Up next in 10
Is it time to sell the Citroen BX 16V? A last drive, or reviving the love?
40K views
Jan 1, 2025
I love the 16V BX and we've had this one for a while. It's a great daily driver, a unique car and rare with it. But it's been sat stagnant for a few months now we are in winter. I mentioned in the BX OC the other day that I was thinking of moving it on, and immediately my inbox lit up. But one man in particular ticked the boxes as the "right" guy to buy it. But when I dug it out today to get him some photos across, I was filled with regret and confusion. So where do we go? Do I move it on and start new adventures, or keep the car I love and continue to enjoy it?
View Video Transcript
0:00
in a game of cool cars that your dad
0:02
used to own there's not much more
0:04
polarizing than a Citron BX but this
0:07
isn't just any Citron BX this is Pooh
0:11
the 16 valve citon BX this is by far one
0:16
of my favorite driving cars that we've
0:18
got in our little collection the 16
0:20
valve z x is good but the BX offers
0:23
something that no other car does when
0:25
people talk about Citron bxs the first
0:28
thing they say is about the suspension
0:30
and yes the hydraulic suspension setup
0:32
is fantastic however there's so much
0:35
more to these amazing cars than squishy
0:37
soft suspension the 16 valve model comes
0:41
with the mi16 engine which is legendary
0:44
there's not many of these left on the
0:45
road and the reason for that is because
0:47
everyone ripped the heart out of them to
0:50
put in perso 205s and 309s back in the
0:53
day under the Bonnet we've got an almost
0:56
160 horsepower 1.9 16 valve engine those
1:01
shuts are really loud 1.9 16 valve
1:05
engine almost 160 horsepower but the way
1:08
these deliver the power and the torque
1:09
that they make is phenomenal they're
1:12
really smooth and really Progressive low
1:14
down but up top they are an absolute
1:17
screamer when you couple that with the
1:20
stronger stiffer suspension spheres that
1:22
youve got in a 16 valve BX among other
1:25
changes but we're not going to go there
1:27
it gives you a completely unique unque
1:30
Driving
1:31
Experience and they're Wicked I love
1:33
them rise
1:38
Citron this is in its normal ride height
1:41
now what's cool about these is they have
1:44
a hydraulic damper and then they have a
1:46
suspension sphere up here and they've
1:48
got two across the rear axle as well and
1:51
those act as shock absorbers basically
1:54
they act as the like The Springs in the
1:56
car as the fluid compresses the nitrogen
2:00
charge that's in the sphere it creates a
2:02
bouncing effect that was a dodgy motion
2:06
I love
2:08
citrons so you get the
2:12
bounce and then it levels itself out
2:15
super quick on the back one of the
2:18
things that you can always test a good
2:20
Citron BX by doing
2:26
this if
2:28
I say on the
2:31
boot sags
2:36
down how cool is
2:41
that so the ride height is
2:45
self-leveling now it will drop back down
2:47
again now it knows there's no weight on
2:48
it and we're back to normal cruising
2:50
around and driving how good's that if
2:53
you're towing if you're loading it up
2:55
with stuff this will deal with it all
2:58
and we couldn't talk about a 16 valve
3:00
citrum BX without mentioning these
3:04
seats these seats are so unbelievably
3:09
comfortable I've driven this car on
3:11
insanely long Journeys and they just you
3:15
get out the other end and you don't even
3:16
know you've been in the dashboard slopes
3:18
away from you so the interior feels nice
3:20
and open and Airy and they've got
3:22
massive glass
3:26
space look at the size of that front
3:28
wind screen it's it's
3:33
enormous poo is cool obviously that's
3:38
why it's called
3:40
poo poo is a fairly famous car in the BX
3:44
Owners Club probably memorable because
3:46
of its number plate however I recently
3:49
had a moment of weakness and I mentioned
3:51
to someone that I was thinking about
3:52
selling Pooh I had an influx of people
3:56
message me and one person stood out and
3:58
I've had a bit of a weird thing to day
4:00
in that I promised him that I would do a
4:01
video I would show him around the car
4:03
I'd get it up on a ramp cuz poo is
4:05
incredibly solid underneath and I take
4:07
it out for a drive and I would show him
4:09
