Citroen BX (1982 – 1994) Review
Citroen BX (1982 – 1994) At A Glance
Magic carpet ride, easier to maintain and service than you might think, all models go well for their engine sizes due to low weight
Some parts getting hard to find, plastic panels and a rust-free body can hide corrosion nightmares underneath, still considered a banger by those who don' get them
The Citroen BX was launched at the same time as the Ford Sierra and Audi 100 at the end of 1982, and looked somewhat out of step with its smoothly-styled aero contemporaries. But it was a clever fusion of Peugeot rationality and Citroën individualism, and despite being idiosyncratically styled by Marcello Gandini majoring on '70s style origami squareness, it caught the imaginations of plenty of European buyers.
Or it did at least after the 1986 facelift. The earliest cars were blessed with drum dials and paddle switchgear to appease Citroen traditionalists, but it was sold on the back of an advertising campaign that played up on its easy-to-service nature so as not to scare off hard-nosed fleet buyers. Following the arrival of facelifted models (and conventional instruments) in 1986, then the turbodiesels and GTi model, the BX became a popular mainstay in the company car pool. Survivors have thinned out, the worst ex-minicabs have gone, and banger status should soon be behind the BX.
The Citroen BX 16 Valve (or GTI 16V if it's an early one) was launched in 1987, and caught the motoring press by complete surprise. It combined all of the performance of a full-fat sports saloon, with limpet-like roadholding and a near-uncorrupted magic carpet ride. But when Citroen slotted in the brilliant 160bhp all-aluminium XUJ94 engine into the lightweight BX 'shell, and added an aggressive bodykit, a genuine '80s sporting express was created.
With a top speed of 135mph and a 0-60mph time of a gnat's whisker over seven seconds, the BX could trade punches with far more expensive cars, such as the BMW 325i or Audi 90 quattro, but despite being relatively good value, sales were disappointing after an initial flurry. This was probably not bad news for Citroen though, as that powerful lightweight engine cost an arm and a leg to produce (it featured luxuries, such as a magnesium cam cover) - and once sales of the BX 16V and its sisters the Peugeot 405 and 309Mi16 ended, the engine was taken out of production.
