Citroën's Death or Rebirth? The Citroën ZX Story

What’s the car that Citroën made in the early 1990s that looked a bit bland? You know, the one that showed Citroën had finally given up on making innovative cars and threw in the towel? Well, you know I’m talking about, I’m talking about the Citroën ZX because you’ve read the title of the video, but from the lack of information online it seems a bit like that, it seems a little unloved, and contemporary reviews didn’t exactly heap praise on the shape! But buried underneath that bland exterior is a story of a car that sold very well, and in fact spawned another car that sold even better and had a whole second life that ended in 2017. In fact, if you count up all the cars that were based on the ZX, you get at least 10M of them, and it may be as high as 12M.
If you'd like to support what I do, and get early access to advert-free videos and exclusive channel updates, please consider supporting the channel from just $1 or 80p a month: / bigcar
Support me using PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/bigcartv
Big Car merch: teespring.com/stores/bigcartv
Twitter: / bigcartv
My second channel - Little Car: / littlecar
Sources
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C...
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C...
www.citroenet.org.uk
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C...
www.youngtimers.fr/un-jour-un...
www.passionnement-citroen.com...
www.autoencyclopedie.com/citr...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C...
web.archive.org/web/201012071...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo_Fl...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolus_S30
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C...
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot...
#bigcar

[@BigCar2]

Erratum: The 1960s Renault 16 had the ability to move the rear seat backwards & forwards, so pre-dated the ZX.

[@danielt.8573]

I like how you have your Sinclair computer collection behind you, including the ZX Spectrum, my first computer.

[@bairikatte]

Please do video & story about Toyota FJ cruiser Reply to Big car story

[@bairikatte]

If you can't make video & story about daihatsu . Please make video & story about Toyota FJ Cruiser Reply to Big car

[@tahahezam6776]

عداد ‏تقول تقول❤

[@tahahezam6776]

@@bairikatte د ‏كار كار كار❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@MilesDeluxe]

In the 90s those were EVERYWHERE here in Germany. I searched for one on Germanys most used online platform and there are only 12 for sale today. This sadly is one of the cars that got hit very hard by the various scrappage schemes, which would make up for a great episode, although a very sad one.

[@DrWhom]

how come some models are hit harder than others by such schemes?

[@640kareenough6]

@@DrWhom because they werent exciting or worth keeping. The biggest of these schemes was done during the 2009 economic crisis, so all of the zx would already be pretty old by then, perfect candidates to get rid of. Its not like they were cool or worth a lot second hand, so they just got scrapped.

[@MilesDeluxe]

@@DrWhom It's one of those cars that was treated as disposable and at the time of the schemes it often looked profitable for the owners to simply get the money. But many good, reliable and sometimes even rare cars fell under the hammer.

[@MrCityGaming]

@@MilesDeluxe we had that in the Uk too, many good solid cars were traded because £2000 towards a new car was too good to resist. Ironically those cars they bought will probably be few and far between now

[@farfthi]

@@MrCityGaming The us version of that stupid program took a lot of decent used vehicles off the market.

[@ArlenMoulton2]

As the proud owner of a ZX Avantage estate 1.9TD, I have to honestly say that these cars were the last of the mainstream hatches designed for drivers, they handle so nicely for what they are, it's really amazing!

[@tgcrowson]

I had a 1.9 diesel ZX and ran it for a year on used vegetable oil. It actually went faster on veg oil than on diesel. It was a good performer, economical and mostly reliable. I liked it.

[@MsDmcclymont]

Snap, it would burn anything lol

[@fitvan]

I didn't know that a car can run on vegetable oil😮😮😮😮 (probably because I am only ten years old😅)

[@tgcrowson]

@@fitvan Diesel engines can run on veg oil provided the fuel lines are straight (over oil is thick and doesn’t flow around sharp bends).Petrol or gasoline engines require a spark to create an ignition so the have spark plugs at the top of the cylinders. Diesel engines create their ignition by compression, which means the air and fuel is squeezed in the cylinder until it becomes hot enough to combust.

[@ThePrisma5555]

Nice comfortable car. It wasn't a "traditional" Citroen but brought many new customers to the brand. Great success in Greece.

[@gg_vard]

There even was the Dakar special version with the 1.1 engine

[@ThePrisma5555]

@@gg_vard We never got the 1.1 engine in Greece, basic unit was the 1.4 liter.

