The Citroen CX Is an Amazingly Quirky and Weird French Luxury Car
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- Опубліковано 14 кві 2021
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The Citroen CX is a crazy car with amazing quirks. Today I’m reviewing the Citroen CX and I’ll show you all the weird quirks of this unusual French luxury car. I’m also driving the Citroen CX, and I’ll show you what it’s like behind the wheel of a weird 1980s Citroën!
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Great tribute to the designer of the CX; Robert Opron. He passed away last week aged 89.
That's so sad. The Citroen SM, also his design, is very high on my "if I win the lottery"-list.
Sorry to hear this. Opron designed the facelifted DS (the one with the turning headlights), the SM, the CX, the GS - in short, the interesting Citroens!
It’s pronounced “cit-rin”
thank you for the info
RIP, a true visionary with amazing design taste
"Designed to fit in this slot" as he shows a piece of plastic glued to a block of wood with tape to seal the gap LOL
Was looking for this comment
Same here. That looks like a home made aftermarket addition.
Actually not.In the original car,it was there that you put your cassette tapes because the cassette tape reader was there,the aftermaket radio is in the right place of the original Citroen radio,plus the 4 blank switches were actually where it was the media controls for the cassettes(Play/Pause,Previous/Forward Track,Insert Cassette and Eject Cassette)
very well spotted, being an after market part, it was not made to the exact dimensions. So you plonked on tape and other handy materials!!!LOL.
Hahahahahaha
As a french I got to admit, really strange era for our cars back then. But one thing is true, especially about Citroen: they dared to try new things. What sadly no manufacturer does anymore today.
Citroen and Renault were very adventurous. The R5 was genius. I wish cars were a little more French. They're all the same now.
Most of these designs are genius. It's more intuitive.
The Citroën DS built from 1955 - 1975 was a very unique, different car , but it was genious, very ahead of its time and very practical and reasonable at the same time. Nothing is really quirky on it at all, since all makes perfect sense. This does not apply to the Citroën CX as presented here. I am pretty sure that the designers and ingenieers were not quite the same on both cars. The innovations here act more deliberate and not well elaborate from a practical and stylistical standpoint.
My father has a old DS and my mom used to have this exact car, I learn to drive on that car. I wish I have one here in Canada, but I don't think they would do nice in the winter. We lived in France when I was younger, after we got out of DDR. These cars feel like they were glued on the road no matter how fast you may drive. The handling was spectacular even by today standards. I got her older SM model as a "almost" hand me down car, as my parents were very strict about money so I had to bought it at the same price they would have sold it. It was blue green.
@@verocimilEven the 2CV suspension was kinda genius. It was surprisingly comftable to ride in. It was impossible to roll over.
Citroën's hydropneumatic suspension really is something else. In fact, it keeps the car level in corners so much that the Citroen Xantia (which was equipped with a newer version of the system) still holds the speed record for the moose test- an evasive manoeuvring test for cars.
I owned 2 Xantias. Loved them.
It's called Xantia Activa. I have Xantia hydroactive - it's a little bit better than normal version in corners. Xantia and all hydropneumatic cars have so different feelings than normal suspension system. You can even drive it on 3 wheels :D
@@maciejdonczyk1146 I remember my dad driving on 3 wheels home in a DS after a puncture.
The old Citroens could do something others could not.
Fantastic cars back then.
@@glengraham7080 so did I. Great cars
Had to avoid a wild animal while driving my father's Xantia, LEFTRIGHT just like that in a blink of an eye. Hadn't I drove this particular car at that moment I probably would've totaled the car and injured myself, or even others.
"the cupholders are designed for this car" and when he pulls them out there's a block of wood and some duct tape holding them in place. i love it.
That's what I was thinking. "Fitted" by the owner of the car by using a bandsaw and cutting a block of wood to size :-)!
but his statement remains true. he never said how many of those cupholders were made and it they were tooling for injection molding involved :-).
Yea I thought the same looks like someone "jerry rigged" it. And driver's got to remember not to use it as an armrest when drinks are in it. Lol
I'm a woodworker so I can't let this oversight by Doug go away. Was that really a Citroen, or did someone just tape the name Citroen onto a Chevy Citation?
@@jerrycomo2736 No, Chevy Citations had split-shaft stereos, which were mounted sideways in the dashboard between the gauges and the heater controls. Funny joke, though. lol
Everyone: Citroën
Doug: Sitrone
I winced every time he said it.
Everyone: Peugeot.
Doug: Poogeau
Doug is the type of guy who refuses to research the pronunciation of foreign car brands.
@@icantrideslow Remember when he was calling the Cadillac Brougham the "BROM".
Americans: always getting pronunciations correctly.
Don't forget the Lamborghini Jalpa, which he kept pronouncing "Yalpa" even though that name is in no way German.
Curved rear window uses aerodynamics to clear the window of rain and dirt. Travelling fast in the rain is amazing as both front and rear windows shed the rain and the single wiper throws the rain off the screen instead of over to the other wiper blade.
The CX PRESTIGE is true French Excellence.
Performance was remarkably good both acceleration and top speed of 130 mph with rock solid stability.
