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Citroen ZX 16V: The rarest 90's hot hatch you never knew existed!
5K views
Jan 1, 2025
Lets set the scene...It's the 1990's and you're in the market for a hot hatch, the Saxo's and Clio's are too small, Astra's old hat, 306 S16 and GTI-6 is too expensive to insure, can't find a Pulsar GTI-R...The 16V Citroen ZX isn't even on your radar. Your loss! Enjoy a bit of b road thrashing and a real world review of what I think is the ultimate "forgotten" hot hatch of them all. The 16V Citroen ZX! This car sums up exactly what it means to drive a hot hatch, it's all about the balance of power, chassis, brakes and driving feel. I LOVE the 16V Citroen ZX, and if you drove one like I do...You would too.
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0:00
the 16 valve Citron ZX is a car that not
0:04
a lot of people know exists I mean did
0:06
you know that they made a 16 valve
0:08
Citron z x did you know about
0:11
that no you didn't because everyone on
0:14
their dog thinks about the Citron ZX
0:18
Volcan and oh the Volcan all the Diesels
0:21
were faster than the petrols citon did
0:24
such a bad job with this car that the
0:27
underlying theme of any ation you have
0:30
about a Citron ZX is that the Diesels
0:33
were faster than the petrols because no
0:35
one knows the 16 valve exists W you got
0:39
have one of these you had a diesel one
0:42
it was quick than the
0:43
petrol if someone said to you 16 valve
0:47
citon hot
0:48
hatch Citron saxo is it nah 16 valve ZX
0:56
the 16 valve ZX is definitely the
0:59
ultimate forgotten hero of the hot hatch
1:02
era mechanically this thing was exactly
1:05
the same as a Perse 306 s16 which was
1:08
the Forerunner of the GTI 6 they have
1:12
got an amazing chassis everything's set
1:15
up so well they look Wicked they drive
1:18
great they've got just the most
1:20
beautiful Chic '90s dorky looks and the
1:23
build quality on them I think is way up
1:26
from a
1:27
perso there's a bit of a theme Here here
1:30
with my Audi A6 that I posted the other
1:32
day before we go
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crazy how many miles has this thing done
2:04
205,000 miles that's right this 16 valve
2:08
ZX has done over 200,000
2:13
miles I just like high mileage cars also
2:16
quick shout out one wiper
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gang so let's go for a drive in
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my favorite weird car from our
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collection of weird cars
2:30
it's just I love it it just looks so
2:34
good like what how are these so slept on
2:39
to work out why I think the 16 valve
2:42
Citron ZX is the ultimate unsung hero of
2:46
the 1990s hot hatch boom you've got to
2:50
drive one you can tell
2:52
immediately this
2:54
car the chassis go go go oh man
3:01
man send
3:04
it this is going to be the best video
3:07
we've ever done on the best car we've
3:10
ever
3:11
bought when I started doing this video
3:15
and I was saying I was going to do it
3:16
this morning I was like yeah I'm going
3:19
to drop a few hints in there that it's
3:21
for sale no no I'm not selling this car
3:25
this car's Wicked you I just love this
3:29
car to try and get it across on camera
3:33
just quite how Chuck and on Rails this
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thing really is like I I'm I'm barely
3:39
touching the steering wheel it wants to
3:41
turn it wants to be driven why don't
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they make cars like this anymore this is
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a proper hot hatch
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man should we go and have a play with
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this mini ahead of us he's put his foot
3:52
down let's go get
3:55
him oh come on girl
3:58
[Music]
4:04
come on Minnie I'm in a 30-year-old
4:06
friendship box you can do better than
4:08
that look at him he's all over the
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road that mini in front of us is getting
4:16
dragged into every bit of camber every
4:18
bump everything and this thing it just
4:22
rolls with
4:24
it and the brakes the brakes the lack of
4:28
assistance and the fact that I am in