[@leesmart1971]

Loved my 1.4 Avantage - which all the insurance companies called the "Advantage". Crashing it on the M4 showed how good the front-end safety was!! I miss my ZX......

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

I had the very rare 16v model back in the early 2000s (although a 93 model) which sat above the Volcane and it was fantastic. Massively underrated and looked great with the factory arch kit - handled better than all the competition. Much more entertaining than the Golf GTi of the time and the VR6.

[@peakie400]

In the UK 2 left on the road and 50 off the road.

[@AJC508]

Someone local to me has one in beautiful condition, although it has been ruined with silly white alloys, a lowering kit and a wide boy exhaust. Still a very nice thing, despite these easily fixable flaws.

[@RayEttler]

there goes the "underrated" again! ❤

[@markdiesel6432]

@@peakie400I own one of the two currently on the road in red. It will be going off for a restoration later this year though.

[@playchimpmakerlabs3678]

Totally agree, I had a green 16v in the 90's, absolutely loved it, handled great especially with the 4 wheel steering. After 100k miles decided to let it go.

[@rainerbarbosa7635]

As always, this channel being the ultimate channel when it comes to cars. Thank you! Well, Brazil in the 1990s received a huge wave of new brands and new cars from abroad (1995 was the year with the greatest variety of imported car launches in the decade). Before 1990, not even the rich had easy access to Mercedes, BMWs, Hondas or... Ladas. Our market was closed to imports from the mid-70s until 1990, when the first Lada arrived - after the luxurious Mercedes 300E that the president of the republic at the time imported who said before that "Brazilian people don't deserve to drive clunker local made cars". The ZX was without a doubt a French icon of its time. It was pure luxury compared to our nationalized 1st gen Fiat Uno (manufactured without major changes from 1984 to 2013), VW Gol (designed in Brazil and for local market and also the sales leader at that time) and VW Fusca (defunct in 1986 and resurrected in 1992 until 1996). Citroen was not a huge sales success compared to the also imported Fiat Tipo at the time (this Fiat even threatened the hegemony of the sales leader VW Gol, even though both were different in price and category). Even so, Citroen had some sales success in south american markets that PSA brought the assembly of the ZX to Uruguay, taking advantage of the recent made Mercosur economic bloc to supply the region with its line up. The Xsara - and especially the Xsara Picasso (the first Citroen produced at the Brazilian PSA factory and made from 2001 to 2012) -, alongside the 306 and Berlingo/Partner (this one is still assembled in Argentina in its 1st) did justice to the ZX legacy in the local market . Volcane was my childhood French dream, but I had more contact with Berlingos and Picassos. Nowadays it is still possible to see a few units running in good condition in Brazil, even with the lack of parts and skilled labor specialized in PSA cars around here. Note: it is always impressive how China manages to give extra life to such old projects. Brazil is an expert on this, but China "teaches us" on this subject.

[@VishnuRajendranAmboo]

I have a ZX since 2001, suffered a stroke in 2008. Having a manual transmission it forces me to use my left hand as it was a right hand drive. I almost sold it off in 2021 but the sentimental value was too great. COVID came car was not in use like 2 years and rats bit off some wires, today it's a workshop getting restored Can't wait to have it back ❤

[@SteveBenway]

Loving the Sinclair ZX's in the background. Not Citroens, but absolute classics all the same 😁

[@DominatorLegend]

ZXs were a dime and a dozen in my town. It may have been rather uninspired, but it was reliable.

[@BILL-2002hst]

Couldn't be more true. My family had a second hand ZX and for 10 years it was one reliable machine

[@nkt1]

Very common where I lived too, even my dad had one, an Aura. According to Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear, the Aura would be the biggest seller in the UK, but in my experience it was the Avantage, by miles.

[@ottonormalverbrauch3794]

We subsequently owned two ZX's, a 1.6 and a 1.8. Both were in Furio Rouge so the neighbors didn't even notice we had another one. Both nice cars with good handling.😊

[@NibanoTugano]

Where I live i didn't saw a lot of Citroën ZX

[@tanaka90]

Sad its a hard fact to unearth when you disclose this to almost anyone in the car scene nowadays, when will the French have their next auto renaissance?

[@valentinexristov8915]

Thank you for this video mr.Big Car ❤️ We are awaiting a video on the C6 and the Xantia! 🫡

[@AndresDCK]

My first and still car, 1996 Citroen ZX Turbo Diesel with 370.000 Km. It's a rock and an awesome car

[@JimBob_1975]

My non-turbo 1.9 diesel rode very well and had good handling. A slow car that was fun to drive fast, the challenge was to maintain speed so that the dire acceleration didn't hinder you too much.

