Citroen XM Price Guide

The Citroën XM was the last ‘true’ Citroën by many measures. It was the final car developed before the PSA takeover’s normalisation programme fully took hold, with hydractive suspension that could vary its character from soft touring to firm sporting at the push of a button, and a spacious, aerodynamic body by Bertone. It was awarded European Car of the Year in 1990.

The Car

The XM used the Hydractive suspension that added active control to the traditional hydropneumatic system; sensing body movement and automatically stiffening the suspension for spirited driving. The range covered 2.0 and 2.1-litre diesels and 2.0, 2.5, 3.0 V6 petrol engines. The 3.0 V6 was the flagship. The XM estate combined the hydractive ride with genuine load-carrying ability. An early recalled for software failures in the Hydractive system; later cars are more reliable.

What Goes Wrong

The Hydractive system adds complexity to the standard hydropneumatic setup as there are more components to maintain and more failure modes. The early Hydractive 1 systems had software issues; Hydractive 2 from 1992 is more reliable. Sphere condition is as critical as on any hydropneumatic Citroën. The V6 engine requires careful cooling system maintenance.

Buying

The V6 estate is the outstanding XM specification. Post-1992 Hydractive 2 cars are more reliable. The XM is significantly undervalued relative to its ability.