The same was true in Spain, where Jesús Puras won the national championship three times in 1998–2000 driving the Xsara Kit Car.

Another victory came at the beginning of the 1999 season in the Rally El Corte Inglés, where Jesús Puras competed in Xsara.

In turn, in the d'Antibes and du Var rallies this season, Philippe Bugalski won for the second time in a row.

In the El Corte Inglés Rally, Xsara took the first two places, Jesús Puras won, and Thiry was second.

It started with a sensational victory for Philippe Bugalski in the Catalan Rally, which dethroned rivals such as Richard Burns in a Subaru Impreza WRC, Didier Auriol in a Toyota Corolla WRC, and Tommi Mäkinen in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.

For the 2000 season, the FIA Council planned changes in the F2 class, in which the Xsaras competed, by increasing the minimum weight of the cars.