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The ARRIVAL of an
unusually large number of new cars on the European market -
many offering major advances in design and technology - meant
that the 1990 Car of the Year Award was very fiercely
contested.
You might assume that
this created severe divisions of opinion among the
distinguished journalists who form the awards panel. Not so,
however.
The winner of the title -
the Citroën XM - was voted into first place by no fewer than
40 of the 57 judges - an astonishing 175 points clear of the
runner-up. (Precisely one point separated the second and
third-placed cars!)
Citroën XM: European
Car of the Year 1990.
Clearly the panel agreed
that the Citroën XM fulfilled in exceptional measure, all the
stated criteria - comfort, safety economy, handling,
performance, value for money functionality and driver
satisfaction.
Their extraordinary
unanimity however suggests that here is something considerably
more than simply another highly competent executive saloon.
The scale of the XM's triumph hints at a car of singular
character and outstanding merit.
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Visually, the
Bertone-styled XM does, indeed, make a dramatic change from
the anonymity of today's 'Eurosaloon’. This car
breaks new ground in other respects, too.
A rational car in
every respect.
Those beautifully fluid
lines - and a Cd as low as 0.28-owe much to double-curvature
glass which is pressed rather than moulded a new process
developed by Citroën
The XM's unique 'complex
surface' headlights are much brighter on dipped beam
than conventional units: so the tiring (and dangerous) need
for the driver's eyes to adjust to different light intensities
is minimised.
The purely practical
benefits of innovative Citroën thinking are just as apparent
in the designer's attention to detail. It shows in the key
which folds neatly into its fob to prevent damage to your
pockets; in the fob itself, which incorporates the infra-red
'plip' for the central locking; in the independently-
controlled ventilation for rear seat passengers; in an
interior rear screen which shuts out draughts when the
tailgate is lifted …never has Citroën's ability to produce
fresh solutions to familiar problems been more resoundingly
demonstrated than in the XM.
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Newest of all though, is
the enormously heightened driving pleasure which derives from
the XM's bracingly intelligent design. For instance, the
XM offers a truly astonishing amount of space - an attribute
which is accentuated by its large area of green-tinted glass
and complemented by a brilliantly organised cabin
The definitive
executive car.
Even a brief inspection
of its lavishly equipped interior establishes the XM's right
to be called 'The definitive executive car for the
l99Os'. Every model in the range is equipped with, among
many other things, remote control central locking,
electrically-operated sun-roof, power steering and a 6
speaker hi-fi.
The 2-litre Si, 3-litre
Si and Turbo SD provide many luxury features not normally
found on mid-range executive models - these include
electrically-adjustable seats and automatic temperature
control.
Whilst the SEi and SED
models - fully airconditioned and sumptuously upholstered in
the finest leather - promise, quite simply, the ultimate
executive driving environment.
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