what he was inquiring
4:11
about and now I'm in a real like quandry
4:14
should I sell Pooh should I sell my 16
4:16
valve BX so that's what this video is
4:18
all
4:20
about so we're going to go for a drive
4:23
in Pooh the BX and we're going to work
4:25
out
4:28
whether I should say sell poo or keep
4:31
poo and I'm going to leave it down to
4:33
you guys to
4:35
decide the money that I would get from
4:38
selling poo frees up a lot of money to
4:41
buy other things but is there anything
4:43
out there that I Want More Than This 16
4:46
valve citon
4:49
BX so we're going to drive it home
4:51
tonight do some running around in it and
4:54
then drive it back to work tomorrow
4:56
morning and then we'll make a decision
4:59
let's show you that amazing 16 valve
5:02
mi16 engine that's in
5:08
this there it
5:11
is so this won't look like a normal
5:14
engine bay there's
5:16
Paul it's not a normal engine bay Paul
5:19
is not a normal engine bay hang on you
5:20
can be in this Paul doesn't know about
5:23
my plan but we have discussed my
5:25
reservations about selling poo so what
5:28
I'm going to do is I'm to make a video
5:30
now and I'm going to put it on YouTube
5:31
and I'm going to title it should I sell
5:33
my 16 valve BX and I'm going to let the
5:36
audience
5:37
decide I'm going home to vote to vote on
5:41
whether I should sell it sell sell sell
5:44
um Paul's driven the be You' driven this
5:46
once haven't you drove it when you first
5:48
got it so so it was yeah as it was as it
5:52
came to you that's all that's like our
5:54
origin story isn't it so there's a
5:56
really weird one uh me and Paul have
5:58
been in the same circle of friends for
6:01
quite a long time I've got a friend
6:02
called Roger who um well Roger loves
6:05
Paul and I grew up listening to stories
6:07
about Paul um and uh I one day took poo
6:12
to Paul to use his four poost ramp CU I
6:14
needed to check the suspension out and
6:16
and that's actually where this journey
6:17
started so I it makes me want to keep it
6:21
more um so yeah anyway let me talk you
6:24
through this engine bay what's here
6:27
that's the suspension sphere there's two
6:29
of there that's the lhm tank that's the
6:32
lhm pump that's not that's that's the uh
6:35
rotor cap or distributor cap as some
6:37
people call them 16 valve magnesium
6:41
still yes that's the same steel that
6:42
makes the chain SCE massive long Inlet
6:45
manifold if you know anything about
6:46
naturally aspirated cars you know the
6:48
difference between short and long Runner
6:50
manifolds throttle cable so you get that
6:52
really nice one to1 action on the
6:54
throttle it's not going through any
6:55
electrics which is nice all of this
6:58
gobbins here is is um it's just
7:00
suspension isn't it really it does
7:03
have a very slight coolant leak I will
7:04
say and it probably wants a new radiator
7:06
but hey that ain't the end of the world
7:08
nice thing about these that not a lot of
7:10
people know um the bonnets are color
7:13
impregnated plastic they're not painted
7:15
and that's the same for the front and
7:17
rear bumpers and we had that argument
7:19
with young Phillip didn't
7:22
we yes we
7:25
did that's poo let's go and drive it and
7:28
see if I should sell it or not 16
7:32
valve 16
7:34
valve in France they call them 16
7:37
superpup but obviously they don't say 16
7:39
cuz that's not French for
7:40
16 right let's talk about some Citron BX
7:44
stuff so handbrake is on the
7:49
front interesting down here you've got a
7:52
lever and when you pull that lever up
7:54
you go up into raised height you can go
7:57
up into like service height you can go
7:58
down all the way to the bottom which
8:00
takes all the all the fluid out of the
8:02
suspension and just makes it drop to the
8:04
floor you've got to have an ashtray it's
8:06
a French
8:08
car got to have a coin holder it's a
8:10
French car in true Citron fashion
8:13
there's this little flap down here for
8:15
the
8:16
radio which does work heated rear screen
8:20
fog lights hazard lights rear wash wipe
8:24
it's got a sunroof which works it's also
8:26
got these really bougie little lights up
8:28
here which I love they most kind of like
8:30
art
8:30
deco the seats on a BX are unbelievable
8:34
they're the best seats ever the back
8:36
rest doesn't actually do that like a
