Citroën Ami: Your New City Friend?
Does this little cube on wheels make any sense? - Come and find out in the heart of Belgium together with our Junior, Tommy Faes.
So what is the Citroën Ami really and what does it represent? First of all: the Ami is not a car, Citroën calls it a daring response to the challenges faced in today’s cities and urban environment. It means that the Ami isn’t a full-grown up car which has both it’s benefits and disadvantages. But more on those later…
Hop on in our royal ride *eyeblink*, and let’s go for an urban drive in and around the beautiful Brussels.
First impressions
I was invited by Citroën Brussels to go have some fun in the city centre of Brussels because this is where the Ami was made to shine. And here comes the little Citroën into play with it’s advantages. Being a quadricycle, it’s a sidestepping a lot of regulations of today which turn small cars into obese and wide cars. The Ami comes in at 458 kg and measures only 1.4 meters in width and 2.41 meters in length. Small size also means a small turning circle which is just 7.2 meters. And by not being an actual car, it means that in certain countries (like Belgium), you don’t need a driving license for them and can actually start driving them from the age of 16 instead of 18.
Now this also brings some disadvantages to the table. Being that it is so compact, it only has a 5.5 kWh battery pack (more than 2 times smaller than the battery pack of a C5 Aircross) resulting in a range of about 75 km. Also, with at 6 kW battery and it being a quadricycle, it’s limited to a top speed of 45 km/h. In a city like Brussels where the maximum allowed speed is 30 km/h, this is plenty. But it does mean it’s not suitable for highway driving (in which I almost found myself by taking the wrong exit and not being conscious of the cars’ limits…).
Before I got to leave the parking lot from the Citroën dealership with the cute Ami, I faced my first challenge of the day - manoeuvring out of the tight space it was parked in. First I had to find the gear selector, which was located on the left side of the seats. The steering was very heavy, and it felt very unusual to be sat both super close to the front and back of the car - which did result in great visibility.
The car has a very tight turning circle, which means it is ideal to manoeuvre around in tight spaces without all too much of going backwards and forwards. It doesn’t have any electronic steering so that means the steering wheel is very heavy, yet it makes it feel sporty and direct in a fun way.
The driving
To be honest, I went there with a very biased opinion on the Ami, because I simply fell in love with the concept of it. And me being a car guy, I was sold from the minute I saw they replaced the door handles with straps.
To come down to the driving of it, I want you to know the following; it was never made with the intention of being a good driver’s car in which you’ll be aiming for every apex on the block, neither did anyone expect it to be. This was something I had to keep reminding myself of during the drive.
The ride wasn’t all that smooth, especially on the cobblestones. But hey, that’s also not the main purpose of our little Ami here.
The looks
Have you ever seen a car that looks exactly the same both in the front and back? No, me neither. This might bring up some confusion after a long day of work, yet it is kind of practical for fitting it in very tight spaces. (That’s what Steve Carell would say). But it’s more clever than that actually. Because both front and rear are the same, it only requires one mould. Same for the doors, one is a suicide door and one is a normal door because they both come from the same mould. This in turn makes production and parts a lot cheaper. All plastic parts are also unpainted by the way, saving even more. Plus all these parts are 100% recyclable (battery 85% recyclable) adding to the eco-image of your new friend.
I like the looks, the design, the wheels, it all makes sense to me.
Purpose/conclusion
I assume this car is going to be bought primarily by people whom live in and around the city. The Ami isn’t made to be a replacement for your car, but it might just be the way to use your car less in the city and leave at least some frustration behind you. It’s a head turner, because people aren’t used to seeing these on the road. If you spend 90% of your life in the city, I’d recommend the Citroën Ami along with a (small) combustion car for when you do get to go out of the city.