[@cptnkrenon]

Lovely collection of Uncle Clive's finest behind you! ❤ (I see what you did there). 😄

[@stephmaccormick3195]

4:14 this plus a triplet of Sinclairs = ❤❤

[@KarlHamilton]

Always likes these. Remember the advert. "The best corner taker in the world!"

[@stuartleckie]

Well played on the ZX connection Andy. But Citroen or Sinclair, who wins ? 😃

[@BigCar2]

No contest. It has to be Sinclair.

[@letsdiscussitoversometea8479]

@@BigCar2 what about with the C5??

[@ricky850r]

A car that was once everywhere and now largely forgotten. Great to be reminded of it. I actually liked the look of the convertible one shown in the video.

[@tomenglishmusic6808]

The ZX was absolutely everywhere in the mid-‘90s. I always thought the Volcane and 16v looked really good.

[@ewadge]

Our family was Citroen mad. We had a ZX, a BX, an AX, a Pallace and many others.

[@e28forever30]

“Pallas”

[@DrWhom]

@@e28forever30 as in Athena

[@markusjuenemann]

Am I really the only one who noticed the ZX-collection-easter-egg in the background? Genius idea!

[@SaraSpruce]

The Sinclair ZX’s in the background are a nice touch :)

[@christopherprose3881]

I really enjoy your videos. They are so informative and entertaining at the same time, I look forward to each post. Keep up the good work. You're a true car-geek (like me) and you answer the questions I would ask about every car you profile.

[@MrNegativecreep07]

I had a a non-turbo diesel estate for a while. Rough, basic but felt like it would survive a nuclear blast. Despite being cheap and unloved they seemed pretty long lasting, and the Volcane was perhaps the first diesel hot hatch.

[@zerocool5395]

Forgive my ignorance (I grew up in the US) but the term "Diesel hot hatch" seems like an oxymoron to me. Care to explain?

[@algerist]

​@Zero Cool for an only road use, it's light, handles well, gives more torque at low revs, despite the noise and limited max rev. On motorways you have good accélération if you compare to other cars from the same period.

[@mirkozlikovski9553]

@@zerocool5395 it had the same passive steering rear axle and good handling, but it was punchy because of its large torque at low revs.... you had to rev 2.0l 16V gasoline version with similar torque over 4k revs to get the same torque, while TD version's torque "exploded" at 2k... and you need torque to move and accelerate a car....

[@zerocool5395]

@@mirkozlikovski9553 Like I said, I grew up in the US. So I know all about torque. My first car was a 91' Firebird Formula 350. While it only made 245hp, it made 345ft-lbs @3200rpm. I get why people get diesel vehicles, torque is very addictive lol.

[@mirkozlikovski9553]

@@zerocool5395 yes, it is... especially it was in times when petrol engine with 150 hp and 200 Nm at 6k revs was "a lot"... and the reason why these days EVs are so hyped... cause there's no better thing at torque, than electric motor!

[@Dooky1973]

Love how you've got the Sinclair ZX 80, ZX 81 and ZX Spectrum in the background! Great vid as always! ;o)

[@Wagons-Rule]

I was lucky enough to buy one from a local Citroen dealer, and we went for a 1.9d estate in emerald green. It was a fab family car and did the job well, even when you had to enter an ignition code on the dashboard mini keyboard!

[@lewisxu6483]

The ZX/Fukang was listed with Mk2 Jetta and Mk2 Passat(Santana)as the "Old 3" in Chinese car culture. In 90s and early 2000s, those three cars were pretty much everywhere in China, as the first batch of private-owned vehicles, or taxis, police cars or driving school vehicles. The ZX had its deep impact in Chinese auto industry, and was still remembered and loved by Chinese people.

[@richardparkersmith4810]

My wife had an XUD turbo powered ZX and loved it. Great car and went really well. My son was impressed enough to have one (1.4 petrol) as his first car.