8:38
normal back rest it slides up and down
8:41
is it sliding up and the whole back rest
8:44
itself
8:46
goes up and as the back rest goes up it
8:49
pivots up which is quite cool the
8:52
steering wheel is an interesting one um
8:54
a 16 valve BX comes with this Force foke
8:56
wheel a regular BX comes with a big slab
8:59
two stroke wheel with a ring around it
9:01
and I really don't like them lights
9:04
that's your lights on for your dipped
9:05
beam that's your main beam pull towards
9:08
you
9:10
horn has one of them very French
9:13
sounding horn wipers are on the right
9:15
and obviously this car is part of the
9:17
one wiper gang and the one wiper gang
9:19
are the best 16 Val BX comes with a
9:21
sunroof so you got two and slide it does
9:26
slide I'm not going to open it all the
9:27
way I cannot be bothered for that
9:31
done uh and then this comes across if
9:34
you want it to be dark that came across
9:37
violently that's because this little
9:39
trim ring around here it's got like a
9:40
metal trim electric rear windows
9:42
electric front windows unique thing
9:45
about bxs that I like is which not
9:47
actually Z X's do this a lot of C do
9:49
this manual mirror on that side an
9:52
electric mirror on the passenger
9:55
side things that are unique about poo
9:57
that makes it stand out to other bxs it
9:59
has an uncracked gear knob very rare it
10:02
also still has the cellophane on the
10:05
height on the height selector on the um
10:08
little panel shows you where the gears
10:10
are I quite like five-speed gearbox the
10:13
gearbox in these are known for being a
10:16
little
10:17
bit weak they've got a bit worn out
10:20
these
10:21
days the suspension and brakes share the
10:25
same fluid um the I got to be honest in
10:29
a 16 valve BX or any
10:33
BX so smooth there is very little
10:36
steering feel it's almost like the
10:38
steering wheel isn't connected to the
10:40
wheels but I like that poo does need a
10:44
wheel bearing it's got a grumbly front
10:46
wheel bearing so you might pick that up
10:48
on camera because it's a 16 valve VX as
10:52
well it's got the big spoiler on the
10:53
back so you feel like you're driving a
10:55
French Ferrari F40
11:00
I love the way that the dash slopes away
11:03
from you in a BX it makes it feel like a
11:07
really open spacious interior I think
11:10
although it looks quite dated I think
11:13
it's a very modern interior with the way
11:15
that the dash slopes away from you and
11:18
stuff the dash ble is basically the same
11:21
as like a 205 or a 309 it's like the
11:23
same basic layout it's uh I'm sure it's
11:25
like veila made these but yeah it is
11:27
veila that made these
11:30
and also because it's a 16 valve VX and
11:33
a lot of people that follow this and
11:35
know me will know I'm not afraid to
11:39
abuse a car so we take it straight to
11:43
7K send
11:45
it cuz it's a 16 Val PX that's what it
11:49
was meant for this car was meant to be
11:53
driven cuz it's a 65 PX and you can see
11:57
why they ripped the hearts out of these
12:00
and put them in 205s and 309s
12:03
because it's a hell of an engine the MI6
12:06
it is a legendary engine lots of people
12:10
um you know modify these mi16 engines
12:13
throttle bodies and bits and pieces like
12:15
that but I think just as standard I
12:17
think these are
12:20
great I feel
12:23
like I feel like there we go the roof
12:27
was look at this no right let me tell
12:30
you there's one thing you never ever
12:32
ever do in life and that is pull out on
12:35
a citrum VX because the brakes are a
12:39
onoff
12:40
switch from a driving point of view the
12:44
handling on a 16 valve BX takes a lot of
12:46
getting used to but once you do get used
12:48
to it it's
12:49
fantastic I've developed a bit of a
12:52
strategy for cornering in this and what
12:55
you do is you gently turn it in you load
12:57
the suspension up and then just hold
12:59
that line all the way through and
13:03
by good good by doing that you make sure
13:07
that the suspension's working with you
13:09
not against
13:11
you what else can I tell you about VX
13:14
other than the fact that they're Wicked
13:15
like I love this car I absolutely love
13:18
it I love driving it I love being in it
13:20
I love looking at it I love everything
13:22
