Xsara Series II

Larger, teardrop-shaped headlights denote the Xsara facelift, which also added a two three-door hatchback variants and significantly upgraded mechanicals.

The 1.8s vanished, replaced by an 83kW/150Nm 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve four-cylinder engine paired to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic gearbox.

It powered both the Xsara 1.6 five-door and manual-only VTR three-door ‘Coupe’, which also became the cheapest new Xsara.

Equipment levels included dual airbags, climate control air-conditioning and anti-lock brakes.

Meanwhile the Xsara 2.0 five-door hatchback now produced 102kW/194Nm in five-door hatchback mode and included stability and cruise control systems from mid-’02.

But the fastest Xsara was the 2.0 VTS three-door ‘Coupe’, using Peugeot’s 124kW/196Nm 2.0-litre engine and mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Still, sales were never strong, and it wasn’t until the radically styled, Peugeot 307-based Citroen C4 arrived in early 2005 that the company once again found its small-car styling mojo.