[@RichieRouge206]

I had it’s successor - the Xsara VTR Coupe. It was (not surprisingly a sister car to the 306) to this day, the best handling car i’ve ever owned (followed closely by a Ford Puma) and the ride was sublime and it cornered with absolute gusto. The ZX was such a quirky car even being dumbed down by Peugeot. And the irony of dismissing the 3 door being called a Coupe - BMW calls it’s 5 door hatcbacks ‘Gran Tourers’ which is the biggest load of BS yet it’s fine because it’s BMW.. Great video

[@patrickfaleur6346]

I had one new in 1993, daughter wrote it off in 2008 - loved it to bits!

[@bm6563]

Loved the car. Had two of them in six years, one after the other. Mine were both white with black trim, and I thought it looked a little quirky like all good Citroens did but also handsome. I preferred the original look with the completely flat bonnet, although the later addition of a grill wasn't too bad.I also liked the flat wheel covers which gave a minimalistic look. Comfortable, zippy, great ride, and really nimble handling for a small car. The Jaeger clocks were a nice touch. Mine was the Avantage model whose 1.4i engine matched the car perfectly. I loved that you could reach over from the drivers seat to a handle to move the back bench back and forth to play off boot space against rear passenger space. Completely underrated car off the early 90s which trounced its contemporaries (Escort, Astra, Almera, Tipo, etc. including the Golf which by this time had become stodgy) until its sister car the prettier (but not necessarily better) Peugeot 306 was launched. It was pretty well built and reliable too. I also remember that there was speculation whether the upcoming car would be called the FX (with all the controversies that would entail in English speaking countries) and then Citroen surprised everyone with the ZX name that was well out of sequence from their existing models. Thanks for covering this impressive and criminally overlooked car.

[@MichaelKukat]

Wonderful ZX decorartion in the background, i have the same in my retrocomputing room :) And sure, great video, as always. Thank you!

[@ChrisKuni]

The ZX was my first car back in 2007. :) It was a 1998 ZX 1.4 Tonic 5-door and I'd loved it so much!^^ Got it from my uncle for 750,- € with 145k/km on it, A/C, sunroof and central lock. That was all it needs and even the 1.4 with his 75hp was quite good compared to the wheight of the ZX and goes by around 6.5- 7.0l /100km and cheap insurance/maintance as well. :p The ZX even saved my live when I had an accident on the Autobahn at around 120-130km/h by hitting the middle bar front forward after another car wanted to overtake infront of me from the right lane to the mid, where I'd drove, without using indicators and looking back and a short distance infront of me. Hitting the brake and want to swich on the outer left lane but seeing in the last second ther's a Touareg on my hight, steer back right and the car goes into oversteer (left right) and finally front onward into the middle bar, bounced back and 360° over all 3 lanes onto the side stribe... Hell..., the ride of my life I can tell ya...^^ The ZX was half a meter shorter but nothing happened to me or someone else. If that wouldn't have happened I would have driven him far longer than only the 3 years to that point for sure. :D

[@darrensmith6999]

Great Video as always, digging your Sinclair collection still have my 46 k Plus from 1985 and it still works (:

[@euan4515]

I own a ZX, it's the 1.9TD, I love it, keeps up with modern day traffic! I absolutely love the folding radio flap!

[@nathanlucas6465]

I had an L reg Volcane TD about 15 years ago. I bought it as my previous car had been written off. I needed cheap transport and it was available. It was a bit of a punt as it only had 2 weeks mot left, but it passed albeit with a long list of advisories. Sadly quite a few of these were for corrosion, and by the following year they were no longer just advisory. That, plus needing 2 rear caliper rebuilds, front discs and pads and 4 tyres, it went off to the service department in the sky. During my year of ownership, I had to do nothing to it other than rotate the tyres and fill the washer bottle. It always started first time, returned 60mpg regardless of how it was driven and was quite happy running on cooking oil. Most of my cars have ended up in the knackers yard, but this is one of only 3 that I regret scrapping 😢

[@Hamburg65]

I have a real soft spot for the ZX. Back in the early ‘90’s my wife had a 1.9 Volcane and I had one of the very first 16V’s in green. Such a shame so few have survived.

[@NLBassist]

I hadn't forgotten about the ZX, but I had about the Dakar cars, which were amazing! Great vid, as always!

[@andic6676]

YAY YAY YAY The ZX gets its own video

[@dougnolan5567]

I had a ZX 1.9TD SX for 8 years...it was a brilliant little motor..did 50mpg day in day out, and totally reliable..!!

[@juanmanuelpodesta7458]

Excellent video!! I am from argentina. I have a zx citroen car from 0km, 1998. Actually it is on 400.000 km. And still driving it! Thank you!!

