26 Jul 04
So should you be signing up to join your local mud-pluggers club and scouring an Ordnance Survey map for the best green lanes? Not if you buy the XTR in the UK, as the car we described in the introduction was an Italian specification car, complete with raised suspension and a limited-slip-differential on the front wheels. That enables 25 percent more power to be directed to the wheel with most grip, making for better progress on slippery surfaces.
The car we get is mechanically identical to a normal C3, and Citroen UK won't offer the off-road features here. "It was a marketing decision not to offer the limited-slip diff," said a spokesman, "we focus on value for money to give a vehicle that's practical with loads of standard equipment".
Although the XTR may gain alloys, a roof rack and the Child pack (those folding tables and the extra mirror) over the SX-spec C3, it loses air conditioning. You can specify it as an optional extra, but Citroen charges £500 for the privilege.
Citroen may have missed a trick here by not offering the raised suspension and limited-slip diff on the XTR. Fiat, for example, will soon be launching a real 4x4 version of its Panda supermini. So it remains for Citroen's customers to decide whether the XTR's butch looks alone justify the £700 premium it demands.