I had a 1978 CX Prestige 2400 EFI 5 speed with leather for 4 years in UK, Europe and back to Australia.
Fabulous fun and formidable high speed tourer. After 7 ID/DSs and 3GSs...
The best of all of those except no turning headlights..
i have a nice picture of the AMI-8
Hi Doug, Prestige is in this model because it is a petrol long wheel base, other facts are the diesel long wheel base models were called "limousine". Both prestige and limousine came with upholstery in the trunk, the rest of the models were less luxurious even in the trunk. This is a phase 2. The short wheel base turbo's came also with that "T" in the wheels. Phase one is more sought after because of the bumpers were chrome and the lens gauges. It was a rotating gage that tells you the speed with a lens. It's really cool. Another fact in these citroën is anything you see that looks chrome is actually stainless steel. Not even Mercedes had that quality back in the day. The rear window doesn't need wiper due to its concavity and the drag cx is improved with that. There's also a Infrarred remote so you can open the car with a button (not so common in that era at least in europe). I hope you review a DS23 with the semi-automatic gearbox (no clutch but you select gears with a lever behind the wheel) or a phase one. Rolls royce and Mercedes bought the patent for the suspension but couldn't match the ride quality they had. The moose test record is for the 90's Xantia V6 activa with an evolution of this suspension. Citroën is so underrated in the states and also in europe.
Fun fact, the UK television companies used to mount their TV cameras on top of Citroens when filming close up moving scenes such as horse racing, due to the vibration absorption of Hydropneumatic suspension.
you saw that in Top Gear
@@trabucusmaximus5846 I'm in my mid-sixty's, I used to go to the horse racing meets decades ago.
@@trabucusmaximus5846 - No, in those days you could see it on the road. I'm not from UK and that was a common sight.
Example bicycle races, etc. There was always Citroen's with cameras.
Understanding the level of comfort goes beyond words. For people not used to a decent Citroen.
But let me put it this way. Rolls Royce used Citroen type suspension made under license! That should put things into perspective. ;-)
I consider myself a pretty well rounded car guy. and i never heard of this suspension. mind blown
@@mvd4436 My father had it on his CX and later on his BX Sport (a Citroen car almost as cool as the SM which had the Maserati engine) .
Heavy suspension but really comfy.
"Why they didn't put cup holders in, nobody knows."
Imagine thinking the French would ever degenerate to the point of consuming their _cuisine_ in the car...
Cars are for smoking.
@@jorgendnilsson This one certainly is.
No, this is a specific citroen problem. I had 2 citroens ( year 1999 and year 2011), no cupholder in the first. In the second the cupholder was under the armrest. I had to buy a chinese aftermarket cupholder...
We take coffee during the breakfast, before taking the car to go to work. And when we travel we never take coffee inside the car. Coffee means little quantity/ high quality product, social moment around a table or in a bar, should not be like a soda in a huge mug. Cultural difference.
Water is cuisine?
It’s not weird…..it’s technical ingenuity and brilliance, way ahead of it’s time and in some cases even ahead of modern day cars.
Absolutely! Loved mine.
Das beste und gemütlichste Auto, das ich jemals hatte und ich hatte 23 Stück.
Und du hast mit allen vollkommen recht.💪
Not really lol
@@MiccaPhone so explain "lol"
@@Samy-bu1ze Just watch the video.Then you know for yourself. Just ONE example: If the indicator is activated by a simple button that is more difficult to reach than the ergonomic indicator levers known in all other cars, this looks just plain stupid. Even more so if you consider that the indicator always has to be deactivated manually. All this is as unergonomic as could be. There are many other examples, just watch the video objectively without the filter of confirmation bias.
This car is just beautiful and the design so futuristic for its time !
I had a Rover SD1, which had a similar design.
Film makers in the 70's and 80's use to LOVE to use these as camera cars because of the ultra smooth ride.
the BBC had a whole fleet of DS safaris ( estates) for filming horse races they kept them running for decades because nothing could come close to their ride
Those seats are a piece of art. Seriously.
Really though. Gorgeous and look comfy AF.
And exceptional comfortable !
Reading that hurt my head lol........
I find them offensively ugly, and an eyesore in e gorgeous car like this. But who cares if they are as comfortable as Doug says?
@Hayden Royer There ain't any sarcasm, these leather seats are really more comfortable than any seat of today's cars. Of course they aren't enveloping at all nor suited for curvy little roads. But in their natural environment (highways and autobahn), there's nothing like this, especially with the hydropneumatic suspension. I've practiced these seats many times and even my sofa isn't as comfortable.
I had two of these in the 80's and they were fantastic!
Not only the suspension was wonderful, but also the view you had as a driver.
Yes, there was only one windshield wiper, but it was in rest position on the passenger side, so not in view... Steering could be done with one finger and the fact that the steering wheel automatically returned to straight ahead meant that you got tired much less quickly after hours of driving. All the passengers I took with me also loved it…. None of them ever said it was a weird car.
