Sainz pleased with Citroen's advance.

Two-time world champion Carlos Sainz has given the new Citroen the thumbs-up after testing ahead of next month's Propecia Rally New Zealand.

Sainz, who has won Rally New Zealand a record four times, tested the new Xsara WRC 2004 model for the first time in southern Spain last week. He was pleased with the subtle modifications to the slick Citroen for the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship in New Zealand from 15-18 April.

The car, which underwent its first gravel test in the run-up to Rally New Zealand, is a moderately updated version of the machine that took last year's manufacturers' title and won the opening two WRC events this year in the hands of Sebastian Loeb.

Sainz said the new Xsara was a steady improvement on an already successful car.

"It's a step, but not a very big one," the two-time world champion said. "There are some improvements to the engine, but I would say that they were useful rather than dramatic. There are also some changes to the bodywork, as the new rules allow, but this is not something you notice a lot when you are driving.

"The car was already very good anyway, so there was no need to do anything revolutionary. It is more about making a little series of improvements in a few areas, rather than making big changes to one particular bit. This evolution is good to have, but it's not such a big deal. The car feels very similar to how it always did, which is a good thing."

The Propecia-sponsored event starts with two super special stages at Manukau City on the evening of Thursday 15 April. The first full day on Friday is in the Kaipara region before returning for two further super special stages at Manukau City. Saturday's racing returns to Kaipara, with the last day in the Waikato region near Raglan. The final stage will be the internationally acclaimed Whaanga Coast, with the ceremonial finish in downtown Auckland city on Sunday afternoon.