[@julianstechsation]

The ZX spectrums I’m the background ⌨️😍 Nice touch 👌

[@mpersad]

Congratulations on the research for this video. The car was rather anonymous so doing such an interesting video with such limited information resources is beyond credit! Thank you.

[@fyshfysh]

really enjoyed this episode, thank you 👍🏼

[@eminzide]

Love the ZX superb ride & handling.... drove my friend's Volcane 1.9 back in 2005

[@nicolasvazquez2322]

From Uruguay, as you said here some ZX model assembled. Always loved the ZX, volcano o 16v was one of my childhood dream car! I dont see dose versiones as blend, they have some quircky citroen features/design and are great hot hatches! @Big Car great channel, keep up!

[@ronanmc2112]

Great video as always. As a recent first time Citroen owner, I’d love to see a video on the mk1 C5.

[@Phunker1]

I had a 94 1.4, and it was absolutely brilliant. Massively underrated car!

[@monikaitomekszul6046]

Hello and thank you for another video. Have been new to the channel and absolutely love it as it brings back so many good memories of my 80s & 90s. Moreover your sense of humour is second to none😊 Keep up the good work! Should you look for new ideas, how about: car ads, who was the first to fit cars with e.g. power steering etc., car designers...? Best wishes!!! Tomasz from Poland. PS Fiat 126 in Polish history - all true❤

[@MrCityGaming]

Had my own ZX recently, a car 5 years older than me and hellishly unrefined but I loved it. Would have another in a heartbeat

[@ianstewartorr8455]

I remember the pre launch video with Quinton Wilson narrating it I worked in a Citroen garage and remember it well greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@chrisbeare9486]

Great video, had a 94 volcane tdi, the handling was unreal. Would love to have one again.....

[@ulrichr.487]

In 1993 i bought a ZX 1.9 Diesel, 5 door, aura trimline. I always loved it's clean styling. And it drove very well, the diesel engine was smooth and efficient. I travelled a lot these days and the ZX always worked very well. In my opinion it was an underrated car. Thank you for this excellent video!

[@mussegt]

Mate. You have very interesting car videos. Never disappointed.

[@mylenijpema3723]

I proudly drive my ZX Tentation to this day with much joy and comfort. It's a very reliable car and has never let me down. I'm only the second owner and under 30 years old myself. Couldn't have wished for any other car as my first one and almost hitting the 10 year mark of ownership. The day I'll have to let this one go will be a though one...

[@ajpdaniels]

The Renault 16 also had a rear seat that could be adjusted for more legroom or more luggage space (only 2 positions) - pretty clever all those years earlier

[@MuhammadFirdaus-vm6qh]

i still have my citroen zx 16v coupe...my best car ever,can't even compare with my newer model peugeot 308...best handling,fun to drive and everlasting design for me...

[@vazza7504]

I had one, 1.4 petrol, boss little car, payed £300 for it, no rust, front section of exhaust all that it needed, oh and a heater resistor. Cornwall and back plus lots of trips, never missed a beat. Comfy too, yer sliding rear seat was very useful. Great mpg reliable. Wish I still had it. 😊

[@SA-yb7mt]

thanks for another informative video. I had a couple of these and what a fantastic car these were. The diesel engine options were brilliant especially the turbo diesel.

[@stephanievaughan258]

Having owned several ZX’s including two Volcanes I thought it was a great car. I’d had most of the hot hatches, Ford, Vauxhall, VW, Peugeot etc the ZX was a refreshing change, quick, quiet, and handled brilliantly. On top of that it was comfortable and in a time when hot hatches were stolen regularly, you were safe with the Citroen as few people really knew what it was!

[@AJC508]

When I was a student, a lucky friend of mine was gifted a brand new zx coupé 1.1 by his parents. Doesn’t sound like much, but it had the sports (volcane-ish) appearance package, was well soundproofed, a peppy engine and handled like a dream. I can remember going round roundabouts sideways thanks to that wonderful rear setup, always with full control. Recently tried to find a nice used one just like that for my son. They just don’t exist anymore … even here in France.

[@bunter6]

Like your little Sinclair references, the computers on the shelf behind you and the ZX91 model reference.

[@zippy4166]

Well done chap another superb presentation (Si from Bath Somerset)

[@stuartbear6126]

I had one (it was my first new car). I had all sorts of trouble with the keypad which needed a code to be input. Finally I got a replacement and it was upgraded!! I loved the car. It was really good to drive and very frugal. I didn’t get aircon unfortunately but the sunroof helped. I often think of it even now.

