Our 'elderly Lady'

Elderly when compared to my wife's car... a two year old Renault Clio, which is 'her puppy dog'.



A 2000 2.1 TD automatic, with 200.000 miles on it, in brilliant nick. I just bought her this week.

ps: I know that the rims are not original... I intend to change that!

This post has been edited by peterh on November 15, 2008 04:40 pm

I think we're all agreed that silver is probably the best colour... next to the colour of our own cars of course

Looks a nice car, and 'proper' wheels will of course help. Any pics of the interior?

Regards Phil.

Hi Peterh

The one advantage of big, open alloys as you have there is unlike everyone else, you dont have to take the wheels off to change the rear pads or bleed the brakes .........very handy.
Very nice looking car btw, and they dont get any newer either!

Regards
D

This is true.

However, if I would've wanted a car that is easy to work on, I might as well have gotten myself a Toyota HiLux. This I will not do. So there.

I want the XM for its looks and its ride comfort.
I *really* want the CX, actually. Preferably the one with the steel grille and bumpers, and the mad DIRAVI steering and the hyperactively responsive brake pedal, and the non-self-cancelling indicators and the Evil Eye speedo and the dash that looks like the Starship Enterprise on steroids.
The fact that a CX like that is a money pit doesn't scare me away... but the certainty that, once my wife would've taken two corners in that car, and would've hit the brakes once, I would've been better off being on the phone with a divorce lawyer, does.

And (let's face it, Peter Aitch): I find that the DS was the best-looking Citroën ever made. But for me, the XM is prettier than the CX. I like the angular lines, and I admire that "band of glass" that completely separates the coach from the roof. For that reason only, I think that silver grey is THE colour for this design. Any colour darker than that destroys this band of glass.
So, while on the inside, the CX is more patently bonkers than the XM, the XM gives me a better "kerb feeling". And it's still a veeeeryyyy pleasant car to drive.

...prettier than a Cx!!!

Well, I guess if we all liked the same things we'd all be bored owning identical things!!

I know what you mean about the bubble roof separated by the ribbon of glass on the Xm though!
Not many cars can look quite so striking in the right light - you'd have to concede the glasshouse is
sadly unnecessarily complicated by the fussy bands between the different glazing sections - oh for
flush pillarless glass - it would be perfect then!

Snap by the way:






(I don't know whether to call these "Beauty & The Beast", or "So Much for Progress...?"
The Puggly isn't mine I hasten to add - a visitor passing through and I couldn't resist the
comparison pic...

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on November 15, 2008 11:07 pm

I did say "to my tastes", or something, right?

I still do, though. From a purely aesthetical point of view, I always found the CX exterior a watered-down version of the SM, which will remain my out-of-my-league dream car forever. It is a stunning car, so much is sure, but it doesn't have the obnoxious, in-your-face-angular individuality of the XM.

When it comes to interior, it's a different story altogether. Compared to the CX (the one with the Starship Enterprise dash and the spherical ashtray) the XM's interior is positively bland. However, compared to an Audi, the XM's interior is a feast. So there.

The fact that Citroën had the sense of keeping the pillars black, blending in with the glass panes (especially on a silver or white XM) works well, don't you think?

And don't get me started on the 407SW. I find it hard to imagine that someone was paid to design that vulture. I'd rather have an Octavia - at least, an Octavia doesn't TRY to look good.

This post has been edited by peterh on November 15, 2008 11:46 pm

Well, it's sad they're there at all knowing the doors and windows of a Xantia of the same era
are bigger and have less panes - how difficult must it be for careful design to cancel out double
curvature problems for opening windows. The problem with the blackened pillar strips is they
don't stay black but go silver or purpley grey and actually stand out more prominently...

Andrew

True.

But then again, on the Xantia (and actually on most every modern car other than an XM), the A and C pillars are wider, which is a trend driven by passive safety requirements.
There are two problems with that. First, the pillars, if too wide, break the band of glass, and second, in a modern car, even the A pillars are sometimes so wide that they can hide entire cars coming your way.

The early Bertone sketches for the XM showed much larger panes of glass. It may well be that Citroen decided that, in order to maintain structural rigidity, they had to improve the number of strips and reduce the pane size. Getting an aesthetically good design on the road invariably leads to compromises.

Having said that, Bertone DID do a stellar job in getting all the strips at exactly the right angle.

Hmm... I have yet to see an example of that. Mine doesn't show any of this.

Nice looking car Peter - I actually like those wheels!

Lets not forget white!

Very nice to have a late model, its in a great colour too.

I agree with the window band, its one of the things i really like about the xms styling.

What rims are you wanting for it? Xm ones? Youes look a little Honda like, although probably oz or somethng similar.

Very nice

If im not wrong they are 'Rial', i bought a set for my Honda CRX Del Sol a couple of years ago

D

Nobody asked but my favourite look is the white hatch with black trim. It sort of reminds me of NASA and Saturn V rockets.

Shame my white one had been so abused.

Steve.

White is of course the best Xm colour!

(disclaimer - unless its an exclusive, all that white is a little too much!)

I think you will find the best XM colour is of course metalic burgandy actually

D

bugundy, yes the best colour, my old S1 was a darker red but whith gold and bronze shades on a late afternoon sun