The Citroën AX was introduced in 1986 at the Paris Motor Show. In September of that year was the launch in France, in March 1987, the AX on the German market.
Unlike expect from Citroen, the AX was not avant-garde.
not surprising, as it should appeal to a broader class of customers than with its predecessors, Visa, and was succeeded LN / LNA.
primary goal in developing the AX was to provide a small car with the greatest possible interior space and minimum weight on the wheels. Especially the rear axle with torsion bars instead of the space-eating struts allowed, one for this class is very large cargo space, which one of the small car does not look outside.
The achieved small weight, the initial version of the AX, which weighed 10 E just 645 kg, is mainly due to the consistent use of lighter materials. Indicative of this may be called before all the frameless plastic tailgate.
One of the essential qualities of the AX, the new TU engines.Bemerkennswert was the simple design and the resulting ease of repair and durability of the engines, high performance were, and are not uncommon. Developed from the TU-petrol diesel (TUD) is still one of the most economical mass production of diesel engines World. The test vehicle
AX-ECO, spent with aerodynamic interference, only 2.7 liters per 100km.
The body was in the usual manner Citroën very aerodynamic. The drag coefficient reached (c W-value = 0.31) at the time of the sales start of any competitive model in its class to beat.
The use of galvanized sheet metal, Kunststoffradhausschalen and cavity sealing a high corrosion resistance was achieved.
surprised the first series of the AX with a variety of shelves and storage spaces throughout the interior, the front doors of the three-door even had bottle holder. In 1988, the first only three-door Stock AX was supplemented by a five-door variant.
learned In 1991, the AX a facelift . The most striking differences outside were white indicator lenses front, a modified rear hatch, modified bumper, side indicators and the now centrally mounted on the hood trademark. Extensive changes were made in the interior. A completely new dashboard, which could come up with significantly enhanced, a feel and quality of workmanship, was fitted.
ended in 1998, production in France after 2,424,808 copies of various versions and special models, the Work had left.
The drive motor components were in other cars of the PSA group installed. Saxo and Peugeot 106 even shared the same chassis, the same drive block and the floor pan with the Citroën AX. The models ZX, Xsara and Peugeot built 205, slightly modified, on the same concept.
Even today has been built in the ingenious suspension design, especially the space-saving rear axle, in the current models Citroen Berlingo and Peugeot Partner.