[@TheVintageApplianceEmporium]

Very nice touch with the ZX computers in the background 😉

[@annecy49]

Love your storytelling!

[@gerdokurt]

My dad was a car dealer / service partner for citroen and my uncle was in external sales and he always had a new big upper middleclass german car from his work. Every year in summer, we drove down to italy together, ~1500km and there always was this "competition" who has the better car because we both had different cars every year. Basically some sort of a decade running competition/comparison between french cars vs german cars! I think citroens compact and middle class from the 90s (ZX, Xantia, Xsara) are excellent and in general underrated cars. It`s somehow difficult for citroen. When they did these very special and nowadays considered iconic cars, they got all the praise but not enough people wanted them and the market told them to do "normal" cars. And when they started doing excellent "normal" cars, everyone was like "boooh where are the special and cool cars". It seems like they cant do it right.

[@enchantress7940]

I had a 1.8 furio. Loved it, regret getting rid of it now. Extremely comfortable

[@martijnkosters9024]

And the other ZXs appear in the background. Nice touch!

[@johnantonine4505]

Cracking video as always

[@benzinapaul7416]

My driving instructor back in 1991 had a ZX 1.6, an Aura I think. It was a great car to learn in, my mum had an Alfa 33 1.7ie at the time which I also learnt in with my dad - we chose this particular instructor due to him having the ZX which was a similar size to the 33, all the others had small hatchbacks.

[@NiceCakeMix]

My own Citroen ZX will be in practical classics magazine this month. Great video and yes i do like my ZX, it might not be as quirky as the old ones but its a good car

[@philipmordaunt5341]

Great vid! Thank you! Nice to see Citroen get it right with ZX. Are any modern platforms so versatile?

[@thatcheapguy525]

I know this is about the ZX but references to the GS gave me the blues, I had a GS and absolutely loved it

[@finnhogan7889]

I Had one a 94 it was fine Quite comfortable got it for Nothing with the clutch gone I had it for years 😊

[@adamjw2301]

I had 2 1.6i's back in the day! I do miss the simplicity of those 90s cars!

[@AloneRacecar]

I’ve never actually heard about this car before from Citroën! I know of cars like the Xsara or the Saxo. But the ZX is one that I’ve never heard about before, and I’m glad that I do now! It’s kinda catchy. 👍

[@warrensmith4006]

Nice video. I have so much love for French design. I keep seeing a lego campervan behind you and im sure im speaking on behalf of alot of subscribers - we need a long Transporter story 🙏

[@BigCar2]

It's on the list to do (eventually).

[@Happymali10]

I love the thought at 9:42 that Big Car-viewers would be so amazed by the infotainment system that they'd stare at it and get in an accident^^

[@claudiobizama5603]

The ZX was truly one of cars of all time. It was exactly what Citroen needed though, a mass volume seller, even if it means a dictionary definition of a car.

[@Plaston_]

The ZX seems to get quite popular in France recently, i see a few of them in the street mixed with some AXs and some Xantias.

[@RD-ht6go]

In 1998, during the catastrophic flooding in the downstream of Yangtze River in China, the Fukang (China-rebranded ZX) was one of the few vehicles capable of fording through 50cm deep water on the street. That helped a great deal with search & rescue and logistics.

[@johnlightbody9942]

Has one of these the Elation 2 model.... I loved it! That car was still on the road up until couple of years ago....

[@pl1068]

Thanks for making such detailed videos of these great cars, in the future these will be used to show how fun and innovative our cars were. I had a Black with the red stripe Volcane TDi ( i standing for intercooled ) with a set of Yokohama A520’s it would go around corners 20 mph faster than anything else, truely an awesome handling machine. The torque of the inter cooled turbo diesel and the thin firewall so you could hear the turbo boosting made for a fun drive.

[@bm6563]

A nice understated minimalistic neat design especially in white with black trim, the rakish featureless bonnet, large windscreen, single wiper, kicked up rear passenger window, etc. Certainly not bland, more a chiseled modern look with some interesting styling points that could be seen as flair. Conventionally sprung yet somehow had an excellent ride for its time, and the passive rear wheel steering gave it surprisingly deft and entertaining handling. Loved it

[@jaylewinton7939]

Like the zx spectrums in the background of the citron zx story very clever

[@8BRInteractive]

The ZX sold like hot cakes, and for very good reason. It was comfortable, roomy, reliable, practical, and safe. To most people, it was a Citroën they could easily live with.

