Our company are buying several Amis for making food deliveries on a closed site. I had a quick spin in the test car and loved it. Believe it or not the Ami is cheaper than the golf buggies we have currently.
I have had my Ami for 16 months here in France, compared to my Vauxhall Insignia it saves approximately 9 euros a day in fuel, so circa 50 euro week, 2500 euro a year, i purchased outright with a 5 yr. warranty, so, in theory it should pay for its self certainly in 4 years, and still have a residual value, it is smiles all the time driving it, and my 14 yr old can use it too. It is a winner for me.
The Ami comes as much less of a surprise to the French because there they have a range of VSPs (Véhicules Sans Permis) already. The typical market for them (apart from 14 year olds) are those who are temporarily without a driving licence for reasons of lunching too well. Having lost your licence you can just buy a VSP and use that to fetch your morning baguettes until you get it back.
What a brilliant idea. Your company head has to drive the 'car of shame' after being nicked driving home from the office party. The UK ought to allow these with no driving licence.
I bought one to reduce fuel consumption BUT because the VSP system doesn't allow u to use insurance bonus the insurance is very high as you are insured with kids and alcoholics which is a real problem for transitioning to micro mobility in France which is an unexpected negative side effect.
as far as I remember from my 12 years in France, as the VSP like the Ligier are 50cm3 (and are also limited to 50kph/~30mph), they still require the BSR - Brevet de Securité Routiere - which, when I lived in France, was the permit you could take at age 14+, to be able to use a 50cm3 engine vehicle, whether it was a "mobilette" (basically a bicycle with a tiny petrol motor), moped or motorbike. The British equivalent is essentially the Provisional Licence. Not to mention that my BSR cost almost 150euro, while the Provisional is like £40 or something and most VSPs are incredibly expensive and will also be in the highest insurance brackets.
The thing that appeals to me most with the Ami & the Oli is the lack of unnecessary technology that so many drivers neither want or need. All the above can be substituted with a smartphone anyway if you wanted one! The main benefit of the direction that Citroen is taking us with these cars is keeping the weight and cost down.
@@eddiereed5025 I have been driving BEVs for 14 years & I'm on my 5th, I currently own a Zoe and an Enyaq IV80x. I like gizmos but a lot of drivers don't, so make a simple light car without infotainment screens, ACC, lane assist (dangerous) etc & people will buy them.
@@wilkoone9155 Agree but simple comforts like effective heating ,if manufacturers realise as you say give us a cheap ev with regulation speed achievement (70) no bells and whistles then the boom in sales would begin
Reminds me so much of my 2CV driving days. Fun, practical and people overtaking you. Admittedly this Ami would be ideal for me (i'm in a major city with good public transport & don't currently own a car). I have access to electric car hire for longer distances. I'm close to retirement and with a below average income. It charges on a standard plug. It's affordable. It suits my needs (niche though that maybe).
That's my feeling. I'm not in a big city, but my daughter is, and I can see that it would be ideal for her... if she didn't have to drive up to see us. But I do see that it would be ideal for city use, especially somewhere like London. As you point out though, cities tend to have very, very good public transport, which is fine, but there are two problems with public transport; It often doesn't go where you want to go, and it is ridiculously expensive (especially in the UK). When I lived in London I had to take a bus, the tube and a train, just to do what was a 5-10 minute journey on a motorbike (AND sticking to the speed limits). All that to get to work. And you'd probably even be able to park the Ami in most handkerchiefs, I mean front gardens. It may be a big outlay, but I reckon it'd pay for itself in about 2 years in London.
Why would you need one then with such good public transport where and how much would it cost to park when you are in the city and being near retirement your public transport will become free or very very cheap.
@@robsengahay5614 that's why I said that it may be small enough to park in the front "garden" of many London houses. I was principally referring to the typical Victorian terraced houses that make up the majority of the London urban landscape. But yeah, that is always going to be a factor with electric city cars; local governments need to be much more forward thinking on the charging infrastructure. At least on Continental Europe, many, many supermarkets and councils have free charging. I doubt that councils in the UK would have the budget, and the Tories would be dead set against such an egalitarian move, after all, it would damage big petroleum's profits.
In Menton, (French Riviera) a bio-grocer uses an Ami for home deliveries. And with the shop's details showing clearly on the doors. A head turner, certainly.
One use-case I can think of is for older people who want a car for getting to the shops or the village/church hall for a whist drive but know that they can no longer cope with - or need - even a supermini. Make it 35-40 mph and a little more hill climbing ability and I think it would be a very good urban/suburban second car. In it's present form perhaps there's a case for a licence category for sixteen-year-olds like the 50cc "chainsaw with wheels" scooter/scrambler category.
