Miguel Sánchez
CITROËN AX AND ZX PHOTOS: CITROËN MEDIA
They are not the most beautiful, nor are they the most powerful or technologically overwhelming, but they are at the forefront of what cars were designed for after all. Thrill? Well ... That's very relative, we actually mean being useful and popular, making transportation accessible to the masses. And yes, there cars like the Citroën AX and ZX are almost unbeatable.
Now 20 years have passed since the cessation of production of both, something that helps us remember two of those cars with which who more and who less has had a relationship thanks to their prodigious sales figures -more than 2.400.000 units in the case of the AX- and that, less than a year after the first centenary of the French brand, they tell us about Citroën's constant commitment to motorize the population. You know, as the advertising slogan used to say "You don't know what Citroën can do for you".
CITROËN AX, SURVIVING OIL
In 1979 the world experienced an economic upheaval. And it is that, in a society where the importance of combustion engines powered by petroleum derivatives is vital ... Imagine what it means in just two years the price of crude oil increased by 270%! That conditioned from top to bottom an automobile sector not entirely accustomed to controlling parameters such as consumption, making it necessary for the appearance of new utilities where fuel saving was the central idea of their designs.
In this sense, Citroën engineers - assisted by the French state itself - got down to work in 1979 with the aim of creating a practical compact, with great habitability, small size, new mechanics and excellent fuel economy. The truth is that meeting the conditions was not easy, even less if we take into account that those responsible for the project had the responsibility that it entails. succeed such a successful model like the 2CV.
The challenge was such that only after 7 intense years was the model finally ready, presented at the 1986 Paris Motor Show under the name AX. The wait resulted in a vehicle with a fully eighties aesthetic, full of angles and straight lines, but at the same time very light -640/695 kgs- and aerodynamic. Necessary conditions to achieve the adjusted consumption of your new 4-cylinder TU gasoline engines.
At last Citroën managed to create a worthy successor to the 2CV, opening an era of commercial success in which the AX made a leading niche within the urban compact segment, all of this without giving up a GTI version capable of delivering 100CV and a very nervous behavior, as well as being pioneer within the electrical with a version "Zero emissions" appeared in 1993 with a range of 80 to 100 kilometers.
CITROËN ZX, THE UNUSPECTED KING OF SANDS
One of the things that has always caught our attention about Citroën is the contrast that for many years had in its range. On the one hand, you found popular Spartan utility vehicles like the 2CV while, without an intermediate step, you jumped directly into huge sedans. like the DS. This was fixed in 1970 with the GS, of which he is half heir with the Xantia the birthday boy Citroen ZX.
In the mid-80s, Citroën began to create this mid-range passenger car to balance its range and thus achieve a vehicle capable of competing commercially within the most successful category of sales in Europe, the compact. With that goal in mind, 1991 finally saw the emergence of the Citroën mid-size car under the name ZX.
A denomination that, although it came to cover that contrast typical of Citroën, paradoxically created another: the one that comes to mind when, when you hear the letters ZX, you do not know whether to think about the calm and conventional tourism designed for day to day. or the mythical dune eater who won the Paris-Dakar on a total of 4 occasions. That was not really free, but part of a studied marketing campaign for the launch of the model.
In short, 20 years without two essential models to understand a brand that will be 100 years old in no time. A good opportunity to consider, if you want to indulge yourself in the form of a car, whether or not to acquire an AX GTI. Sounds like fun…
