Citroën Ami - As Cheap As A Mobile Phone!
Is the Citroën Ami set to become the next best city car?
French automakers Citroën have announced they will be selling the tiny Citroën Ami in the UK in 2022. Currently they are leased for around €20 (£17) a month in France, meaning you could have a car that costs less than an Apple iPhone!
Tiny Ami
At just over 2.4 metres long and 1.4 metres wide, the Citroën Ami is nothing if not tiny. Its performance isn’t great either - topping out at 45kmh (28mph) it won’t break speed records either. But that’s not why you’d buy this car!
It sits two people side by side and is weatherproof. It has four wheels and a steel cage around you, taking the car head to head with mopeds and motorcycles. On four wheels you are less likely to be knocked off by another road user and being enclosed you won’t get to where you’re going soaking wet or freezing in typical British weather.
You Don’t Need A 7 Seat Car!
Did you know that 47% of UK car journeys are without passengers? The same statistics show that the average journey distance in a car is just 8.5 miles.
That means with the Citroën Ami’s range of 43 miles and relatively low speed, in many cases you just won’t need more go or range than this little car has to offer.
Many families will buy this car for their student child to get to college or homemaker to get about their day. No dodgy plain clothed policeman will be able to ‘arrest’ you in the street for example, giving peace of mind to families with daughters who they want to get about safely.
We should state at this point that while in France, kids of 14 and up can drive it, the Ami will only be available for full UK driving license holders. That would put your 17 year old behind the wheel.
If Citroën does lease this out at £17 a month it will enable people on relatively low incomes to get to work in a safe and secure manner. It costs around £1 to fully charge the battery too.
Competition - Twizzy And Mopeds
When people think of a tiny electric car like this they think of the Renault Twizy. On the market at £12,000, this doesn’t compete on price and with no windows, it doesn’t compete on getting you to work or college in an autumnal downpour.
Many families will buy their youngster a motor scooter or moped. These are easily stolen and let’s face it, have a rather high accident rate thanks to other road users ignoring/not seeing them on the road. If you’re knocked in the Ami, the car’s space frame will take a lot of the abuse and you certainly won’t have the injuries that come with falling off a bike.
A Head-Turner!
The Citroën Ami is funky to look at. For those who don’t mind getting the odd quizzical look as they whizz around the streets, this is a cute little machine to get about in. You don’t need your Tesla Model X every for every occasion - you’d be surprised how often that beast will stay at home with the Ami next to it on the driveway!
