Written by Tom Webster Published: 25 January 2023 Updated: 5 May 2023

Overview

This isn’t a car. The Citroen Ami might have four wheels and a steering wheel, but you can’t really compare it to other small electric cars like the Renault Zoe and Honda e. It’s nowhere near as practical in terms of range, passenger carrying capability and luggage space.

In the eyes of the law, the Ami is classed as a pure-electric quadricycle – and that puts it in the same camp as vehicles like the Renault Twizy and G-Wiz. It’s tiny, measuring a mere 2,410mm long, 1,290mm wide and 1,525mm high. It’s smaller than an original Mini and compact enough to park end-on at the side of the road.

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There are a couple of flaws, but neither are severe enough to discredit the dinky Ami. First off, Citroen didn’t originally plan to bring the EV to the UK, but a screaming demand from interested British buyers forced the firm to change its mind. However, it hasn’t been adapted for the UK market, meaning all Ami imports are left-hand drive.

It’s also rather slow. Because it’s a quadricycle, its power output and maximum speed are both restricted. So, the Ami only produces 8hp and has a top speed of just 28mph, which makes it great for darting around town but downright frightening on faster roads. Still, these restrictions mean that it’s legal to drive one if you have a moped licence.

What’s the Citroen Ami like inside?

There’s isn’t much space inside the Ami, but Citroen has certainly made the most of it. The passenger seat is mounted slightly behind the driver’s seat, which allows the occupants to sit closer together without compromising on shoulder room.

The seats steal a little more room by virtue of their size, too. They’re thin and basic, with just a light cushion on top of a plastic frame. There’s also a hole in the backrest to further reduce weight and, by extension, pressure on your lower back.

They aren’t the most supportive seats in the world but, given the Ami was only designed for short hops around town, that’s not a massive issue. More importantly, they have enough fore and aft adjustment to allow taller drivers to find a comfortable position behind the wheel.

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You don’t get a proper boot, but Citroen has engineered some clever storage solutions into the Ami’s cabin. For example, under the dashboard there’s a cubby that’s perfectly sized for a regulation aircraft cabin bag. There’s also some space behind the seats to store shopping bags and massive door bins that’ll swallow laptop cases and handbags alike.

We like the oddments tray atop the dash, too. We’re not sure how Citroen managed it, but there’s a holster for pretty much any item you’ll ever carry in your car. We took the Ami for lunch and found trays that were perfectly sized for holding an artisanal sandwich, a bag of fancy Italian coffee and an unusually shaped box of chocolates – and none rattled as we drove back to the office.

It’s an impressive effort overall. The Ami never feels cramped, although this is partly due to the sheer amount of glass surrounding the cabin. Light floods the interior like a tsunami, making the space seems larger than it is. And, if you need to carry yet more posh nosh, you can always opt for the Citroen Ami Cargo which ditches the passenger seat to liberate even more storage space.

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However, it’s fair to say that the Ami’s interior is basic. There are no toys at all. You don’t even get a radio as standard, although Citroen will sell you an official Ami-branded Bluetooth speaker that sits neatly in a slot ahead of the steering wheel. The only standard tech is a flimsy smartphone holder and a USB cable which allows you to charge your phone and use it as a sat-nav.

The plastics are hard and functional and there’s very little sound deadening. This bare-bones mentality is perhaps best summed up by the exposed steering column. If you look down into the footwell, you can see it working as you drive along.

Anyone who has decided to upgrade from a Renault Twizy will be delighted to learn the Ami has proper glass windows that will keep the elements out, if not silenced. However, there aren’t any winder handles, let alone electric controls. Instead, the window is horizontally hinged halfway up like a light aircraft window. You fold it out and secure it via a plastic clip on the outside.

Citroen Ami motor and performance

There’s only one motor and battery pack available on the Citroen Ami – and they’re not exactly big or powerful. The motor produces just 8hp, while the battery pack is a tiny 5.5kWh unit.

