One of the most unique cars we were excited to see coming to the UK this eae was the Citroen Ami.
It’s not technically classed as a car but instead a two-seater large electric quadricycle, which means in the UK you can drive it at 16 years old with a special licence. There are some countries in Europe where you can drive one at just 14 years old without a licence.
Citroen Ami Power and Performance
The Ami is not the vehicle for you if you’re looking for an electric vehicle (EV) with a long mileage as it can only cover 46 miles before it needs charging. But this range is ideal if you’re nipping around the city or town centre for short distances or in congestion. One thing to keep in mind is there are a number of factors that can affect your ability to reach this range, (LINK) some of which are out of your control such as the weather and hilliness of the roads.
Citroen has advised that the 5.5 kWh battery can be charged with its Type 2 socket in three hours so quickly enough while you’re out and about.
The speed has been limited to 28 mph, which again is ideal for urban driving as most built-up roads will have a 30 mph speed limit, or 20 mph around heavily pedestrianised areas such as by a school. 28 mph will feel very slow when you’re on a 40 mph road.
The Ami is only available in left-hand drive. This means that you’ll be on the other side of the vehicle than you’re used to and while it makes it easier to get out of the car when you park in the direction of traffic it does mean you need to take a little extra care with lane changing.
Citroen Ami Exterior
At just 2.4 metres long and 1.4 metres wide it’s a pretty compact vehicle but not that much smaller that the likes of the Smart EQ Fortwo, at 2.6 metres long and 1.6 metres wide, and Renault Twizy, which is just 2.3 metres long and 1.19 wide.
This tiny exterior makes it the ideal car for parking, even able to park nose to kerb and not stick out any more than a large SUV parked side on would.
It’s got a very distinctive exterior design with a boxy shape and barely any bonnet thanks to the small electric motor and battery. Other interesting features include a rear-hinged driver’s door so that there’s cost savings as the door can be fitted to either side of the vehicle.
Citroen Ami Interior
The interior is incredibly basic, but if you’re not spending long in the car or aren’t worried about having all the latest mod-cons then it won’t be a problem.
There’s a small screen behind the wheel and a cradle for you to put your phone in with just three buttons for vehicle controls and a USB slot and that’s it in terms of in-car technology. This doesn’t mean the dashboard is bare though as Citroen have included a number of colourful storage solutions for things like your coffee cup, sunglasses and much more.
And although the driver will be on the left-hand side of the vehicle which reduces visibility there is a high driving position and lots of glass to help combat this.
The Ami is by no means a car designed for everyone, in fact it’s designed for a very specific audience but it’s perfectly designed for them. If you want a small EV for inner city driving then this is a great choice! Check out our Citroen Ami leasing page for our current best offers on the model or you can take a look at our other Citroen lease deals on models like the Citroen C3.
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