Auto Box, change points

I love the XM's parking brake. Its yet another of the 'different because we can' touches, and does a lot for the quirkiness factor, something which some argue the XM lacks compared to the CX.

When you've been driving one a few days it becomes like second nature. If you follow Andrew's instructions there shouldn't be problem.

I go one further, I dislike pulling the lever and having the parking pedal spring up violently (in fact I think someone here said that was bad for it), so I usually hold the car on the footbrake, put my left foot on the parking brake, release the lever, gently bring the pedal up with my foot, still holding the main brake. I then clutch in, select gear, get clutch to biting point, then release footbrake and very quickly hop onto the accelerator.
So yes it requires some faaaaast footwork sometimes, and I know its not the 'proper' way to do things, but I think its much smoother

The only time I don't do it is obviously on steep hills or anywhere else where there's a chance of rolling backwards.

Just call me pernickerty

This post has been edited by Ciaran on February 23, 2009 02:23 am

The bonus feature of the foot operated handbrake system over the conventional pantomime
trap door lever is the means to deliver full body weight force onto the brakes when all the
hydraulic assistance has gone AWOL. This was likely deemed essential by Citroen's designers
when they did away with the Cx brake reserve sphere.

Additionally, its sometimes very handy for applying the brakes easily without broadcasting to say
a following Police car or the idiot about to overtake you past a speed camera that you're slowing
down!

And a safe way of conveiently releasing the brakes in slow moving traffic on a downhill slope or
when you're parking cars by hand in a tight space with the door open...

Least it works whereas a Cx system doesn'tfor very long as Shane states!

Andrew

Yes. Mr Ciarán Pernikety!! I've seen this before, you're not alone...

Andrew

Okaay... so why use the parking brake at all?

I appreciate some folk like the arrangement. I mean, I happen to like Marmite and Frosties sandwiches. But so far none of you have countered my argument that it's actually implemented the wrong way round on all right-hand drive cars, meaning you've simply gotten used to something that isn't as it should be!

It also isn't especially quirky in the sense that it's been fitted to pretty much every Mercedes including their commercial vehicles for longer than I care to remember, and it isn't especially popular - when they put it on their Sprinter van there was such a backlash from drivers they put hill start on as standard too.

I do like my manual though. Having driven French manuals when I was kid it's not nearly as stick-in-blancmange as I thought it would be

For....parking?

Ciarán

Perhaps the nightmare scenario is where you are taking your driving test in an XM.
You have reached the 3-point turn section of the test. The indicators have packed in and the examiner tells you to proceed using hand signals!

Robert

My girlfriend was almost taking her test in one of my XMs, but I said it wasn't a good idea TBH, specially since the method in which the parking brake must be applied goes against the 'right way' that 'they' tell you.

I.e; The supposed correct way to stop is clutch held in, handbrake on, then shift into neutral and release clutch. Of course that's not possible in an XM, as you must hold the main brake with your right foot to keep the car stationary, shift into neutral, release clutch, then apply parking brake after its in neutral.

Would be interesting to see if that would fault you on a driving test.

Ciarán

It would be worth taking a test in one just to find out

And then see what happened when you appealed (or whatever the process would be) against it. Sorry guv - you are expecting me to do the physically impossible so the test must be wrong...

Driving test in a Citroen?

That takes me back to mine where I drove my GSA. In the emergency stop,
I think I literally took the wind out of the examiner's lungs it was SO sharp
locking up the seatbelt!!

I passed but only after failing my first driving a rubbish Rover...

I stopped slightly too far back at a blind T junction and crept forward a foot to get
a better view and the examiner failed for it.

Andrew

This post has been edited by Andmcit on February 23, 2009 03:01 pm

A tip I was given on the emergency stop was ,don't look to see what is behind , the examiner will have done that, just hit the brakes.
So when the examiner glanced behind I was ready and hit the brakes as he shouted "stop", with similar result to Andrew.

Robert