These figures sound pitiful, but the Ami has enough poke to surprise larger cars around town. All the motor’s power is available from a standstill, so this little house brick zips away from the lights like a slot car. And because the top speed is only 28mph, you can treat the throttle like an on/off switch. It’s great fun – just mash the pedal into the floor and leave it there until you hit a red light.

Range and charging

Maximum range is 46 miles at best, which firmly restricts the Ami to urban duties. However, we’ve found that figure to be pretty accurate. The Ami is very light, which means the motor and battery don’t need to work hard to push it around.

Charging is quick, too. You don’t get any fancy rapid charging tech (because that’d be far too expensive), but the battery can still take on a 100 percent charge in just three hours using a three-pin plug. The Ami also comes with a Type 2 adaptor so you can connect it to a charging point in town – but that doesn’t make it charge any quicker.

What it like to drive?

Comical. There’s little else that drives like an Ami – and there are few cars that turn quite so many heads. We got more attention in this little electric quadricycle that we did in a Lamborghini Huracan.

It’s a raw experience. There’s no power steering, very little suspension travel and a constant whine from the electric motor as you’re driving along. Smooth roads are easy, but cobbled streets turn the Ami into a mobile massage parlour that hammers all the cricks out of your spine. At least you’ll save money on a chiropractor.

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The steering isn’t particularly direct and it’s a bit vague around the centre, too. But you can forgive that because you’re never going fast enough to require razor sharp steering – and we appreciate that Citroen took the opportunity to save a few pennies on a sporty steering rack.

The Ami’s tiny dimensions work both for and against it. It’s easy to feel intimidated when sitting at the lights next to a truck, but it is a real boon when you are trying to get down an urban street designed for cars much smaller than the vehicles that populate modern roads.

This was brought into sharp focus when sitting on a narrow West London thoroughfare behind a Rolls-Royce, who was inching forward to avoid clashing door mirrors with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class coming the other way. We expect our stress levels were minute next to those in the two luxury cars.

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The Ami’s lack of safety assistance influences other elements of the driving experience too. You don’t get hill start assist, so you need to be swift-of-foot when moving from the brake to accelerator. Either that or make regular use of the handbrake. You don’t even get an airbag, so there certainly isn’t anything like emergency braking assist or lane-keep assist.

The lack of such systems is perhaps why Citroen is so keen to stress that the Ami is not a car. Compared with even used vehicles from the 1990s, it is severely lacking on this front. It is best to view it as a much safer alternative to a bicycle, moped or similar. It might not have huge crumple zones but it is vastly preferable to let the Ami’s bodywork take a few scrapes around town than let your own body take the hit.

What models and trims are available?

There are three colour packs and two special editions in the Ami range. That said, there is a very limited amount you can do to the Ami’s external look – the Ami Orange, Blue or Grey packs only really add small splashes of external colour, and it is only small details that get the redesign. In fact, you can install the coloured elements yourself as it includes stickers on the door and rear pillar, wheel trims, door storage nets and colour-coded dashboard boxes.

The dominant external colour remains the bluey grey you see in the pictures, unless you go to a third-party company and get it wrapped that is.

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The two special editions are the Ami Pop and Ami Tonic, which are based on the orange and grey packs but also bring a few extra details. In the case of the Pop this brings black details on the front of the vehicle, including the bumper and beneath the windscreen. It also comes with orange door stickers and a rear spoiler. Tonic brings khaki and yellow external stickers, black roof bars and wheel arch surrounds.

None of the packs add any extra practicality, but they do bring a little more character to the Ami. Whether you think it needs it at a cost of up to 20% of the Ami’s original price is down to you.

What else should I know?

Even with the challenging and changing financial situation in the UK, Citroen is sticking to its promise of making getting into an Ami relatively accessible. It’s among the cheapest cars in the UK with prices starting from around £8,000.

The packs add a hefty chunk to the price relatively speaking so are hard to recommend objectively. That said, the Ami is an emotive purchase more than a rational one, so if you also choose to add a few extra touches of colour then who are we to hold it against you?