4:30
control of this
4:32
car yeah around the outside around the
4:37
outside
4:39
[Music]
4:46
oh this is a car that any petrol head
4:51
would love to
4:53
have once you get over the dokey looks
4:56
and the fact that you can't buy any body
4:57
parts for them and the fact that there's
4:59
like two of them left on the road once
5:01
you get past those
5:03
things you're cool now we get on to the
5:07
worst part of owning a citen
5:10
ZX when I got this car this car came to
5:14
our little collection from my dad's boss
5:18
Martin Martin I know you're going to
5:20
watch this I know you wish you hadn't
5:23
sold this car I don't care it's mine
5:27
now and you're not having it back
5:30
Martin had dug this car out from
5:33
somewhere and it had an immobilize a
5:34
problem and it wouldn't start which
5:36
people in the know know that that's
5:38
easily resolved he advertised this car
5:41
up for sale and it got so much
5:43
attention but I was like I want it and I
5:47
wanted it to turn into a fun fast summer
5:51
daily Drive kind of maybe hot it up a
5:53
little bit but then once I got it and
5:56
started driving it my brain completely
5:59
switched on that one this car now has
6:03
become an exercise of
6:06
preservation this is become something
6:09
that I'm proud of I'm precious of and I
6:12
want to keep it as nice and as standard
6:15
and as enjoyable as I can the reason for
6:18
that is because it already does
6:20
everything brilliantly once you've
6:22
learned the car's limits and you've got
6:25
it out on the road and you've had a
6:26
proper play with it and you've enjoyed
6:28
it you don't need anymore more than that
6:30
and I I couldn't live with myself if I
6:32
ruined such a great car that's so
6:35
original that's so not messed with
6:38
that's so unique I've never seen another
6:41
one I've never physically seen another
6:45
16 valve Citron ZX apart from at
6:48
Martin's cuz he's got one that's a
6:51
project I can't ruin this doesn't mean I
6:55
can't send it I just can't ruin it
6:58
[Music]
7:05
I love
7:08
it
7:12
oh hot hatch driving Heaven this 16
7:16
valve Citron z x it's not even a
7:19
question this is the ultimate unsung
7:22
hero of the 1990s hot hatch arms race I
7:27
don't know why I'm doing all of this all
7:28
the time I need to keep my hands on the
7:30
wheel cuz this thing's
7:32
Rowdy so the 16 valve citon ZX is a car
7:37
that
7:38
Citron they didn't stand a chance at the
7:42
time in the '90s the 306 s16 and 306 GTI
7:47
6 was a properly presented sporty
7:50
package and the Citron z x just like it
7:53
just looked like a dorky alternative to
7:55
be honest it's one of those cars that's
7:58
aged really well though when you look at
8:01
a 16 valve Citron z x now it will makes
8:04
sense we don't need to talk about specs
8:08
and features and equipment and economy
8:10
and all those things in this because it
8:13
doesn't matter the whole point of a 16
8:16
valve citon ZX is how it drives and for
8:20
me this offers everything that a pjo 306
8:23
s16 or a gti6 does but wrapped up in a
8:28
'90s retro Chic kind of dorky looking
8:31
package which for me makes it a lot more
8:34
endearing than a 306
8:37
gti6 I don't know about you but when
8:39
everyone tells you a 306 gti6 is the
8:42
best 9s hot hatch it makes me not W one
8:47
and the 16 valve Citron
8:49
ZX it gives you everything that makes a
8:51
306 great and none of the
8:56
downsides these are a car I just I I
8:59
could wax on about this all day these
9:02
are a car that real petrol heads know
9:04
and
9:07
appreciate I am having more fun at 60
9:11
MPH on this B road than I would
9:16
do in a gol r or an
9:20
S3 because this car is designed for this
9:24
it's not designed for doing 100 120 mph
9:27
it's designed for 40 to 70 back row
9:32
blasting fun
9:34
[Music]
9:36
oh go on girl woohoo I love
9:42
it yes more cars like
9:46
this more cars like this and the world
9:49
will be a better
9:51
place I'm just steering just just with
9:54
my fingertips I'm not wrestling the car
9:59
oh it wants to work with me it doesn't
10:03
want me to wrestle it the faster you go
10:07
the quicker you turn
10:10
in 200,000 miles baby to the
10:14
Moon Yeah the more you work the car and
10:19
the faster you go and the tighter you
10:21
get your lines and the more controlled
10:23
