Saxo First 1.1i (Citroën Saxo 1.1i First 3-door)

Member Name: GraWar

Product:	Citroën Saxo 1.1i First 3-door
Date:	18/07/01 (1340 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: stylish with good features, economical, reliable

Disadvantages: none

Myself and my son recently visited our local Citroen dealer because we organised a test drive on a 1.1i Saxo First. This was because my son is currently looking for a new car to replace his very reliable but ageing current motor, a Citroen AX.

The Saxo has always attracted my son with its good looks and decent performance, but interestingly enough he was interested in the smallest engine option of the First. There are several reasons for this, all unbelievably and unusually sensible coming form my son!! Firstly the 1124cc engine keeps insurance costs down and also it is very light on the drink when it comes to the petrol pump. Despite this you musn't get me wrong because it is certainly no slouch, the lightweight of the body ensures that. It can accelerate very nippy around town and from traffic lights, a suprise for such a small engine. In fact it accelerates form 0-60 in a suprisingly fast time of 12.4 seconds and boasts a solid 60 bhp.

An interesting point for me was to see how the gearbox fared on this car. It's predecessor the AX, was reknowned for having a clunky gearbox and in fact my son's own AX was the same. However I am very happy to report that the Saxo Firsts 'box is a very sweet and smooth changing 5 speed manual box.

Load space is very deceptive in this car. It doesn't look like it has a bulky boot but it is deceptively large inside. It will hold a good amount in standard position but when the back seats are down it is like a small van inside. I would estimate that the Saxo's loadspace has the edge over other cars in the supermini category like the Fiesta and the Corsa.

The other features that come as standard with the Saxo First 1.1i are as follows: heated rear window, rear wash/wipe, tinted glass, digital clock, rev counter, drivers air bag, anti-roll bars, immobiliser, radio stereo/cassette with 4 speakers and a whole lot more.

It's remarkable that you can get all of this for
an impressive £5940 brand new, with a number of special offers on top of this on offer from Citroen at the moment. In the end however my son didn't make the purchase as it was slightly out of his price range but he is on the look out for a Saxo First a year or 2 old so that it fits into his price range.

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