The ZX marked the return of the French manufacturer Citroen into the C sector of the car market.
It was available in 3 or 5 doors and a station wagon, which was named Break. The platform was well-rounded, with a four-wheel independent suspension that made the car very comfortable for its segment. One of the particular features of the vehicle was the possibility to slide the rear seats forward to increase the trunk space or to the rear to improve legroom. Strangely, vehicles without this option had a bigger trunk since the rear seats had a full folding bench instead of only the rear backrest folding.

The car was very advanced for its era and even had a sunroof, power windows, and standard power steering. Power windows and air conditioning were available and a radio-cassette player was fitted as standard from the second trim level up.

The engine range was composed of eight variants, both gasoline and diesel. The base version was a 1.4-liter with 75 hp, while the top was a 110 hp 1.8-liter gasoline unit. On the diesel side, it had a 1.9-liter in two output versions: a 68 hp and a 90 hp, respectively. Their main advantage was that they were very fuel-efficient.