you are in your steering inputs it feeds
10:26
it straight back to you if I was
10:29
wrestling along at the wheel it would
10:30
feel horrible but it's encouraging me to
10:34
drive smoothly and fast and controlled
10:39
it doesn't want me wrestling it it
10:41
doesn't want to feel rockus just wants
10:44
me to play you can use the throttle to
10:47
trim the
10:51
line Martin when you watch this I'm
10:54
sorry
10:57
oh oh go
11:01
[Music]
11:06
on this is real this is real there's
11:10
nothing about this for the
11:12
[Music]
11:14
camera
11:17
[Music]
11:21
yeah this
11:23
car is something else
11:32
yes this just needs to be like a 5
11:35
minute long Montage of me just having
11:37
the best time of my
11:41
life oh yes and I'm I'm only at 4,000
11:44
RPM I've got another three to go but
11:48
this is comfortable this is where this
11:50
car wants to
11:55
be big land
11:57
anchors oh oh yes power
12:04
[Music]
12:06
on do you know what the best part of
12:08
this is
12:10
genuinely I haven't even broken the
12:12
speed limit well I say that I've
12:14
probably done about
12:15
65 I have not broken the speed
12:18
limit and I get this why doesn't anyone
12:22
love
12:24
you why does everyone rave on about
12:30
other
12:31
cars when this is
12:34
here probably cuz I can't buy one cuz
12:36
it's so bloody rare the 16 valve Citron
12:40
ZX is a car that you just can't afford
12:43
not to know about if you're into hot
12:46
hatches you like '90s French stuff you
12:49
probably don't know very much about
12:51
these these came with a variety of
12:53
engines most of them were mechanically
12:56
the same as a perso 306 s16 that means 2
13:00
L 16 valve and about
13:02
155 is
13:05
horsepower the thing with these engines
13:07
is they're not screamers they don't like
13:09
to go all the way to the 7,000 RPM rev
13:12
limit what this car loves is midrange
13:16
grunt that mid-range power the Fantastic
13:19
Turnin and throttle response that these
13:21
have coupled with the light back end
13:24
means that these are a broad monster and
13:27
once you get to to know them the dorky
13:30
9s Citron looks I think are wicked it
13:34
just looks like a big Citron
13:36
saxo I love these wheels look at
13:42
it and the iconic 16 valve badge and
13:47
that rear quarter like that view
13:51
there it's a
13:54
rousing I think the 16 valve Citron ZX
13:58
is an unbeat able package the engine's
14:00
smooth it's got loads of flexibility the
14:02
powertrain lends itself well to being a
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5-speed box the turning the way it
14:07
drives is brilliant it's every good
14:09
every
14:11
good he's got us a mackys there you go
14:15
that's it for me the 16 valve Citron ZX
14:18
doesn't get the recognition that it
14:20
should it's every bit as good as a p 306
14:24
GTI or an s16 the chassis is amazing the
14:27
turnings great the back end's nice and
14:29
light the engine is perfectly matched to
14:31
the gearbox the way that it's got a bit
14:33
more torque and that flexibility to the
14:35
power means that when you're out on a B-
14:37
Road giving it a bash it just pulls and
14:39
pulls and pulls and they're pretty
14:41
reliable as well fair play this one's
14:44
done 200,000 miles it has been very well
14:46
looked after and maintained however
14:49
cheap to run easy to buy parts for great
14:51
looking car easy to work on have I said
14:54
easy to work on it's really easy to work
14:55
on this car mint and unfortunately
14:59
though if you're in the market for a 16
15:01
citen z
15:03
x that's pretty much your only option at
15:06
the moment I don't know anyone that's
15:08
selling one I mean I'm not selling that
15:10
but you're not exactly just going to go
15:12
on piston heads and find one for sale
15:13
are you just honestly just watch this
15:15
one's going to pop up for sale on piston
15:17
heads like now if you're if you've got a
15:19
16 valve ZX that you want to sell after
15:21
me putting this video out is the time
15:24
that is the time to advertise it do it
15:26
now I'm just rambling on now basically
15:29
if we want to wrap this up in a nutshell
15:31
this car's mint you probably didn't know
15:33
about it and that's a you problem 160
15:36
inv valve ZX who' have thought
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