CITROËN AMI - Flash Drive

Granted, this isn’t the type of vehicle that you would normally expect to see in a 4x4 magazine, but when the opportunity arose to drive it, I couldn’t resist, and of course, share my experience with you.

What on earth is it?

Well, Citroën are keen to say that it isn’t a car, it’s actually an electric quadricycle, and therefore in some other European countries it can be driven by 14 year olds without a driving licence. Thankfully that doesn’t apply to the UK, kids on electric scooters are a menace enough!

Power

The Ami’s electric motor produces just 8bhp and has a restricted top speed of 28mph. Although the official range is only up to 46 miles between charges, Citroën says that you can plug the Ami into any normal (Type 2) electric car charging point, and a 0-100% charge will take around three hours.

On the road

Designed with city centre driving in mind you will certainly want to avoid fast main carriage ways, but tootling around city streets and even country lanes it’s actually quite nippy. Though, whilst carrying two hefty blokes up some of the steeper hills during our test route around Giggleswick, it did struggle a little. The village name, by the way, wasn’t lost on me!

With a wheel literally at each corner and a 7.2m turning circle it’ll turn on a sixpence, and measuring just 1.39m wide and 2.41m long, you could even park it nose-in to kerbs.

Is it comfy?

Despite being tiny, there’s actually a fair bit of space inside the Ami, enough for a 6ft 2”, 18 stone fat boy like me to get relatively comfortable, and the doors are wide enough to allow easy access and departure.

On the subject of the doors, the drivers side is rearhinged (suicide door), whilst the passenger door opens normally. This means that identical doors can be used on either side of the car to keep costs down. The Ami also has opening windows as standard. When I say opening, they lift up like the 2CV and Dyane of old.

Because the steering wheel is fixed in place, and the driver’s seat only adjusts forwards and backwards, the driving position can take a bit of getting used to. Saying that, within a few hundred yards or so I was settled in and enjoying the experience.

As the Ami isn’t designed for long journeys you’ll find the seats are quite basic with only a little cushioning or back support. They're also slightly off-set, so there’s enough shoulder room for two adults.

Practicality

There are storage bins in both doors, and a fair bit of space on top of the dashboard. If you have something bigger to carry then there's 63ltr of space in the passenger footwell for your shopping, even a carry-on suitcase.

If you’re considering an Ami for work, you’ll be please to hear that there’s a commercial variant in the range called the ‘My Ami Cargo’ (£7,995). The difference being that the passenger seat has been swapped out for a cargo module that doubles as a work table.

Oh, and you will notice there’s no gearstick, instead, just by the drivers left thigh you’ll find a small bank of switches; N for neutral, R for reverse, and of course D for drive.

The range

For £7,695 the entry-level car is simply called ‘Ami’ and comes with LED headlights, a sunroof, a USB charging socket, a heating and cooling fan and a few simple exterior styling details. You have options of either orange, grey or blue colour packs to choose from.

At £8,495, next up is the Ami Pop, which includes the orange colour pack plus bespoke black trim and a rear spoiler.

Topping the range is the Ami Tonic at £8,695, which gets a khaki and yellow colour scheme, plus black headlight surrounds, bespoke wheel trims, roof rails and bumper trims. Inside you get a set of dashboard storage boxes, floor mats, a passenger bag hook, 2 door storage nets, a black central separation net, Smartphone cradle and a DAT@AMI box for connecting your smartphone to Ami.

Seriously though, what is it like?

As the prices suggest, it’s basic, and there’s no doubt it looks comical, but there’s a serious side to the Ami.

It’s made of plastic, so it's lightweight. Apart from different lights, the front and rear are identical, and as I mentioned earlier there’s only one type of door, which means it opens from the front on one side and the back on the other, so on the design front it’s very clever.

Of course it has limitations. It’s limited to 28mph, the ride is bumpy and it’s not quiet. The transmission hums and the sound of whatever the tyres flick up into the wheel arches can make you jump!

There’s no rear-view mirror, just two small circular door mirrors, and the Ami has only one windscreen wiper and single-speed blower - which is loud.

That said, it’s very easy to start comparing the Ami to other electric cars - but as I said at the beginning, it’s actually an electric quadricycle, so it’s really unfair to compare the two.

Overall it’s cheap to buy, cheap to run and actually quite fun to drive. All Amis come with a two year unlimited mileage warranty, plus a three year or 25,000 mile warranty for the battery.

price: from £7,695 more at » https://www.citroen.co.uk/ami