Back then Jezza was a star in a reasonably priced car.

I have a ZX 1.9d Advantage. One of the most reliable Citroen ever. I've saw ZXs with 500000 km running smooth without problems

Almost 30 years later this car is still has more style than most car brands on the road.

The ZX was extremely underrated.

Owned 2 of them, both 2.0i Volcane models. Easily one of the best cars I’ve driven.

My first Car was a ZX Berline 1.6i Aura with 88hp in White, got it for 250 Bucks, with 390'000ish km, i rocked that thing into the ground, uphill, downhill, on mountain roads, full throttle whenever i could, basically floored it over speedbumps and jumped it over stuff. Even with all that beating on it and not doing any maintenance only two things did go wrong with it: At around 400'000km the Oil Pan got punctured while jumping it over a Dike near the Neterlands, only noticed that there was something wrong when the Oil light came on and drove it like 5 km to the next shop where i installed a new Pan. That was also the only "oil change" it had,(only poured new stuff in, didn't even bother to change the Filter) and the Odometer let go about 2 Years in at 442'327km. It was the most amount of Fun i ever had in any Car i have owned even to this day, my 3.0 Biturbo 310hp C5 does 0-100 in less then 6 Seconds and has a top speed of roughly 270km/h, it still isn't as fun as that little bastard was. In the End i scrapped it after someone rear ended me in Bern, Car got written of and i got 1'000 from the insurance, looking back i think that must have been more then double of what i had spent over the 2 1/2 Years of owning it, don't know the Mileage it had in the end, the Odo still showed 442'327, i think i still have that thing somewhere, but it must have been closer to 455'000 at that point.

A lot of cool features that are finally making it to market in 2012 cars. Imagine. And this was 91... Typical Citroen, 20 years ahead of it's time...

Had a 1.4i version, really loved it.

look at jeremy's hear. :D :D

3:13 : a Mehari, a 4L and a 2CV in the same image ! Sadly it's becoming a rare sight today even in France...

Back in the days when Top Gear was about cars! Good car the ZX. Note that a family car was a regular hatchback back then, whereas in 2021, everyone 'needs' a massive SUV. Groan. 😞

I had a Citroen Zx 1.4 Xp Break for 13 years

I bought a 1996 ZX Aura as my very first car today, great car. Hugely comfortable

Never seen this before, I like the ZX.... I've had 6 of them! 1x Avantage 1.4i, 2x 1.9i Volcane, 2x 2.0i Volcane, and 1x 2.0i 16v.

i still have mine, a 1.9 diesel from 1995, used every day without any problems

I had a 1.9D fairly recently. Handling was indeed the best part. Smoother ride than a modern car, but can still be thrown around corners. I didn't realise the Volcane was 130bhp. At that weight it must have flown.

I had a metallic wine ZX Volcane, 1.9TD. Absolute MINTER of a car. The handling was unreal, the smoothness conversely was unreal, and its interior was just so gorgeous, so solid, tight and well-made; it felt very Germanic (I know they're French don't worry). Performance was just so lovely. Though it was 'only' 92bhp, its power to weight was such that it could go up one local hill faster than my current A4 130bhp TDi! I could fit so much into it with the seats down. It carried my first son as a baby comfortably. The sunroof let lovely light into the car, it was very economical.....oh....I could go on and on.....it only needed diesel, oil and brake pads in 100k. Absolutely EXCEPTIONAL car.....and in Volcane trim, just so damn handsome to look at too.

Sadly missed . I bought one of the last made a 19rd bought ‘97 traded in as part of the Scrappage in ‘09 with 232,000 miles and a 2month old mot. Apart from wear and tear items no unexpected faults. A great car

im still using 1.4i .... and i love it !

I once had the 1.4 ZX Reflex (1993) it was a nice car to drive and drove many miles in it, shame it popped its head gasket at 64k. It also had a problem with the ecu and would buck and hop erratically when it was cold. It also like playing a game off I'm not letting you in when it would freeze, and the door handles would not go back down so the doors wouldn't stay closed.....oh, what fun it was lol. I still love Citroens old and new, I've had a C4 coupe and also a Picasso Hdi this was the most reliable car I've ever owned. The Diesel engines are far better than the petrol.....I would still love either a Bx or a Zx 16v though.

