Every Monday we’re serving you up a delicious slice of pure postulation. That’s right, once a week we’re using our expertise and passion for the subject to predict what motors are destined for classic car stardom. This week, Parkers finance editor and former Classic Car Weekly news editor, Murray Scullion proposes the Citroen Saxo.
No. Genuinely. We’re being sincere with this one. Have you seen a mint VTS lately? While they may be rare, time has been extremely kind to the little Saxo. Admittedly, any Saxo you buy now might still reek of stale McDonald’s and Buckfast. But surely that’s all part of the charm?
The important thing with this car is that with prices still sensible, meaning it can lure in a whole type of demographic that’s extremely important to the classic car movement - the first time classic buyer.
Citroen Saxo: History
The year is 1996. Football was coming home (it wasn’t), you were either Blur or Oasis or dead, and maybe you’d driven to France via a train by now. And while the rest of the world was going Cool Britannia crazy, back home, young people were in need of cheap cars.
In steps the Citroen Saxo. Although essentially a Peugeot 106 underneath, the Saxo had a few things going for it to set itself apart. Its styling was a lot less mumsy than a 106. And for a good chunk of time, it was offered with free insurance. As an 18-year old you could go into a Citroen dealership and walk out with a VTR on finance, with your insurance, all bundled into one payment. Understandably, they sold like hotcakes.
Of course, free insurance and cashback finance deals weren’t the only reasons the Saxo was a roaring sales success. The VTR and VTS added some much needed street cred to the Saxo range, and also helped spread the Max Power lifestyle. The Saxo was facelifted in 2000. But as 1990s hedonism came to an end, so did the Max Power image (although the magazine continued on until 2011). After a poor Euro NCAP result, the Saxo was replaced with the C2 in 2003.
Citroen Saxo: Rarity
Rarity is a hallmark of the classic scene, and a surefire way for a car to be classed as a classic. From a buying perspective, it helps make owners feel special on the road too. While the Saxo was not rare in the slightest (as many as 1.5 million were sold Europe-wide) it does have two determining factors on its side.
As mentioned, yoofs in grease-stained tracksuits could get into them cheaply. So many were wrapped around a tree or car park barrier. Secondly, special editions were numerous. What this means is that while there are still thousands of Saxos on the road, some special editions are not represented at all well.
For instance, a quick scan of howmanyleft.co.uk reveals there are currently more than 1000 VTRs left on the road. Despite this seemingly low number, this is actually the second-most popular. Which makes a lot of sense considering these were, and are still, the second fastest, second most expensive, and second most desirable model.
Fans of rarity will therefore go for cheap special edition models like the Mischief (below), Scandal, or Spree. According to howmanyleft, there are only six Spree models still on the road. Who knew?
Citroen Saxo Mischief – what a great limited edition. Did you have one?
Why should you care?
The Saxo is actually very easy to rationalise buying. Mostly because they’re great cars, and cheap. The VTS is the fastest model. At its most potent it pumps out 118bhp, which must have felt nuclear powered back then. It still shifts today, and there’s no escaping that the Saxo really feels like there’s no inertia whatsoever, mainly because of its sub-tonne kerbweight.
Other petrol engines include a 1.0-litre, a 1.1-litre, and of course the VTR, which used the same 1.6-litre as the VTS, but was detuned to around 100bhp. Hell, there was even a 1.5-litre diesel if you truly hate getting anywhere on time.
Rear axles are basically perishable items, and a lot of models did without ABS. Oh, the interior feels and looks like it’s made from the plastic bags you’ve had in a cupboard from when Safeway was still a supermarket.
The CCfS Classic Car Prediction
The VTR and VTS models are rushing towards classic car status like a Spice Girl to body glitter. Mint ones, and there are plenty around (Saxos, not Spice Girls) are changing hands for £3,000 - £5,000. While this seems like a lot for a Citroen hatchback, it’s worth noting that Peugeot 106 Rallyes are worth well over £10,000 now.
More workaday models can expect to take a bit longer to reach the status of classic. The litmus test of any classic car would be if it is accepted for a classic car show. Not concours style events held on the lawns of private schools, but the ones organised on village greens by moustached men sporting natty anoraks.
We reckon you could turn up to your local classic car meet in a mint MK1 Citroen Saxo VTS and not be turned away at the gate. And even (early) mint diesel models will most likely be welcomed within the next five years.
