Citroen introduced a facelift for the Xantia range in 1998, improving the car’s look and the engine lineup.
The Xantia was remembered for the Activa version, which managed to provide a 1.2 g on the skidpad, which was the best in the world at that time. It was still better than most supercars from its era. Worth mentioning that the C5 Corvette from the same era managed a 1.0 g on the slalom test. Citroen achieved that astonishing performance thanks to its advanced active suspension system, which hardened the suspension for the outer wheels.

For the 1998 model, the French carmaker shaved most of the car’s edges. Since it didn’t go with the flow of the bio-design trend, it kept its identity. The narrow and angular-shaped headlights received a rounded upper corner towards the car’s center. Citroen changed the hood and included the grille on its front side, while on the non-facelifted version, it sported it on an independent body panel. A reshaped front bumper featured an additional cooling area on the lower side, flanked by the fog lights.

Inside, the carmaker improved the materials on the interior. Its dashboard featured the same dashboard with the instrument cluster extended over the center stack. Citroen placed the unessential gauges for the fuel and temperature on the sides of the instrument panel, leaving the speedometer and tachometer in the driver’s main visibility area.

Under the hood, the carmaker dropped the 1.6-liter gasoline engine and left the improved, 1.8-liter four-banger as the base version. It also improved the V-6 powerplant and raised its power by two horses. Not much, but with lower emission levels.