I had 3 of these cars over the years, very nice and easy to drive, loved it. Fun facts: the suspension is connected with the breakes and the power steering, the cars weight hold up the system pressure if an engine failure accrued. So if you drive down a hill and the engine shuts of, you have full functionality for your safety for at least a mile, enough to stop on a save place. And if you have a flat tire, pump it up to high, set the extended jack under the frame, lower the car and change the wheel. The car is wider on the front axle and the engine makes it nose heavy. So if you don't have a spare tire, take a wheel from the rear, the car recognizes the missing wheel and pull up the axle wing and you can drive home on 3 wheels at a slower speed. Later after the CX came the XM, it was still a little bit quirky but they choose to go more normal for the market.
Citroen: "Oh let´s make the inside door handles feel like triggers from a gun."
American Carmakers seeing this: "WRITE THAT DOWN, WRITE THAT DOWN!!!"
Looking for this 👌
Gun trigger door handles could look very natural on say a Ford F150 special edition :-)
Also American Carmakers: "Oh, and make the lock operate like an AR-15 safety."
American carmakers are not able build a car a realizzare car. They are able to ctrl-c , ctrl-v europeans
Didn’t know American car makers made guns.
“The aftermarket cup holders where designed for this particular car”
_...shows eBay cup holder with wood glued to the bottom wrapped in electrical tape_
Came here for this comment. 🤣
Well technically that statement is true, the design went through several phases; "Grab a regular cupholder, glue a piece of wood to the bottom, make it fit with tape".
like the person designed it specifically for this car with the wood piece that fits in that weird slot
So true 😂😂 i'm french, and i know a lot of things about this car.. it was really popular at the time.. but it's the first time i see this cup holder.. he make me smiling when he said this 😂 no hesitation, it's from ebay 😂
By the way, Fun fact, in the 80's, french cars didn't have cup holders.. because it was not allowed to drink or eat in a car for security.. and fast food like Mc donald's was not really popular in france at the time.. so we didn't use it ;)
...and not a comment of it at all .
So beautiful... I always thought of the CX as a spaceship. Citroen lost its magic with or after XM. And look at SM, it's so cool. Long live the avantgarde corkiness of Citroen.
Yeah i agree, c6 was a good try to come back to this era but people just want ordinary, cheap, boring and expendable small cars or SUVs. C5 mk1 was kind of a cool car to me but not nearly as cool as cx or xm.
Other benefits of the self levelling adjustable hydropneumatic suspension includes.... Nothing compares to it in floods, snow, mud. Raise up to help elderly get in or out.
Car has load proportioning brakes to suspension.. squats under heavy braking according to weight of passengers and luggage... No nose diving. Actually increases weight to both front and rear wheels under heavy braking. Superb high speed tourer. Fast 135 mph.
Front or rear flat tire, no loss of control.
No jack needed for changing tyres.
Best tow car ever... With long wheel base and self levelling suspension for towing a boat or caravan.. very stable. Also don't need to wind jockey wheel to disconnect or connect... Raise or lower suspension.
If given basic suspension service of changing the LHM fluid and filter every few years is very reliable. Screw off spheres once every ten years to keep ride standard.
Fun fact, Citroens were used as camera cars at the horse races because of how smooth and stable the ride was.
Also they where very popular bases for ambulances for the exact same reason.
Someone's been watching Top Gear
Some say, the egg basket is still in one of those 2Cv 🤓
how...STABLE the ride was? STABLE you say?
hmmmm that’s some top gear stuff
Fun fact: my grand-uncle was a diplomat in Paris in the eighties. He owned one of these that he bought new. When I went for a visit as a kid, he drive us around in it. Coming from the US, it was totally wild. That suspension: it absolutely glides over the cobblestone streets. Incredible.
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Don't you
From the
Oh man this review brought tears to my eyes. My now deceased grandfather in Sweden had one of these in the late 1980s and I have been in love with it ever since.
خدا پدربزرگ تون رو رحمت کنه.
So this beauty rolled off the line in 1974.... Just look at the competition back then. This thing looked like it came from space.
These cars were extremely comfortable for long distances and, the suspension was actually not complicated at all.
Citroen were true innovators and pushed the boundaries of design and development decades ahead of the competition. Try and get a Citroen XM V6 3.0 24 valve out for testing.... They were incredible cars.
Man the cushion pattern in the back seats is so cool. The styling of 80s “futuristic” cars is unmatched.
Good
From a
citroen was rad about their styling in the 80s tbh, to be the karin was still a concept
It’s actually more 70’s styling, look at the seats they look just like a 70’s chic leather sofa and armchairs. So cool and very very comfortable!
@@channex8179 well, it was launched in 1974
This is how they thought 2021 would look in 1986.
lets make 2021 look more 80s-early2000s Retro and less 2010s Windows 10 Dentist waiting room
1986 > 2021
This is the first time I've seen a famous person reply to a youtube vid!
That said, I really love the 80's ideas about how the future would look
lol
Chocolate Rain!
Legally, this is not a Citroën, since they left the U.S. market in 1974. It was sold here by one of several companies which bought CXes in Europe, converted them to U.S. specifications, and sold and serviced them here through their own dealerships. Many people who bought these cars in the U.S. then converted them back to European-spec headlights and reapplied the Citroën badges that had been removed by the importer. Despite lack of advertising, high prices (about $40k to $50k), and legal pressure from Citroën to stop doing so, about 1000 CXes were sold in the U.S. by these importers in the 1980s.
