The French automaker launched a facelifted version of the Xsara lineup in the Fall of 2000, three years after the model's introduction.
While Citroen had high hopes to gain traction in the European compact segment with the Xsara, the results were not as good as expected. Thus, the car manufacturer tried to improve the car's look and please more customers. So, besides the three- and five-door versions, the car was also available as a station wagon named Break.
Since the customers complained about the beautiful but almost useless slim headlights for the non-facelifted version, the carmaker addressed the situation and made the headlamps bigger. That led to a new design for the grille, which received a single slat and the enlarged double-chevron badge on it. Depending on the trim level, it got body-colored rubber protections or unpainted ones. At the back, the reversing lights received smoked lenses that blended into the taillights. At the back, the Xsara Break also got new taillights with smoked reversing lights.
Inside, the main difference was for the sound system, which got a CD player and wood inserts on the dashboard, center stack, and center console, depending on the trim level. In the back, the split-folding bench allowed customers to enlarge the trunk area.
As usual with facelifts, the technical platform remained the same, although Citroen improved the engine's lineup with a 1.6-liter 16-valve unit for the gasoline versions and upgraded the 2.0-liter turbo-diesel powerplants.