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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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