BTW, Mr. De Muro, Citroën is pronounced like “seetroenn”, not “citron”, which is lemon in French (the fruit, not lemon as in bad car like we say here in the States. In France, that would be “une voiture pourie”-a rotten car- or sometimes “un four”- pronounced “foor”- literally an oven, which is about as immobile as you can imagine). This car was all of it in French luxury back in the day, along with the now largely forgotten Peugeot 604 and the Renault 20 and 30 models. I had the chance to rent a brand new Xantia in ‘95 when I was over there, and that was a blast.
The rear window is concave so the airflow keeps the window clean, even in the rain. No need for a rear wiper.
Yeah nah it doesnt work. Take that from a c6 driver
@@WinWindowS.K.Julian c6 what? Corvette or Citroën?
@@krokodilsnoppen 2007 citroen c6, Idk how many Liters v6 petrol
That was the idea. Maybe it worked in France. Like the front wipers, which had two speeds: 1 for rain, 2 for truly miserable weather. That means, of course, truly miserable *French* weather. Which, in every other country, would be considered "mild rain".
@@klausstock8020 Yes, the CX wiper was never really adequate for proper torrential rain.
The only company in the world which understood what a "suspension" meant
bruhhhhhhhhhh
@@aakashbalajis9411 The Citroen system was so advanced and effective that Mercedes and Rolls Royce used it under licence...
Even the humble Citroen 2CV had an unique suspension.
Suspension so good that Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz used it.
Dude the ground clearance is better than some suvs
I had one of these when I lived in Germany ~ VERY COOL car! In the eighties this looked very new-age and beautiful. So comfy! It made Autobahn driving feel much safer.. once we were driving about 95 MPH and there was a BRICK in the road which, at 100mph would be a serious issue, husband barely turned the steering wheel and the car glided around it, no problem at all (hydropneumatic suspension) which I’m really surprised you didn’t mention. - I mean, how many cars lower themselves when not in use and raise up again when you’re ready to cruise Europe? It was a great car however there was ALWAYS something that needed to be repaired, but I LOVED it and wish I still had it.
I had the turbo diesel version about 25 years ago. It was super comfortable on long journeys, did 39.4 mpg no matter what way you drove it, Very quirky until you got well used to it especially the steering. The steering got heavier the faster you drove but if you braked hard to turn at a junction you suddenly had super light steering. It almost felt as if the steering wheel had come loose.
With the suspension fully raised (use the lever between the seats) you actually had more ground clearance than a range rover but the car was rock solid ie no suspension so if you were off road you had to go very slow BUT you could go where no man had ever gone before in a car, any other non quirky car would have been stuck. When taking the kids to school in the morning we used to get tailgaters on our little narrow country road. All you had to do was step on the gas till the turbo kicked in . The boys used to watch out of the rear window as the tailgaters disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Apparently the aluminum blocks were sometimes prone to be a bit porous and eventually I let my cx go. Memories, memories!!
Finally, It's about dam time. If you want "quirky" it doesn't get much more quirky than old Citroen's. These cars are all over Europe, especially in Paris. I love the unique French and Swedish cars. This looks so beautiful. Im so glad the owners took great care of it over the years. Thank you.
He really should review a citroen ds too
Actually,you won't find many old citroens in Paris..But out in the countryside it's a different story.
@@kajbyman3006 Don't you love an old C15 in the woods
How’s the reliability on these things?
@@arthemis1039 Well, C15 is one of the citroens i have never had..So i don't know 😁But i have had 2 Cx,3 XM,15 BX,1 AX,2 C5......
We had the estate version. When the Berlin wall fell I was a small child but my father was very excited and we loaded up the car with all sorts of capitalist trappings and drove from the Ireland to East Germany to see our family. Seeing this brings back happy memories of that time! 🙂
@thomas really nice story :D
What happened to it tho?
from Ireland?? wtf
Erich Honnecker had one :)
@@ultimathule3834 well, there is a ferry....
Weird, yes, but so so cool. This car does things differently and with fearless inventiveness. I bet this drive stays in Doug's memory way more than most cars.
After having a CX for some years I discovered traffic calming speed bumps dissappear completely when you go over them at high speed. The trick I learned was when seeing one in distance was to pre-plan to accelerate hard just before it and then slow down after cleared it. If you have a CX try it, you'll be amazed!!
It works on xantia and C5 as well. I do it all the time on my old c5 but i find it to be dangerous as fk, not for me but for the pedestrians who always assume I’m gonna slow down so they carelessly cross the road until they see me going like madman on those speedbumps, had a few situations where i scared the fk of some people. Although i have to admit i love to do it when some gay BMW driver gets on my back, i get over the bump full throttle and watch him in mirror smash his suspension trying to keep up with me lol.
This car has to win the quirk award for 2021 at the end of the year.
What about the Blackwood
@@siddharthsrinivas6271 that too
This will take the cake
I still got the gemera
Having ceased production in 1989, that honour would be post mortem...
170 HP from a 4 cylinder back in 70s and 80s? That's actually wild!
Its on par with the best 4 cylinders of the time, if we exclude high end sportscars or rally specials. So pretty good, yeah.
