Citroën AX GT review – the ultimate forgotten 1980s hot hatch

Launched in 1987 and arriving in the UK in 1988, the Citroën AX GT is a lesser-celebrated member of the 1980s hot hatch revolution and indeed, an underappreciated member of the French hot hatch subset lead largely by Peugeot’s 205 GTi and Renault’s 5 GT Turbo. But when our experienced testers drove all three back-to-back, they walked away most charmed by the little Citroën.

The range was facelifted in 1991, with catalytic converters and fuel injection being added for emissions reasons but dropping power to 75bhp. This, not long before the 100bhp AX GTi arrived as the GT’s replacement in 1992.

Citroën AX GT in detail

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The little 1360cc four-cylinder engine has a single twin-choke carburettor, develops 85bhp and 86lb ft of torque and propels 722kg of tin and plastic to 60mph in 9.2sec and – eventually – a top speed of 110mph.

The three-stud 13-inch steelies are the embodiment of Citroën’s modest but highly effective focus on efficiency. Innovative unpainted self-coloured plastic bumpers add to the sparse but chic look. You might expect the AX to be the work of a French design team, but Italian styling house Bertone was responsible. Weight saving was central, but so too was aerodynamic efficiency. The original base model AX weighed just 640kg and had a drag coefficient of 0.31, a remarkable figure for a small, outwardly boxy hatchback. No wonder the diesel set a Guinness World Record for fuel economy, averaging 100mpg on a 1000-mile drive from Dover to Barcelona.

Unsurprisingly the AX is a featherweight. At 720kg it’s in S1 Lotus Elise territory, the kerb weight or poids à vide measured with the car unladen with no fuel, but ‘wet’ with engine oil and coolant. It’s a pleasant change from the ‘*weighed in a low-gravity atmosphere with all lightweight options’ method preferred by some of today’s supercar makers.

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The interior is basic but stylish. Plastic abounds, but the crisp lines and simple layout fit well with the AX’s focus on clever functionality. It has some fun quirks, such as the stowage bin designed to hold a wine bottle that’s moulded into the door card. The instruments are another highlight, especially the dinky little rev counter that has a dial that would sit nicely on your wrist.  

Build quality is from another age. A good sneeze would probably dislodge the glovebox lid, but the velour seats have a naïve plushness. Built in 1988 this car is from a time when the smallest trim changes were strangely significant. I can only imagine the frisson of pride and excitement this GT’s first owner would have felt at the racy red piping on the seats and pinstripes on the dash.

Once settled into the driver’s seat behind the striking three-spoke steering wheel, you’re struck by how small and delicate the car is. The pedal box is cramped and offset, and the long gearstick feels like it could apply too much leverage on whatever it’s attached to if you’re not gentle with it. This is French cars as they used to be: soft and squidgy seats, a high driving position and quirky dials.

Driving the Citroën AX GT

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You start off carefully, feeling your way into things and getting used to the unassisted steering, which is heavy at parking speeds but sheds weight beautifully with speed. The little 1360cc TU engine – naturally aspirated, of course – is a gem. Willing and gutsy with a keenness to rev, but with a surprisingly decent response at low and medium rpm, it loves to be worked hard and really does egg you on. 

These cars have perfect gear ratios designed to squeeze the most from their engines, not hamstrung with a modern mismatch of overly long gears to satisfy arbitrary emissions and noise regulations. 

It takes some time to dial yourself into the way the Citroën handles. There’s plenty of lean and it floats across surfaces that current high-performance cars would hate, but even though it feels soft it also has a tenacious hold of the road. Not in the sharp-edged manner of a stiff, board-flat, low-profile-tyred hot hatch, but with an elastic, fluid progression. As lean increases with load, so does the sense of grip, then once the suspension nears its limit of travel the AX adopts a unique stance.

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Nose down, tail up, the outside front and rear tyres deflect from the rim while the inside front is barely in contact with the road and the inside rear waves well clear of the tarmac. It’s a bit of a tightrope walk, especially when you feel the steering effort reduce and the angle neutralise as the AX relinquishes its grip and yaws into a perfect four-wheel drift. Care is needed once you’re in this zone. 

It needs commitment to get it there, but if you carry too much speed you’ll have to lift abruptly, at which point you need to be quick to add more corrective lock and quicker to wind it off. There’s a reason AX GTs are rare…

Despite this on-limit edginess you can’t help but drive the Citroën like it’s 1988. Much like touching your plate milliseconds after the waiter has warned you it’s hot, you can’t help but provoke the GT into doing its thing. Like most of the fun things in life, where there’s jeopardy, there’s joy. Corners – preferably those which crest and tighten – are the AX’s playground. 

Values and buying checkpoints

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A quick scan of How Many Left reveals endangered species levels of scarcity, with just 24 cars on the road at the time of checking in late 2025. How many of these are like the early Phase 1A car we tested – that’s to say first year of GT production with pre-facelift styling, basic steel wheels and no rear wing – is hard to say, but it must be single digits.

Rarity does not necessarily equate to excess expense, however. Top money for the GTi that succeeded the GT is around £15,000. The GT can be had in very reasonable condition for £4000-£7000 and borderline concours condition still for less than £10,000. More than paying for a GT, the challenge is simply finding one.

AX GTs have always been rarer than their more famous Peugeot 205 GTi and Renault 5 GT Turbo rivals and the rate of attrition has skimmed those numbers down over the last 40 years. The cars left will more than likely be tidy and well looked after, but check MOT history nonetheless and look for evidence of specialist care, especially when it comes to cambelt changes, distributor and carburettor work (on earlier cars). Be sure all the gears slot in smoothly and that the clutch has good bite. 

You’ll want the bodywork to be near perfect too, as rust can appear on the front and rear wheelarches, around the fuel filler, sills, the inner wings, under the bonnet and behind the front lights. Needless to say, check for dodgy repairs and accident damage. Prangs will have taken a good few of these off the road for good. Some will have survived their brushes with the scenery, albeit having not been returned to perfect condition. Good MOT history should denote a healthy AX GT where suspension and steering are concerned. Tinny when new, the interior plastics don’t wear well, going brittle and being prone to cracking.

Specs

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