Engine and trim options
The XM was initially only available in 5 door hatchback form, with estates arriving in 1992. It originally had 5 engine options, including a six cylinder in a Citroën saloon for the first time since the Traction Avant in the 1950s:

2 litre 115 bhp carburettor
2 litre 130 bhp injection
V6 3 litre 170 bhp injection
2.1 litre 83 bhp 12v diesel (which was never available in the UK)
2.1 litre 110 bhp 12v turbo diesel
and three different levels of trim.

In 1993 the CT (Constant Torque) petrol Turbo was introduced. This used a Garrett T25 turbocharger with intercooler which runs with the boost pressure managed by the engine ECU to allow a higher compression ratio for increased torque low down in the rev range, giving the CT great pulling power and increasing refinement, especially when mated with the new ZF four speed automatic gearbox.

In 1994, with the launch of the series 2 XM, Citroen introduced a new 2.5 litre turbocharged diesel engine which gives 217 ft. lb of torque as low as 2000 rpm. Later, with the introduction of a new 24v V6 engine, the XM was offered with a ZF auto adaptive automatic gearbox, whose computer looks at your driving style and selects one of six different gearchange programs to suit your driving style. The wonderful speed sensitive power steering from the SM and CX (DIRAVI) and available on LHD v6 XMs was dropped for UK cars and replaced by a conventional system.

For the XM, Valeo made headlights which blended into the cars sleek styling. They were called “complex surface” headlights and used a computer to improve performance over conventional designs and in a rectangular shape. The performance proved to be controversial and Series 2 cars had improved performance, but only for left hand drive markets - sales in the UK were judged too poor to justify making a right hand drive version.

Series one cars were available in the following engine sizes:

PETROL:

2 litre carburettor, 115 bhp
2 litre injection, 130 bhp
2 litre injection with catalyst, 122 bhp
2 litre TCT turbo, 145 bhp
3 litre V6, 170 bhp
3 litre V6, 24 valve, 200 bhp

DIESEL:

2.1 turbo diesel, 110 bhp

Series two cars were available in the following engine sizes:

PETROL:

2 litre 16 valve, 135 bhp
2 litre TCT turbo, 150 bhp
3 litre V6, 170 bhp
3 litre 24v V6, 210 bhp

DIESEL:

2.1 turbo diesel, 110 bhp
2.5 turbo diesel, 130 bhp