When Citroen introduced the XM in 1989, it won the European Car of the Year award for its styling and many innovations brought along, but it needed a refresh five years later.
Designed by Bertone and technologically advanced, the XM was, perhaps, the first production vehicle with an adaptive suspension. Its qualities were beyond any other French car and over many other vehicles on the market. In terms of comfort and visibility, it could outrank most of the cars, except the convertibles. But that wasn’t enough to keep the big Citroen running and introduced a facelift in 1994.

While it was easy to refresh a badly designed car, it was tough to improve a vehicle designed properly right from the start, as it was the XM. Its wedged-shape didn’t look out of place at the beginning of the bio-design era with flowing lines. It looked different but in a good way. There was a new front bumper that lost the wide parking and fog lights. The car sported now an apron under the bumper, which diverted the air on the sides of the car. Its grille was still narrow, but it wore a slimmer horizontal slat. In the back, Citroen replaced the formerly used wing with a lip on the tailgate and kept the same value for the aerodynamic factor.

The most significant change was inside the car, where a completely new dashboard with rounded shapes replaced the wedged-shaped one used before. Citroen lost its traditional one-spoke steering wheel, which now sported four spokes and an airbag.

Citroen introduced new or improved engines to match the car’s weight and dynamic look. For specific versions, it included a four-speed automatic transmission, which significantly improved the driver’s comfort.