My father owns one ZX, in a medium condition. It's amazing, you are feelin the road.

I had a '96 Elation 1.4. I really loved that car. Great handling for definite, you could really chuck it about. I kinda miss it.

still driving a 1.4er from 93 :) and it seems to have the same color as in the video, wish it had the comfort stuff in the tested one though...

I bought a new 1.9D Avantage 3 door in 1993 and drove it 248k miles over my 14 years of ownership. The fastest car around a roundabout I have ever had.

I really love this Car

As a kid I wanted the XM, the BX or even the tiny AX but the ZX looks like the bext all-rounder of them all looking back.

Saw a 1.9 Turbodiesel Zest ZX a few weeks ago, looked not bad for it's age if they've had it that long since 1997 shows you just how reliable the XUD engine really is didn't get a swatch at the mileage though, seems to be older people who have them where I live nowadays, but my techie teacher had the estate, fell asleep in the passenger seat going up Loch Lomand for a hillwalking outing, ride was soo smooth I didn't feel any juddering or anything, then again it's the same chassis as the 306 Citroen really were innovative and different and that's what they're missing today.

what Jeremy said about Citroen and Grace jones is funny because she was in one of their commercials

"this gives you the Best handling you can have from a small car" good :) both citroen 306 and zx is regarded as the best handling small cars of the 90s

Excellent car and unbiased review,good top gear

oh a new episode of TopGear!

Still driving my 1997 TD SX. No reason to change! Only 70,000 mls, 45/47mpg, 95mph on the autobahn, tiny turning circle for easy tight parking, NEVER ONCE let me down, ever, only needs servicing once a year - which is done religiously. Car is still in showroom nick apart from minimal scuffs on bumper corners (supermarket carparks!). Only major unscheduled part replacements in all that time were a new battery and a replacement radiator due to minute seepage. No, you can't have it!

AX's big brother!

The first ZX I drove was Volcane 16v 2-door. It has a great engine,fantastic ride & handling,a sportier looks of a coupe & better comfortable seat than the basic yet comfy seat of other ZX models.

I had a 1.9 diesel (no turbo) as a company car. It had no guts at all and not good for long distances or hilly terrain. It was however very comfortable, good for lugging company gear about in and I did 116,000 miles in it with No issues. The turbodiesel would have been a great car, but being a company car, that was not mine to decide.

Terrific cars.

Things evolved fast af...

The ZX was a competant good value hatchback especially in 5 door Turbo Diesel form.

The Aura was most certainly not the biggest seller in the UK. Avantages seemed to outnumber them by about 10 to 1.

@TheScaryChipmunk What I hope is making special Top Gears like one doing now and making car reviews and buying tips as normal show. As I like both new and old Top Gear stylings.

When I watch these old videos from 30 years ago of cars, I think of how they would compare to nowadays. I think of the Tesla, for instance. It's a car well ahead of its time, it's not cheap but it is very much what we're heading for (just like the Citroën was at the time, in this case). From the last time I checked, you can grab a car from 1991 for less than a grand. To think this is probably where Tesla cars will be heading in 30 years time!

I almost bought a '93 1.8i Furio as my first car, but got a Rover 200 instead... It was terrible. handled like a jelly, gearbox was shot after 50k miles and the engine leaked coolant. Wish I'd gotten the ZX in hindsight.

I remember the training video with Quinton Wilson in it I think it was maybe before it went on sale I liked the zx

Ain't no way, a fking ZX from 1991 has adjustable rear seat! No cheap car had or has that! It seems like such a premium feature.

i had 2 of them, break, big versions loved them both last til 300 000km no problems very comfortable i used them for traveling and never had catastrofic breakdown

+guille64 esto si que habria molado verlo ;DD

I do really like that back seat. I wish more cars in the US came with that feature.

had french cars most of my life as equally reliable as german but much cheaper to buy and fix

do you recommend zx 1.8 8v gasoline?i had a c4 two door but i really like zx!

