Apparently when choosing the name of Citroen Saxo, which replaced w 1996 model year AX, efforts were made to eliminate the existing letter designations of models. As a result, a name associated with a saxophone was chosen, a moody instrument, beautiful sound. The theme of the saxophone and the music playing on it is often used in commercials for the sake of being nice, somewhat sensual associations.
The modernization of the Citroen Saxo included minor adjustments to the appearance of the exterior – the shape of the bonnet is different, now with two ribs; The air inlet grille is decorated with an enlarged factory mark; the fenders with clearly defined edges of the wheel arches are widened; larger headlights with integrated turn signals were used, which improve Fr. 20% the effectiveness of the dipped beam. The styling of the rear part of the body with new lamps is also different, a recess for a registration number and a spoiler in the VTS version.
To further improve active and passive safety, the body structure has been strengthened, and there are stiffened beams in the doors to prevent the intrusion of vehicle parts, who hit the side. The energy-consuming foam elements filling the bottom of the door have also been increased, whose task is to direct the side impact force onto the door skin plates, which reduces the load on the body frame. Changes to the interior of the car led to the enlargement of the headrests, now taking place in the lowest position on the seatbacks and not obstructing the view to the rear. This solution will be required by future safety standards. Revised pyrotechnic front seat belt pretensioners tighten them in tension 25 milliseconds and shorten by 10 cm, a po 120 milliseconds the voltage decreases, which prevents injuries, caused by the pressure of the tape on the chest and diaphragm. The passenger's airbag has a switch necessary for transporting a child in a child seat in the front seat, lsofix catches can be used for fixing.
In the interior of a modernized Saxo, all its versions have new functional storage compartments, instrument cluster with digital clock, electronic tachometer and speedometer (in the VTS version with white discs), whose odometer displays the distance, that remained until the technical review. Unfortunately, the placement of the passenger airbag eliminates the handheld, Lockable glove box in the instrument panel.
The assessment of the interior ventilation system is lowered by the fact that the supply of air from the outside is not cut off, eliminating unpleasant odors while driving behind trucks and a rarely seen slider control system.
Much attention was paid to making the interior quieter. Driving a test car with an engine 1,4 dm3 in the VTS version, I could convince myself, that to 3500 engine crankshaft revolutions in 4th or 5th gear you can talk freely with rear seat passengers without having to raise your voice. Choosing deafening materials, noise was also effectively damped, which is formed during the rolling of the wheels on the road.
Lemon Saxo, typical representative of segment B, is in practice a four-seater car, that allows the carriage of a fifth person only over short distances. The width of the rear seat and the distance between the seat and the backrests of the front seats do not guarantee high travel comfort for rear seat passengers. The fifth passenger has only the lap seat belt at their disposal. It is worth noting how easy it is to get into the rear seats of this three-door car – not only the chair moves, but also the fastening of the lower part of the seat belts. Overall, however, the interior of Saxo is not very spacious, which is probably due to the small wheelbase of the floor plate used. Luggage compartment with a capacity 280 dm3 (after folding the seats 410/955 dm3) it is not limited by the housings of the suspension components (torsion bars and horizontal shock absorbers), which makes it easy to transport various types of rigid suitcases and cartons.