One of these would be perfect for me, if it was a bit cheaper. I think the perfect car to compare this to would be a 10 year old Leaf. They have similar ranges, and prices but one is obviously older but has more (actually has) creature comforts I don't have a car personally, I use public transport for most of my journeys, in particular the longer ones as it's so much cheaper than a car. It's only £5 for a 60 mile round trip on the bus, but it does take a few hours! But for just using around town to do the shopping, or doing the 8 miles each way to get to my mother's house, it would be perfect. It's mostly 30 limits round here, other than the odd bit of 60 in between the towns and villages.
@@Stephanthesearcherplus you can get the Leaf battery reconditioned and restore its original range, or possibly upgrade the battery to a larger size. The Leaf also is V2H ready AFAIK?
Great review. "Sorry, sorry.... Sorry, sorry" 😂 that was me on my 50cc Peugeot scooter. Also, I used to punch the air when a roadside speed indicator flashed up the red "30 mph" warning 😁👍
Village post office van in the morning, charge up in the afternoon and then hand the keys to a local take-away in the evening, charge overnight ready for the morning. Also, stick a small round speed limit sign on the back (much like a lorry would) to warn others of the speed restriction.
We’re in the northwest of England and took delivery of our Ami Pop in November 2022; we knew exactly what we were buying and it’s perfect for our needs. Our money, our choice.
The Valeo motor/drive unit is capable of twice the power output to which it is currently (good pun) limited to comply with French sans permis specs. Only a software reset of the inverter is required, no different parts at all. (Thereis a video on yt of Valeo demonstrating this in San Francisco.) If you look underneath the rear bodywork there is a huge void ready for more batteries. It seems the Ami was designed to be offered in two power versions (just like the Twizzy) with the 18 hp version capable of 40 - 50 mph and 60 - 70 mile range. Now that would be worth having. I have managed to get this confirmed by Valeo and a couple of very reluctant Citroen and Opel Executives. Their line is that there are no plans to offer either of the cars (essentially the same) with the higher output at present. The demand would be enormous, I think.
Perfect for city dwellers, both business and personal use. It is impossible to get above 20, let alone 30, most of the time. Other option is islands like Jersey or Guernsey where the maximum limit is 40 everywhere.
you hit the nail on the head , fun fun fun , terrible up hills and even worst in the cold. Great around town and for short commutes , dog walks , OAP local shopping trips. Judging UK sales of Ami its the 50+ years old that are buying them on mass with a four to five month waiting list. for me its the school run and saving my twizy for the better weather.
I’m 34 and I just got an Ami after previously owning a Peugeot e-208 and a Mini Electric Cooper SE. I can still do London to Dorking, charge for 2-3 hours during my hiking. It’s simply perfect.
Saw one parked up in Clerkenwell yesterday, behind the old Finsbury Town Hall, after seeing the wonderful map exhibition at the archives. Your video reminded us of the one we saw last November airside at the airport in Madeira - the airport engineers had enterprisingly covered the entire roof with solar PV panels! Meanwhile on today's meandering walk around north London we saw a rather sad old G-Wiz, a few still survive...
Came across this video randomly and I'm glad I watched it till the end. Keep up the good work and hope to see more videos from you, very entertaining the way you kept your audience stuck to their seat till the end.
Seems perfect for city commuting and shopping trips. Could perhaps do with being able to do 40mph as a lot of suburban areas have 40-zones on main roads (let alone NSL roads as shown in the video)
I'm imagining these dropping on the 2nd hand market in a couple of years for a couple of thousand. Perfect starters car. It doesn't go too quickly and is dirt cheap to run.
I believe it’s a 3hr charge speed? Pretty damn sure they could dramatically improve that and make it CCS connectivity as an extra cost option, I’m sure that would dramatically improve sales
I wish these would be available on Onto or similar car hire services. I want to try one out for my basic commute and see how it handles steeper hills (like Gould Street in Manchester) but don't want to drop 8k on it as an experiment.
I ordered one as a second runner, it's perfect for local runs for my work, zipping between the surrounding villages, also plan to use it for shopping runs. It's a nice and cheap way of having an affordable second transport, and it saves our golf GTI on short runs, which is painful 😆
Love the ami....but the cargo version seems a bit redundant.Surely what you can put into the "cargo area" you could easily just sling into the footwell of the standard version maybe with the help of a couple of plastic storage boxes.🤔
great city car or delivery vehicle easy to park. In London finding an easy quick stop place is a definite plus. e.g. most of roads in Croydon are 20 - 30mph limit.