I've just ditched my "modern" car for a '96 ZX TD. I kid you not. Completely bored of modern junk. Will update.

Its a shame the zx has faded away.

My 1st car :))

I do wish Top Gear nowadays would just occassionally break from their neew norm and simply review cars like this again...

C'mon Jeremy, you like that there is no catalyst or ABS :D

Yes, yes, it's all very lovely and all, but why have you used the Grandstand theme tune? Don't get me wrong, it's a cracking old tune, but it's not "Jessica" now, is it?

That's a 1.9, by the way.

Never had one. First was vauxhall nova Second vauxhall cavalier Third vauxhall corsa. Last TT baby.

@MrDionisis7 David Bowie - Fashion

AGREED!

@MrCanopius i drove three of them, and wrote one off. Oooops... But they were great. Two of mine had driver's lights! Ha, take that Clarkmeister..

Is it me or is the styling of the ZX similar to that of a Yugo Sana?

@BrianSupreme im driving 1993, i love it so much because its my first car but its slowly falling apart ;(

ma zx 1.4 a 313678 km ca marche du feu de dieux vive citroen

Ναί ρε φίλε, αυτό το αμάξι είναι σκυλί..

DUDE my father has one of these

It's funny how he says that the 1.6 will be the one to be sold most in the uk. I have only ever seen 1.4s, a few 2Ls and ONE 1.8 petrol advertised for sale second hand. Not one 1.6.

Why is Clarkson speaking so weirdly? Like 1920's posh British accent... the kind yanks think we speak like every day.

adeso o la terza zx .una machina come poche

My old man had a 1.9TD Reflex Until we found out the previous owner threw away the original keys, and gave dad the copies, resulting in him snapping the key in the ignition and having to hotwire the car. Not the best.

@666RiffsOfDeth666 Thanks for that, but id reccomend them and i'm on my...pause to count...fifth. A turbo diesel, a diesel, a turbo diesel, 1400 petrol, all five doors, except one which was a three door. And now a diesel estate. I have a hankering after slipping a V6 into the front of a Volcane, or maybe a 2L turbo...

We had a red Citroen ZX 1.4 Reflex! But the motor died after 18 jears:-(

funny just had crash in one of thease got broken leg 6 week :'(

I had one, a diesel..only cause my dad bought me one. Was too sluggish for me

1.9 td is the best diesel engine on the road

Clarky saying he has a beef with no catalytic converter... YOU`RE maaaaddd haha!

Yeah and now we know, that the ,,new"(at that time) rear axel is no good. Though the car is very very nice i have one of them the 1,4.

小粋なダブル・シェブロンの新世代コンパクトカー

why did they care so much if the car had a catalytic converter? was the UK giving tax breaks to people with more environmentally friendly cars? was unleaded cheaper?

I had a volcane! was a beast! had it for a week then I blew it up...

Got a Citröen Zx Advantage 1.9 diesel I'm 13 I drive it in a field

Clarkson was less of a 'proper knob' in those days.

Help me *KENNY!!* Help me! He’s just got my dog! *HELP ME!!!! HELP ME!!!!*

Name of song at 1:30?

On the dot

ايام حرب الخليخ

The Escort was dump

@MegaMrDamo Er is 'sick' youth speak for good?

When i saw this Video... I'd started thinking ,,In the end, this is an Astra mk3 with Citroën emblems on it..."

Citroen did well to design the zx with the features it had (even by today's standards) but the brand and the fact it's French probably turned a lot of people off! What i hate though, is that stupid front single wiper! I'm glad it didn't catch on.

His hair looks like a 2-3 year old potted plant threaded down his head.

hehehe proper knobs...

Ah, i hate this ugly car!! But really, thanks for uploading these!!

@lazakas wish i could more thumbs up on this comment!!

This is a Volvo

I bet this car looked outdated even back then

Buona auto, ma motore fiacco e tenuta di strada cattiva....troppo rollio e beccheggio di serie. Good car but engine is slow and Handling is bad....