Images
1 / 4
In this smartly updated form, Citroen's Ami continues to offer a charismatic urban mobility solution for our cities, its quadricycle format allowing it to be cheap, simple and fun. It's still left hand drive-only, there's no boot, only two seats and it only goes 43 miles on each electric charge at a maximum of 28mph. But you might still enjoy driving one of these more than any car you've ever owned.
+ More
Driving experience
Nothing's changed with this updated Ami in terms of the powertrain or drive dynamics. It's electric of course. There wouldn't be much point if it wasn't. But it's got a far smaller battery (5.5kWh) than you'll find in any EV. Still, because the electric motor it's mated to develops only 8bhp, hence the feeble 28 mph top speed, you won't drain the cells very quickly and a (very achievable) range of 43 urban miles is possible. As before, you can drive an Ami on a moped licence - and at an age as young as 16 (in France and Italy, it's 14).
As you'd expect from the diminutive size, the turning circle is outstanding - just 7.2m. To give you a point of comparison, that of a typical supermini is over 10m. A London taxi is rated at 7.6m. The elevated driving position and superb all-round visibility also help in the city and though there's no power steering to ease you into spaces, the vehicle is so light (a typical supermini weighs around 600kgs more) that it isn't really an issue. Still, you might well feel intimidated by trucks and buses, particularly as quadricycles like this don't get rigorously crash tested and don't have to have airbags and camera safety aids.
+ More
Design and build
This improved Ami is still very small - just 2.41m long and 1.39m wide in fact. But it's now got a more appealing exterior look - yes appealing, rather than just plain weird. Citroen says the changes represent a nod to this model's spiritual ancestor, the 2CV. Compared to the earlier version, there are now vent-style grooves on the more pronounced wings, black 'eyelids' on new headlight housings and a smile-shaped indentation in the middle of the nose, which features the latest Citroen logo. The lower corners at both ends now have more pronounced edges (the marque says that makes them look like Lego blocks) and Citroen has designed new graphic motifs for the side panels and introduced smarter wheel trims supposed to better appeal to 'the younger generation'.
As before, the Ami remains super-light - just 425kg without batteries. And retains the original version's push-me-pull-you looks that see the front similar to the back, an approach partly there as a visual talking point and partly there to reduce production costs at the Moroccan factory. As before, cost-saving design remains a bit of a theme here. So, for instance, the doors are still identical left and right - which means the driver's side one is rear-hinged, while the passenger side one isn't. To get in, you push a large outside button and notice as you pull the door back that half of its side window is hinged to flap upwards, a reference to the classic Citroen 2CV. Expect an open-topped Buggy version to join the range at some point, just as happened with the original model.
Inside, things are much as before, which means you can still only have the steering wheel on the left. But the cabin remains light and airy thanks to the standard sunroof. And to the fact that the glass area occupies almost half of the interior surfacing. As before, the windscreen is placed a way away from you, the steering wheel doesn't adjust and sprouting from it is a single column stalk that works the indicators and the single wiper that creaks across the plastic screen. The small size continues to limit the cabin to two seats and, equally obviously given the exterior dimensions, there's no boot, so any luggage you want to carry must ride in the spacious passenger foot well, which will probably take something like an airline carry-on bag.
Various colour-coordinated cabin fittings brighten things up - and the items in question (removable holders and cubbies in the dashboard) are of the clip-on kind, so you can easily switch to a different shade, or maybe change your cabin colour with the seasons. The doors open with fabric pull strings and there's a noisy single speed fan with a heat option.
+ More
Market and model
Don't expect pricing to be that much different from the original model, which means figures still starting from around £8,000. Which looks very good value compared to the two most obvious rivals; a Silence S04 starts from about £16,000, while a Microlino Lite starts from around £17,000. As before, an Ami Cargo small van variant will also be offered. There's only one way you can buy any sort of Ami and that's online. You can go to a dealer, try and test the car - and they can order it for you if necessary, but they'll do so in your name online.
Citroen offers a few lifestyle Ami 'accessories', like an 'Ultimate Ears Boom Speaker' and a Parrot Ami Hands-Free kit but basically, there aren't any real options other than the various trim permutations we've already covered. Citroen says that extrovert types (or businesses with the 'Cargo' version) can add vehicle wrap to the outside bodywork, but suggests using a thinner wrap than usual to ensure a good connection to the plastic panels.
What about safety? Well, as we've mentioned elsewhere in this film, quadricyles aren't required to feature any safety equipment, so, rather disappointingly, the Ami can't be fitted with any - even as an option. No airbags, no camera safety aids - nothing. Are you likely to need them travelling at no more than 28mph? Well that's up to you. There's no Hill Start Assist feature either, which will be rather disconcerting when you park on a slope or set off from an uphill junction. What we're rather less understanding about is the fact that Citroen hasn't fitted an ISOFIX child seat attachment to the passenger seat: in fact the brand strongly suggests that you don't fit any kind of child seat into your Ami.
+ More
Cost of ownership
UK models come with a rather natty built-in European two-pin plug which feeds awkwardly through a recess behind the passenger door. That plug comes with a Type 2 connector adaptor you can fit onto it for use with a garage wallbox or a public charging point. With this EV, there are no decisions to be made about fast or rapid chargers and different networks. Wherever you charge, expect battery replenishment from empty to full to take around 3 hours.
There's currently no road tax to pay - though that might change for quadricycles in future, depending on what the Chancellor decides. What we know for certain is that the quadricycle classification means that Benefit-in-Kind taxation doesn't apply here. Servicing intervals are every two years or 12,500 miles, whichever comes first and you can buy a 'My Ami Care' package if you want to pay for it in advance. Bear in mind that you don't get as comprehensive a warranty package as you would with an ordinary Citroen - the one provided covers you for two years with unlimited mileage, plus there's separate three year/25,000 mile cover for the battery. You get three years or 25,000 miles of cover for roadside assistance, but there's no paintwork warranty as there is no paintwork.
There are no insurance groups for Ami because it's not a car. Insurers apparently take their own view on quadricycles, so you'll have to ask yours what they think about this one.
+ More
Summary
If you need mobility simply for short, slow urban trips and as long as you don't view the Ami as some kind of small supermini, it's hard to see why you wouldn't like it very much, especially in this updated form. Because it's not limited by the constraints that would apply to a conventional city car, it can be cheaper, smaller, more economical and more fun. Yes, along the way, compromises have had to be made in terms of performance, safety and cabin space, but likely owners either won't need those things at low speeds in the city; or will have another, more conventional vehicle in the garage back home to provide them.
For decades now, we've been offered new Citroen models that claim to rekindle the brand's original pioneering spirit, but here at last is one that really does. Like the early 2CV it now looks more like, an Ami is original, fun and, in its own way, really quite desirable. Drive one and people you pass will smile and wave - there's a feeling here of the motor car reinventing itself for a very different age. In a Citroen that really is a sign of the times.
+ More
Have you considered these alternative models...
Find a Review
We have over 500 new and used car reviews to help you find your next car.
Browse reviews and model guides for all makes