[@santoprattico6027]

Thanks for the video that made me very nostalgic. I bought an anthracite 1.4 Avantage 3 door in 1993 and really enjoyed it. The wide doors and kink in the side windows made it almost feel like a coupé. I chose it over a Golf which had half the equipment and an underpowered engine at a higher price. It died the death in 2001 after being parked in a side road when the clutch packed in, a few hours before I was meant to leave for another country for work for a couple of months. I asked a mate to keep an eye on it from time to time and I'd recover it as soon as I could get back. He obviously didn't and the car was towed away and crushed by the local council. So sad, it only had about 100k miles on the clock. I still miss it, believe it or not, despite having had much better cars since then.

[@christopherkelly577]

My first cars were an 02 mk2 Saxo VTR and then a 97 mk1 Saxo VTS. Loved them both and the 16 valve VTS was rapid. I'm sure it would hit 60 or 70 in second gear and pulled hard and handled brilliantly. Was relatively thirsty but, fun times.

[@yungboicontigo9278]

3:25 I love the older car ads. They were so much more engaging back then. This one in particular looks like a Super Bowl commercial, even though I don’t watch sports in general tbh.

[@BillyBob-uc9zp]

Had two, one after the other. 1.9D version's. Great workhorses. The more you loaded them the better they pulled. Good boater motor 😎

[@johndavenport7281]

I had a tubo diesel estate model with an intercooler that took my family on several touring trips from the North of England to the South of France full of camping gear and 3 bikes on the back. It was also my commuter car at 22K miles per annum. It was popular to criticise French cars for unreliability at the time but the only issue I suffered was the accelerator cable connection to the pedal snapping off. The local French mechanic didn't have a spare so he pulled the cable back into the engine compartment, threaded it past the closed bonnet and handed the end to me via the driver's window. A bit of insulation tape on the window pillar to save the paint and screwdriver tied at the cable end gave me a "handle" to pull/control the accleration. The French are much more relaxed about practical matters I found out. A cautious 25 mile trip back to our campsite and another to the car parts warehouse on the town outskirts meant that we were back to normal by lunchtime. The passive rear wheel steering came in very helpful if you hit a bend too fast; it wasn't very subtle and felt like you had hit a tramline that directed you out of the bend. I wish that there was a current comparable estate available today instead of all the "faux" SUV's that we are expected to buy. The ZX estate was a handy size for those of us that don't need the large Skoda Octavia and it's rivals.

[@MarcKloos]

I once saw you wearing a Sinclair t-shirt so it was to be expected that you'd have some ZX'es behind you 👍🏼

[@edwardlloyd1516]

My first brand new car was a 1996 ZX 1.9 diesel intercooler Elation special edition. It drove very well and was super economical.

[@Aviyel]

I still have 2 of these cars. a 1996 16v (155 bhp) and a 1995 8v 2.0i. Both are manuals petrol models. They cover an average 2000 kms per month (my sons also use them). Both are in good condition and are a blast to drive. Thankfully I can still get parts (from China) and secondhand parts are available in Malaysia too. A new fuel pump for the 8V cost me under RM200 (USD 45, China sourced) and has been in service for 2 years already. Both cars can still cruise above legal speeds and easily hit 5000 rpm.

[@yamasarwari1350]

I adore your channel! Have you thought about your take on the history of the BMW 3 series?

[@therickman1990]

My first car was a ZX! I had a 1996 ZX Aura E2, 1.8 8v, 5-door, third brake light, front fogs, factory AC, centrale remote locking. Loved it! Bought 2012 at 256.000km's, traded in 2015 at ~310.000 (not sure as speedo/odo and tacho had broke). The sliding rear seats were a bit useless though, never used it. Dongfeng made a sedan/saloon version of the ZX, there's one in the Citroën factory museum near Paris (groups only, and only with appointment)

[@c0smoKram3r]

My mum had a 1994 Holly Green ZX diesel and then a red 2001 Xsara 2.0 TDI. I learnt to drive in the Xsara. They were both reliable, nice cars that were unique here in New Zealand.

[@deeiks12]

I think the 3 door version has aged really well styling wise. It looks really good nowadays still. I wonder why they are so rare today, if so many were produced...