It came in three and five door hatchback (notchback) and five door estatebody styles; the estate was marketed as the Break and the three door as the Coupé. The styling shared cues with the larger Bertone designed Xantia, but was regarded as bland by the motoring press.
The straight four engine range includes 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 litre petrol engines as well as 1.4, 1.6, 1.9 and 2.0 litre naturally aspirated and turbochargeddiesels. In some countries, such as Portugal, the 1.5 litre TUD5 diesel engine was also available.[5] The Xsara was 1998 Semperit Irish Car of the Year in Ireland.
The familiar range of PSA powertrains drove the front wheels of a seemingly conventionally designed chassis. At the front was a standard MacPherson strut layout with anti-roll bar, while the rear used the PSA Peugeot-Citroën fully independent trailing arm/torsion bar set up, which was first introduced on the estate of the Peugeot 305.
However, PSA's chassis engineers employed some unusual features, including passive rear wheel steering, though less than on the ZX, (by means of specially designed compliance bushes in the rear suspension), and inhouse developed and constructed shock absorbers.
At high mileages, this is prone to wear of the axle mounting bushes which is easily fixed. It is also prone to wear in the rear axle trailing arm bearings, which then wear the trailing arm axle tubes, requiring an expensive rebuild or a replacement axle assembly.[6][7][8][9][10]
The diesel and larger capacity petrol engines are canted as far back as possible in the engine bay, in an effort to put as much weight as possible behind the front axle line, also reducing the centre of gravity, while improving weight distribution and minimising understeer.
In September 2000 for the 2001 model year, the Xsara was substantially facelifted with a new bonnet, wings, bumper, grille and headlamps with integrated fog lights. The rear end of the car saw slight changes to the light cluster and the introduction of a new hatch with a prominent logo. The car was now heavier (around 80 kg) and longer (21 mm). The body was made stiffer with A pillars and side-door beams reinforced. The tracks were also widened and 15-inch wheels were now sold as standard. Trims and materials were improved and the new steering wheel taken over from Citroen C5 enabled the installation of a bigger airbag. The instrument displays were now clearer with side and curtain airbags made available on higher trims. The facelift also saw the introduction of multiplex wiring.
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) 55 kW (74 hp) TU3JP four cylinder petrol 121 N·m (catalyst and its position were changed).
1.6L (1587 cc 16 valve DOHC) 81 kW (109 hp) TU5JP4 four cylinder petrol (new, replaced 8-valve TU5JP engine)
2.0L (1998 cc 16 valve DOHC) 122 kW (164 hp) XU10J4RS four cylinder petrol (used till 2002)
2.0L (1998 cc 16 valve DOHC) 101 kW (135 hp) EW10J4 four cylinder petrol (new, replaced XU10 engine)
The model of 2002 had slight interior modifications (e.g. a different way of controlling the sound system from the steering wheel). In February 2003, there were also some exterior modifications (e.g. new front bumper, new instrument panel design with Eurostile typeface (to replace the Futura typeface) with dial design from the Peugeot 307).
In Europe, the Xsara Estate continued to be produced until 2006 and did not get a replacement. The Xsara Picasso small MPV was continued, concurrently with its successor that was based on the C4, 'Picasso' becoming the name for MPV derivatives of any Citroën model.
^"Lot 143: Xsara Break 1.5 D Phase I", Vente des réserves de l'Aventure Peugeot Citroën DS (Auction Catalogue) (in French), Leclere Maison des Ventes, 10 December 2017, p. 154, archived from the original on 26 November 2017