Probably as much as American V8 barges had at the time. The Mercedes 450 SEL had only 225hp. That's top of the range S-class (not counting the very rare 6.9)!
A rather large 4 cylinder though.
2.5 litre turbo charged, so not really
True. 1984 Mustang 5.0l V8 had 165 bhp - and probably did half the mpg as this 2.5l 4 cylinder.
I had a cx in Australia ( mid 80's ) sedan ; a lovely car indeed , The SM was the flagship luxury model . Citroen's have always been designed with safety as a priority .
I remember driving this thing for 10 hours on bad roads (gravel approx. 2 hours) with 1 short stop and I was still feeling fresh and fine afterwards. Driving sofa we called the Citroen.
I don’t think I’ve ever clicked on a video this quickly
🇫🇷 !
It feels illegal to click on it the second I get the notification
Same
See Hubnut for many more cars like this.
Literally yes
"Citron"
"Poogeau"
You can tell these brands aren't very well known in the US
How are they actually pronounced?
@@BabyJesus66 americans cant pronounce them
@@BabyJesus66 Sitroén(emphasis on the e) and Pujò
@@BabyJesus66 [sitʁɔɛn] [pøʒo]
CitroÈn
Pyzho
There is absolutely nothing weird with this car. 😇🇫🇷
A covered wheel on an 80’s Citroen is weird but a covered wheel on a mclaren speedtail is amazing and innovative ok doug
Yeah, sometimes it’s the badge that makes the difference...
A McLaren speedtail goes fast enough where it matters
@@deepfriedpotatoes9888 it still matters when u do 100kmh maybe not as much but citroen to this day still often have a better drag coefficient than modern cars, take the ds, cx and sm. All the little bits combined help, maybe not for speed but for fuel efficiency.
When I was a teenager, my father had such a CX. Friends and I used to simply spend time in it, in the garage, listening to 80s synth music. We pretended we were in a spaceship. Good old times...
curious which song. leme listen to the best one back then
My dad had one too . A white CX Special no less 😀
@@TheJnkh If you want an idea of what we listened to in the 80s and 90s in a Citroen in France, on a Sunday, on the way to visit grandma, I invite you to listen to "Tomber du ciel" by Jacques Higelin or "Vertine de l'amour" or "Madame rêve" by Alain Bashung.
@@TheJnkh I Ran by flock of seagulls
Hi! We had a CX when I was a kid.. 80's.. trust me, it IS a spaceship!! :)))
Back in the day Honda looked at this said you know what we should make a hybrid
You could say they had some insight
I can't unsee the similarly now.
Then chevy made a volt that looked like a civic
I can't say I have seen a better pun about the Honda Insight
haHAA
I had a Cx and a insight at the same time they looked very family
It has always been a joy to drive these cars and I actually miss them. The suspension mechanics are quite simple to understand, one just would need a special tool to fix it even at home. They were not delicate, just different.
The one thing you probably had no time to try is the CX over 500 miles with 4 people and luggage…The level of comfort is unique. Although tons of Turbo badges the car was designed for comfort. But yes quite a few odd things like the spare wheel placement (next to electric cables) the radio, the trunk instead of a hatch and the steering which was hard to get used to. Great video!
Fun fact : Rolls-Royce bought the patent for Citroën suspension and they're still using the same patent
AFAIK they didn't buy the patent, only licenced it from Citroën.
@@simonh But Rolls-Royce weren't allowed to use the variable height function though.
I used to work on Citroens over 40 years ago.
Joe is right.
Not only RR/Bentley, but Mercedes Benz also used it in their S-Class (without the variable ride height though).
Range Rovers use hydroactive suspension too.
The drag coefficient symbol (as in math formulas) is actually Cx (at least in French). Citroen didn’t name it the Cx for no reason ;)
Not just in France, it's international.
@@kaisersoymilk6912 we learned Cw in switzerland. but were weird af too
Can’t wait to hear the story about the SM
@@SheepRacing oulalaaa... :-D
the rear window is also a part of that cx ;)
The tire placement was a Citroen feature on all models from the 2CV onwards; in the days before crumple zones the spare wheel acts as a significant way of diverting energy away from the passenger compartment .BTW this model was the LWB version (you can immediately spot the added length of the rear door if you know your CX's). And if you raise the suspension to it's highest point you can change a flat without a jack due to the self-levelling although it's not recommended).
I drove one in Greece in 1980 and it was AMAZING !!!! It was like a spaceship super smooth ride and amazing breaks too bad they're not sold in North America.
American: This car is too weird.
Citroën sales dude: It has gun trigger door handles.
American: Take my money.
Rather underrated comment lol
You won the comment section.
This car must be a sale hit in Texas : )
@@kieskop4684 or chicago
And if American buy that car iam sure he add real gun to that door handle:)
My Auntie had one of these. These were popular here in the UK as Horse Racing Camera cars because of the suspension and smooth ride
Yes, always Citröens from the beautiful DS before this. The original steadycam...
Engine bay mounted spares are more practical than ones located in the trunk, because they're always accessible without luggage in the way. It's not that hot in there...