Suitable use for the cargo version , fast food delivery as stated, but I still think the 2 seater is a more versatile use of the internal space available. It could be used on some of the larger caravan / camping and leisure sites by site maintenance staff, it's main advantage being it can be charged anywhere anytime where there is access to a 13 amp socket
Almost every train station within an hour of London has a full car park by 10am, with most of the cars having come from within a couple of miles away in the same town. This would be perfect for that kind of commute - 3-5 miles, dump the car and jump on the train.
I'd love to try one of these...although I am a former 2CV and Robin owner! Bang in a £100 diesel heater for the winter (both safety and comfort) and the car has a greater usability.
In Norway 16 y.o. can drive it with AM drivers license (either code 147 or full AM). Won't get one while I'm the only driver in our hou, but when my daughter can start training at 15, I might get one. Will probably go down a bracket on the km for the car insurance.
I can see its usefulness in some places in europe where you could drive this without a licence as long as you was more than 14 etc. but in uk surely would be better and more practical to buy a secondhand leaf.
I will be getting one. My use case is simple, school run (1 child) - 3 miles each way on a small road. Local shops - 2.5 miles each way on a country lane.
Pharmacy delivery vehicle for small urban and even some rural communities, a perfect solution for multiple small loads over small distances in a close knit area.
My dad would love it. He's 87 and drives no more than 200 miles a year it would be perfect to nipping into town to do his shopping. We'll done Citroën and thanks for this video
Looked at one... But the HP payments were not what Citroën were advertising. They advertised one price and once you enter the Web site the payment went up.
I'm looking forward to them launching the Sports version of this vehicle, as I hear that it will be called the S-cargo, presumably it comes covered in garlic butter! 🤣🤣🤣
For someone using it for food delivery I’d consider using a small portion of that storage space to double or even triple the battery capacity and add a small inverter to charge the car while your not busy, it would go all day long. You could build your own battery pack for 10 years without a problem. You could even make the battery pack removable if you don’t have off street parking, that thing could be a stella food delivery vehicle in the right hands.
If you can find one, a peugeot ion or citroen c-zero (or mitsubishi imiev) would be a better investment. 4 seats, a heater and air con, will do 70mph, slightly better range (in town anyway). We need more small affordable EVs for sale now so that in 5-10 years I might be able to afford one!
I live in the country and if I could afford it I would be thinking about a PHEV, maybe 39 mile range on electrickery which would be great for short range village trundles and still be okay for longer range with the aid of some liquid fossils. The Ami looks okay for the village bit but no use for anything else. It certainly has character but I have seen videos of some appalling build quality and quality issues so even if it suited my needs I wouldn't go near one. Instead I am keeping my big but economical diesel for long distance and low emission journeys and am looking at buying an old simple small petrol thing at £700 for local runs. Hopefully a civilised PHEV will be affordable in a few years! Good and informative video again!
I live in France and I expected to be seeing thousands of them but they are still quite a rare sight. I think the main issue is that you can pick up an old Nissan Leaf and even a knackered old 24kwh battery version will get you a solid 50 mile range, for 4 people, big boot, climate control .. the works, for around the same price. In fact, for anyone in a city, with a driveway, a cheap old Leaf is the perfect commuter, totally under-appreciated.
I think the Dacia Spring is a more interesting ‘bargain basement’ option for EV ownership. My wife and I both have sanderos and I’d be seriously tempted to replace one with a Spring, as and when they become available. Much as I appreciate the Ami for what it is, I think it’s just now going to sell well in the UK, despite the looks. A triplet would make a better urban runaround as it can rapid charge.
I used to do some take away deliveries in my outlander with it's 25mile electric range, never made half way through the night without running out. 30miles will go very quickly doing even local deliveries.
Technically speaking, the Citroen Ami isn't a car - it's a quadricycle. This means it's closer to a moped than a car in the eyes of the law. You can't take one on a motorway. Although you can take one on a dual carriageway, it's not a great idea.
Does it have regen to help the range ? I drive with Amazon flex. Mainly food deliveries. A slightly bigger version and motorway friendly would be perfect. Love quirky tho do feel the low speed limit borders on being bit dangerous going up a hill. Great vlog tho. Best wishes
not for me, i work on uber eats and do a range of 50 plus miles, but be ok for nipping shop for some scran, but by heck it’s a heed turner, would have been nice to have some specs ie battery size charging speeds etc
I pre-registered for one of these, but that light quadricycle top speed limit made me cancel. Not because the car isn't great, but because I need 50mph to not be a hazard on the roads around me. I live in hope they will make a heavy quadricycle version. 👍
A 50mph with a slightly more power and a slightly bigger battery and a type 2 socket would help to embrace it, at least in the countryside . Cities are already full of vehicles of many types, to add a hand full of Amis in the cities doesn’t solve any problem. Don’t know, from the one side it is good that such cars exist, on the other side, it would be better if it could fit in many more use cases.