about this
13:24
car and that's going to be really
13:26
obvious to anyone watching this video
13:28
like this is this is this is my car I
13:30
love it I
13:33
am acutely aware of the fact that the
13:37
money that's tied up in this BX could
13:40
fund a lot of
13:44
Adventures and that's why it's the only
13:47
reason why I've considered the
13:49
possibility of moving it
13:54
on is to fund other other Adventures
13:58
yeah they good we're all good no one
14:01
died there that's a horrible Junction
14:03
absolutely horrible Junction that
14:06
one did I'm always really conscious
14:08
about going over speed bumps nice and
14:10
slow into the X I don't like to just go
14:12
full
14:16
attack and in terms of like I did a
14:19
thing the other day about can you daily
14:20
drive a an old car I've daily driven
14:23
this like I daily drove this through the
14:26
summer last year and it was fantastic
14:30
absolutely
14:32
fantastic my kids love it as well I
14:35
mentioned that someone was interested in
14:37
buying poo and that poo might get
14:40
sold my daughter was nearly in tears she
14:44
was like no Daddy sell the ZX don't sell
14:47
poo I love poo and I was
14:49
like but there's lots of other cars out
14:52
there I'm not like I just know that I
14:56
won't ever buy another one of these
14:59
I know that with the way that the prices
15:01
are going
15:03
and the way that I
15:05
am when I sell this I'll never look for
15:09
another
15:12
one and it's not it's not like with the
15:15
16 valve Zed X where I don't really want
15:19
to sell that because I'll that I can't
15:21
buy another one there they're just not
15:23
out there these do pop up from time to
15:26
time and like there is a market for 16
15:29
Val B X's but most of them are off the
15:32
road they're in storage or they've been
15:34
restored or their projects or whatever
15:38
so to find a 16 valve ZX that's motd on
15:41
the road and kind of out and about is is
15:47
rare I've had to I've driven this to
15:50
Super Ken to uh drop off some paperwork
15:53
some work based
15:56
paperwork cuz it's a nice little country
15:59
road to get here
16:01
um what do I
16:05
do oh and my kids are here as well which
16:08
is even worse because the kids are here
16:10
and they're going to see that I'm in poo
16:11
and they know that I want to sell poo
16:13
this has all gone terribly oh
16:16
[Music]
16:18
no I've got to go inside drop the
16:20
paperwork off and not let my daughter
16:24
know that I'm in poo I'll be back in a
16:26
minute wish me luck
16:29
okay so the kids did see the BX and it
16:32
was pretty unanimous that no one wanted
16:33
me to sell poo but we're still going to
16:36
we're still going to I'm true to my word
16:39
we're going to put it out there and
16:40
we're going to see I'm going to drive it
16:42
around I'm going to take it home tonight
16:43
I'm going to take it home tomorrow and
16:44
then we're going to see what the crack
16:45
is go from
16:47
there oh this is a hard
16:52
decision this this feels like a busy
16:55
decision it doesn't feel like a personal
16:57
decision
16:59
because I love this car my kids love
17:02
this car my family love this
17:06
car I know that I won't get an
17:08
opportunity to have another one and it's
17:11
a really good
17:13
one so like all of the emotional and
17:17
personal reasons tell me don't sell this
17:23
car but the sensible side of me and the
17:27
business side of me
17:31
says you've had it you've enjoyed it
17:33
you've used it you've had a great time
17:36
with it you're going to sell it and make
17:38
a profit cuz there's no there's no cars
17:42
go up in value and in the years that
17:44
I've had this it's gone up in value I've
17:47
also done a lot of work to it as well
17:49
which has enhanced its value so it's not
17:51
like I've bought it and flipped it I've
17:53
had it for quite a long time
17:55
now and like
18:00
it's a hard one it's a hard one CU I
18:02
base everything I do on experience and
18:05
enjoyment and getting value from things
18:10
and this car now has reached a point
18:14
where its monetary
18:18
value is starting to sway into
18:23
it's enjoyment
18:27
Factor
18:37
leppo that wheel bearing is really
18:39
annoying
18:40
[Music]
#Autos & Vehicles
#Citroën
#Classic Vehicles
#Motor Vehicles (By Brand)
#Vehicle Shows