Also it gives the front wheel drive a little more weight for driving in snow.
I love this quirky car. I also loved his reaction when Citroen didn’t even bother to put the gear pattern on the knob.
It's like Citroën said "Oh, we see how everyone else is building cars, and we understand the reasons. And we reject it all." Very French. I like it.
Apparently Rolls Royce licenced the design of the suspension.
At the other end of the scale check out a 2CV.
The suspension is great, they stoped using though, :/
The thing is, early Citroens had lots of innovations that were copied by others. But I guess at some point they ran out of popular ideas, so to keep up the reputation the new innovations became more far-fetched and weird.
I hate it
very citroen
The rear windshield is concave so as to let rainwater go off of it faster when the car is moving and the air flows over it and, as a result, rearward visibility is not impeded by any raindrops that could stain it otherwise. That's why the CX (edit: and the C6 and the 2nd generation of the C5) has no rear windshield wiper.
bro how did doug miss that he usually knows these things
Wow that is really cool thanks
You're welcome! :-D
Yeah, it really got me thinking! How come Doug forgot about such a detail? It's one of the details that defined the overall design of the CX!
@@alekvassinskiy1286 Hate to say it but he usually doesnt. I like him, but he doesnt do all that much research into the cars he reviews. There are tons of similar quirks he has missed over the years. Still one of the best for showing unusual stuff though.
@@alekvassinskiy1286 he's ignorant about those things !
Hi from France, So cool to see one of these in the other side of the Atlantic. Regarding the suspension, actually it has been develloped by Citroën since the launch of the Citroën DS in 1955 :)
The way he’s crushing the driver seat with his arm is bothering the shit out of me.
Cars like this are why I watch Doug in the first place. Not high end supercars
It's not weird, it's AWESOME !!! My uncle has one and it's one of the best cars ever made! Greets from Serbia 🇷🇸, Jokić's country !
No worries, to Doug weird=awesome.
@@manlymantis101 right 😂
Man thats awesome and i fully agree ! This is probably the best french car ever made and its shockingly reliable.
What model does your uncle have ?
Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪
@@aaronw.332 It's CX 25 GTi Turbo, 1985. with 122 kW or 164 horse powers. It's so fast, it can't reach a top speed of 220 km/h and that's like ( 137 mph ). It has 2.5 L fuel - injected I4 with turbocharger and intercooler. Trust me, so so good ! 👍
@@vuckomrakic3760 thats great man, i've never been in a Turbo. My dad has one it was our daily driver back when i was in highschool. But that was in the late 2000s so a CX as a daily driver was lets just say unusual.
But it's not a Turbo and not the prestige.
It's the Standard 2.5 litre petrol with 89 Kw, not much power but its a delight to drive.
Oh and probably best of all, it's the break. It's rediculous, it's literally a giant empty stylish brick and you just have to love it.
6:25 I like so much how front of the car is lowering auto-magicly. Had a C5, best car i ever had. I was regularly driving through a fields and never stuck. Crazy suspension. I had fun factor 10 out of 10 :D
This car was a spaceship in eastern europe in the '90. My favorite car ever. Black paint and brown interior was epic. Best looking seats and dash by far. Thank you Doug for this, brings back some memories....i highly apreciate
LOLOL Yeah back then in places like Hungary/Romania it must have been exotic.
Gotta say though, Eastern European cars were built to be bullet proof. They accomplished that.
If You've never rode one, You can't even comprehend the smoothness. It's like driving a cloud.
it's the only car I've slept while riding in excluding my dads Audi when I was a child, but it turns more into a Titanic when you get on an onramp lmao.
Cloud, or a flying carpet from the fairy tales... wonderfully smooth for sure.
@@Eden-NoEye yep, works incredible for my kid too. AND my wife. (... on our XM)
@@michalniebyl3404 ohh nice, didn't the XM even get the electronic anti roll control?
@@Eden-NoEye i thought only the xantia activa had that?
The aftermarket cup holders that were “made for the citron” is legit just a set of cup holders with a piece of wood and electrical tape lmao
Lmfao
Citroen
He's not wrong, those cupholders were made for the CX. They were just made by one of the previous owners in their garage.
Lmfao 2007-2013 Silverado/Tahoe cup holders just strapped into a Citroen 😂
18:20 I think they wanted to give the front passengers the option to put all windows down because when the weather is nice, I personally love doing that. Also, given that this is an 80's European car, it wouldn't surprise me at all if A/C wasn't standard in this and if you got the more basic model, you may have wanted to put all windows down in summer. I guess they figured those switches were too far away for the rear passengers to reach though so they added more.
That style of Citroen car seat is my all time favorite car seat. I've always wondered if they're as comfortable as they look.
this is why I'm subscribed to this channel
I am for so many reasons and this is one lmao
Fun fact: The Citroen CX gave its door mirrors, as donor parts, to: McLaren F1, Jaguar XJ220, Lotus Esprit V8 and Aston Martin Virage.
Imagine 15 million car that uses bus taillights and a door mirrors that was from a shit box😂
@@ramovx7726 wouldn’t call citroen cx ”shitbox”
Also gave it`s front wheel bearing to Ferrari 328 and some 308 models.
