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Citroën XM

Bertone · 1989

The XM didn’t fail because it was strange — it failed because it was too Citroën for a world that had stopped rewarding strangeness.

Worth your time?3.5/5Yes.Drive the whole thing.What works, what does not, who it is for ↓
10:06in productionCh. 1 · A new flagship/ 10:06 · ceiling 15 min
6 chapters · 10:06Ceiling 15:00

The brief is written and checked. The video joins this page when it is cut.6 chapters · 1 min read · 10:06 planned

Read the brief

The Citroën XM is a pivotal failure: technically audacious, commercially inert, and stylistically isolated. It advanced hydropneumatic suspension into the electronic age — but lost the emotional and mechanical connection that made Citroën’s earlier flagships endure.

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Chapters & takeaways6
  1. 1:04
    A new flagship

    Launched 23 May 1989, it was Citroën’s new flagship — a deliberate break from the CX’s silhouette and logic.

  2. 2:22
    The first of its kind

    It was the first production car with electronically controlled hydropneumatic suspension — a system that managed ride height and damping without driver input.

  3. 3:30
    Awarded, not adopted

    It won 1990 European Car of the Year for design and technological innovation — not for sales, refinement, or driver appeal.

  4. 4:34
    Commercially adrift

    It sold 333,405 units in 11 years — far fewer than the CX or DS, and with sharp decline by the mid-1990s.

  5. 5:38
    A quiet end

    Production ended in 2000 — not by design, but after years of falling demand and shared platform problems with the Peugeot 605.

  6. 7:03
    Numbers tell the story

    Total output was 333,405 — including 31,035 Heuliez-built Breaks — confirming volume without momentum.

3 more chaptersFewer chapters
Worth your time?

Yes. Drive the whole thing.

3.5/ 5
What works
  • delivers a new kind of executive comfort: silent, level, unflustered
  • prioritises cabin serenity over driver engagement
  • hydropneumatic system works as intended — continuously, automatically, without input
What does not
  • match the CX or DS in commercial success
  • share their reputation for longevity or mechanical charisma
  • stand apart from the Peugeot 605 — they share a floorpan and suffered similar teething problems
Drive it if
  • drivers who value isolation from road noise and vibration above all else
  • those who want to understand how Citroën’s engineering philosophy fractured under market pressure
Skip it if
  • those who seek feedback, involvement, or proven long-term reliability
Who should drive it, and who should skipHide who it is for
The written brief1 min read

What the car is and where it came from

The Citroën XM is an executive saloon launched on 23 May 1989. It replaced the CX as Citroën’s flagship. It was built for 11 years, ending production in 2000.

How it works, in terms someone would actually use

The XM uses electronically controlled hydropneumatic suspension — the first production car to do so. It adjusts ride height and damping in real time. The driver feels no road texture through the wheel, only a distant, floating detachment.

What it gets right

It delivers a new kind of executive comfort: silent, level, unflustered. Its design prioritises cabin serenity over driver engagement. The hydropneumatic system works as intended — continuously, automatically, without input.

What it does not

It does not match the CX or DS in commercial success. It does not share their reputation for longevity or mechanical charisma. It does not stand apart from the Peugeot 605 — they share a floorpan and suffered similar teething problems.

What it changed

It proved electronic control could manage hydropneumatic suspension at scale. That idea outlived the XM: it became standard on later Citroëns and influenced rivals’ adaptive systems.

Who it is for, and who it is not

It is for drivers who value isolation from road noise and vibration above all else. It is not for those who seek feedback, involvement, or proven long-term reliability.

Is it worth your time

Yes — if you want to understand how Citroën’s engineering philosophy fractured under market pressure. No — if you expect the XM to deliver the CX’s cult durability or the DS’s cultural authority.

Same garage · Saloons & estates4 of 80
10:44
Citroën CXRobert Opron · 1974The CX is the last complete expression of Citroën’s pre-merger philosophy: hydropneumatic suspension, front-wheel drive, fastback form, and aerodynamic discipline. It succeeded the DS without imitating it. It won European Car of the Year in 1975. It was Robert Opron’s final and favourite design. It marked the end of the 'big Citroën' era that began in 1934.
9:12
Citroën GSRobert Opron · 1970The Citroën GS is a small family car designed by Robert Opron, launched in 1970 after winning Citroën’s 1967 internal Project G competition. It was built as a fastback four-door saloon and five-door estate until 1979. A revised version, the GSA, was produced from late 1979 until 1986 in five-door hatchback or estate body styles. Combined production reached approximately 2.5 million units. It has a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout and seating for five passengers. Noted for its aerodynamic body shape with a drag coefficient of 0.318, fully independent hydro-pneumatic brakes and self-levelling suspension, and air-cooled flat-four engine, the GS was styled by Robert Opron, with a low nose, a two-box silhouette, semi-enclosed rear wheels and a sharply vertical Kamm-tail. In 1967, having abandoned the ambitious Projet F begun by Bertoni and taken over by Opron, Citroën initiated a competition for a new mid-range model that pitted Opron and the Bureau d'Études against Giorgetto Giugiaro and Italdesign. Both teams submitted designs for front wheel drive three- and five-door cars powered by flat-four engines. Opron's proposal carried the day, and his Project G eventually became the GS released in 1970. Some have claimed that Opron based the GS' shape on the Pininfarina Austin 1800 Aerodinamica Berline of 1967. Others assert that, while it may have been influenced by the Italo-English concept car, Opron's design was an independent work, and point out that Citroën has never acknowledged any link.
10:23
Citroën C6Jean-Pierre Ploué · 2005The Citroën C6 is an executive saloon launched in November 2005. It was designed by Jean-Pierre Ploué’s team to replace the XM, six years after the XM ceased production in June 2000. It draws directly from the C6 Lignage concept shown at Geneva in spring 1999.
10:57
Citroën Traction AvantFlaminio Bertoni · 1934The Citroën Traction Avant redefined what a production car could be — not through novelty, but through integration. Its welded unitary body, front-wheel drive, and four-wheel independent suspension formed a coherent system. It did not chase speed or luxury. It solved for lightness, space, and real-world composure. Its influence is structural, not stylistic.
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