddles, average equipment list, no glovebox, a little wobbly at high speed, floppy gearbox.

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.

Members' Comments onjazzRS360's Review

• BomBom101 on 13th Aug 2007

  Sorry, But I own a Saxo myself, only a 1.1, But all Saxos have glove boxes?
  
  A floppy gearbox as well? You must have a got a ragged one then! The selector in mine feels fine indeed.

• jazzRS360 on 15th Aug 2007

  I doubt it, the car is a one owner from new with just 36000 miles. This summer I have also driven 2 Saxo VTRs, one of which was in almost new condition, and both had floppy-feeling boxes. I'm guessing its just a Saxo trait, Top Gear magazine made a similar comment on the VTR a few years back. If you think your box is great, go and test drive a Ford Fiesta Zetec-S, and then tell me what you think. Yes I have driven that too, and it's gearbox is decidedly meatier and more precise.
  But for a cheap car, its forgivable. I still think the VTS is a little cracker of a car for all its flaws, and even though the Ford is probably the better driver's car, I'd take the Saxo for sheer fun appeal. And besides, the VTS has the sort of acceleration the Ford can only dream of.

• jazzRS360 on 15th Aug 2007

  Oh and by the way, thats correct NO glove box in the VTS model, it has passenger airbag instead unlike the others.

• macvts on 12th Jul 2009

  thats right, mine dont have a glove box either its becos of the airbag. its worn rubbers on the linkages that cause gear change to be floppy, i know because 2 of mine perished and left me at the roadside with no gears. since replacing them gear changes are tighter.