@Ken Norcott just like my 2001 S500 uses the same keyfob as a 2020 Ram transit van
@@ramovx7726 this is not a shitbox
I remember this brand of automobile when I was stationed in Europe back in the 50s and 60s it was a hell of a automobile Dan and I believe it’s still is.
I"M Romanian and just passing by to say I absolutely LOVE French design.
The "quirks" that keep being highlighted are really incredible strokes of genius.
He didn't even mention that the wheels can be replaced without using a jack.
Sometimes I wish they would remake old cars more or less as is, just with modern safety features
@@kami0000 Really??? That's intriguing!
@@Frejborg you put the suspension in high and then fit a prop. I think they will even drive on 3 Wheels. Check out videos of DS
@@AndyK.1 is right. You raise it, put a stand underneath the car, and then lower it onto the stand. Done
I bought a Green V6 Avantime if you ever come to France ! :D
Le gratin du YT Français se retrouve chez daddy doug !
Yeah,but he said many times he won't travel to another place just to review a car,there are some exceptions:if it's exceedingly rare like the ferrari enzo,or if he's in that place for other reasons
@@Invaders757 en même temps Doug c’est le gratin du Ytb mondial 😍
I bought Vel Satis 3.0 d ! Greetings from Montenegro!
@@Uilliam56 i know, but if he ever goes to Europe to test a rare car, that’s worth the trip, I’d be glad to bring the Avantime for him to review 👌👌
This car owns the record of the moose test. Check it out!
I like this Citroen model, and the C6 is a very nice and comfortable car.
thats the xantia activa, not the cx
If you thought the dashboard is quirky, you should have a look at the dashboard on a Citroen GSA, which was around at the same time. It had all the typical controls around the steering wheel housed in two 'Coke can' pods. Again, next to a single spoke steering wheel.
Interesting factoid - the wing mirrors on this family car are the exact ones found on the $1m+ Jaguar XJ220 supercar. They come from the same OEM part manufacturer : )
Cool factoid! I just looked it up in google images and you're absolutely right! However not all CXs used the same wing mirrors, I think there were at least 2 variants.
Those seats are gorgeous.
Maybe you will look like a waffle after sitting in them?
They are really nice, Doug should've commented on them more. They look very comfortable, and inviting.
@@Frejborg yep, look like really nice lounge chairs.
The Citroen DS which preceded this car was probably the most incredible leap forwards in car design in the history of cars.
Probably, it certainly is in the running.
The DS is unrated AF
@@GoldenCroc agree
Someone needs to lend Doug a DS, or an SM. Just so long as it's an example with swivelling headlights.
Actually ds was elected as the most original car in the history of cars.
I owned one of these about 20 years ago. I loved the experience of it. I’ve since gotten into restoring VWs and Porches, but if I knew then what I know now about sourcing old parts and fixing old cars, I’d still have it …. and probably a DS as well.
Class looking motor ! Not surprising as the DS is considered the most beautiful car ever made. Would look well as a full ev .Nothing else like it on the road.
It’s like somebody told the people at Citroen that cars have headlight switches and door handles, but they had never been in another car before. I love it.
Yes! This!
They probably are better function wise than most others, since you can use them without letting go of the steering wheel, and have a firm grip of the door even when opening it. Shame it didnt catch on. Sometimes people are just a bit to conservative.
Can we just appreciate those magnificent seats for a second ?
Agreed
Here in the UK, they looked great but the seats all fell to pieces.
I remember lots of these cars going to auction when they were still a current model.
LOVELY seats, but sunlight made the cloth decay. All the fake velvet turned to dust.
The trim fell off because it was badly glued.
We can talk about reliability of any make of car. Ive seen different makes of cars to break down.
As for the citroen being different, its okay being different.
@@raypurchase801 The seats on Prestige versions aren't fake velvet but real leather, as good as the Renault 25 Baccara Connolly leather seats.
TBF, even on BMW series 3 or 5 of the same era you can also find shitty fabric seats that aren't even comfortable. From a 1982 316 e21 owner.
@@chucku00 I accept your comment. Liked.
Most certainly a weird review with the weirdest collection of 'weirds' and 'quirkies' I've ever heard 😄😅😂. In Europe the CX is regarded as one of the most timeless cardesigns ever made. And to my opinion that's true! You can spot one up here rarely, because of their low quality rustprotection. But when you see one, it still has a very modern appearance, and like you said, it always draws attention.
I had 2 CX Prestige, one a Series 1 and the other a Series 2. Wonderful cars . Never thought of them as weird but then I was a Citroën devotee from day one. The steering system was called 'Diravi' by the way. Jacques Chirac, the President of France loved his CX Prestige and resisted calls to change it. Citroëns of that era, and the DS before were innovative and not boring , not aimed at 'turnips'(excuse my cynicism). They were described as the 'thinking man's car'. Probably why Homer Simpson never owned one. Lol😁
My dad bought a car like this from the first owner in Italy back in 1987, it was just 3 years old. What a great car it was. By the way, the "Prestige" means it has a longer wheelbase than the standard version.
Oh i knew something wasnt „right“ with the dimensions
_And opening the door is like using a trigger on a gun..._
Texans: 😲
Texan: “Cool, I’ll take it!”
Some old BMW models, like the E12 and the E21, also had door latches which were operated with a lever inside the handle. Only that you inserted your hand downward, and you could pull the lever with all four fingers. Very comfortable.
Texans: "Got it. Lever-action carbine."
Americans*
You actually "trigger" off the ride lol
Smells like The Second Amendment.
Hey Doug, I had the GTI version of the CX, absolutely loved my car, completely wacky but very stylish and I loved the shape
I had the Rover SD1, I thought it was the best car in the world for luxury and cruising. It was similar in design to this Citroën CX.
My father had the 1988-90 CX PALLAS GTI TURBO ll, they made a model with a CX /SM Masarati engine, 2 doors, totally comfort cars, i miss these cars, my Lotus Cortina 65, Ford Escort Mexico 1600 BDA, RS 2000, Fiat 131 Abart ( rally ).
Great review! Thank you! Side note: the horn is not bizarre 😛It is the double tone of a classic French luxury car (lower-range cars have/had a single tone). Each car-producing country in Europe had their own tone. The Germans and Swedes had (still have) a more deep tone, the Italians a higher pitch. In today's global world the brands choose a horn sound that is more similar to what people everywhere else are used to, but older European cars you can still recognize which country they're from by the sound of their horn.
A Citroen is like an alien spent some time on Earth, went back to their planet and tried to create a car from memory.
Wonder if he has seen the CX before the instrument cluster was modernised. Lol
*with zero knowledge on how to plan and build cars, that could be repaired later... oh, and build them as crappy as possible, to actually need a lot of repair too... this is what PSA doing right up until today...
@@sanyey8405 Dunno about you, had two ph1 C5, one was sold with almost 400k km and no repairs ever needed apart from normal maintanance, and the other one with 335k km because I had some electrical issues and didnt want to bother... Now I own a C-Elysee with almost 60k km in 2 years (almost nothing on 2020) and no issue!
@@LewdProductions Citroën’s are like houses. When you maintain them, they stay perfectly fine and will work great, but if you don’t take care of them they’ll fall into horrible disrepair
@@whenwhen2284 Totally, love and manteniance, and they will work forever. Have a friend with a Megane Scenic (the first one) with the 2l automatic... That thing it’s falling apart, and cyl1 eats the sparkplugs, but it’s been 2 years and continues to run... French cars just don’t give up, unless you give up on them
As a French I am quite proud that you reviewed this amazing car. I personally own a Citroën CX, BX, ZX and a Xantia and I am about to buy a XM. They are really good pieces of engineering.
Good pieces of engineering? Nope. I disagree.
@@DctorSkillz1 hater
Please tell me you have Instagram or something
Please tell me you have Instagram or something
@@DctorSkillz1 When Citroen was independent, It was probably the most avant-garde company in the automotive world.
My father had a CX. I loved it: most comfortable ever. This model looks like an extended length variant, thus the odd roof shape. The standard length model had better lines, like a road shark. I believe the extended length was designed for elected officials, CEOs, etc. The "Prestige" label is a giveaway..
I had a BX model dated 1988 . It had a peugeot 1.9L engine and flew like a rocket ! I drove it from the Uk over to france and the hydro pipe leaked, but due to the pipe being copper it was easy fix !
The whole US car industry couldn't reach at any time the height of Citroen's mythical creativity.
Lmao. That car is a fucking turd
totally agree, !
no car can match the smooth ride and confort of the CX
@@THEDUDEABlDES , ever ride one? You'd never ride an american again if you had...
@@THEDUDEABlDES Average american cars of the era were not able to follow the CX on the highway or/and mountain roads... Some of them should find it difficult today...
Vivement la Xantia
Activa de préférence
Faudrait mobiliser des loulous américains ...
En tout cas ça fait plaisir de vous voir ici
On l'attends on l'attends hein
Ce serait le feu! Salut Vilebrequin
Et la SM
i had the same car in the late 90s, i loved it, It is a fantastic car, with seats like a sofa. Very comfortable, and a lot of power.
In 1993 4 friends and I drove from Málaga (southern Spain) to Paris and back in a CX, same colour. Great memories of that great trip
You may laugh but that hydro-pneumatic suspension was so good that even Rolls Royce uses the same system for it's super smooth, floating ride !
and Bentley......................
Afcorse it is what else
ok amigo teach us how to make one on my datsun
And Mercedes-Benz
The most comfortable car I ever owned. You forgot to mention that you do not need a jack to change the wheels either.
How does that work?
@@trehacksync lift the car up place a support by the wheel, drop the suspension and the wheel will lift up.
@@martineyre5350 yeah that's pretty cool
@@trehacksync You can drive them on 3 wheels too. ua-cam.com/video/O7AijogHtRc/v-deo.html
My dad had a bx19 gti when I was younger. Ace car. Rapid and stylish at the time. Would love one now...
Doug: Aftermarket
Everyone else: Homemade
Im french maybe one day i will get one of those weird retro Citroen. They look like they come from the future, also 170 HP at the time in France was more than some sport car, anything above 100hp was considered sporty