The standard Ami is the ideal car for my retired wife, she only does shopping, and a very occasional trip to her friends homes, no journeys over 15 miles. The problem is, I want an i3 as our runaround.
I'd make a strong sign for the rear, saying (asking) please feel free to give me a push. As a Yorkshire man I'm sure you'd appreciate the EXTRA speed without the EXTRA cost....
I could use one as a winter commuter/school run / local shopping when it's icy and or I'm feeling lazy, and can't be arsed to use the bike. I'm actually considering one for next winter for this exact reason. ( If I have a bit of spare cash) I live in a city so I could drive around all day in 20 and 30 zones. It's a luxury though as I could just get the bus/ bike.
Sorry, I'm in the USA. As a 65 yo man, retired, in a small town. I would buy one. Everything is within 5 miles, local max speed is 35mph, no hills. I like the plastic sides and it's simple. At this time, I use a 2 wheel scooter that does about 25mph. A little ruff in the winter. A wind screen would be nice if they, or any small car-ish device makes it over here.
Needs a proper hatchback for longer loads and a giraffe hatch ( like the Renault 4 van ), to carry ladders and such like. Then get rid of that interior box and fit tie down loops. For city use top speed is not really an issue but a bigger battery for longer range definitely would be. As it stands it's a good start but definitely room for improvement.
This is almost the new "Invacar" , for those younger than Moses it was a pale blue fiberglass mobility vehicle for disabled people that used to be known as invalids. Ok, it would need to be wheelchair accessible, have hand controls but t is almost there with the design it can easily change from foot pedals to the bike twist and go. (this idea is copywrite of myself. 13/1/2023, just in case I can sell it.)
I don't think anyone has mentioned a used Smart Fortwo ED for the UK (where there isn't the age 14 advantage). Similar money, similar amount of space, 60-70 mile range, AC, heater, heated seats etc. We have one for the running about locally and commuting 15 miles each way. It costs only the insurance to run as we have enough solar power. The petrol car we also have risks a flat 12v battery as it is typically only used for long trips, airport runs etc.
Here in portugal the main postal service CTT use these, perfect for the small roads in our villages, the only car that fits down my road (apart from my 1956 BMW Isetta bubble car)
Maybe it could be an sed for food delivery if they sacrificed some of the storage for more battery capacity. One thing I really wish would become a thing is battery ramdlge extenders - you get a slot in your BEV that plug in a battery when you do long distance. Batteries could be rented on such occasions and as long as the slot stays the same could switch to new technology. Instead of charging your car you switch out the range extender - which is charged when there is a surus on the grid.
I deliver food in the evenings. I usually do 5-6 hours. At this time of year, which is our quietest period, I usually do about 50-60 miles per night. In the summer it can be 90-100 miles. I switched to an EV last summer, because it seemed like the best option for food deliveries, but I went with a Kona Electric, because it fills every other need I have as well. The other problem with the Ami is that I will sometimes take 5-7 orders out at a time and I doubt I would get more than two in there. I also have to go on derestricted roads for some of the deliveries. Obviously there are other drivers in a different situation to me, some do less hours, only do one or two deliveries at a time and always stay within a 20-30mph zone, but I think that would exclude the majority. The other big issue for me is the lack of a proper heater, especially at the moment. That said, even if all of those things were addressed, I think I would still stick with my Kona and keep the creature conforts of a proper infotainment system, comfortable seats, better safety, etc. I could see the Ami being fun in the summer, but I think the novelty would wear off.
@@bobbyboyderecords I could buy two Kona's for the price of my Kona now that prices have dropped so much. The problem with the five Ami's is, I can only drive one at a time.
I’ve seen one at a dealership and it reminds me of those invalid carriages of the 70’s and 80’s, in so far as I could imagine it would make a pretty good mobility vehicle.
This would have been the perfect car for my uncle, the last few years he lived. He only drove to the local grocery store, and drove slowly, very slowly... But for cargo, no. You'd want a Paxter for that. (UK dealer is 'Urban Ebikes in London )
I could see this used in techno campuses or in massive Datacentres. Not something that would ever get to Australia not officially at least. Possibly on small tropical islands is another location I could see it used. I'd rather see more 2 wheel transport like Denmark than more congestion from 4 wheel ones be they EV or ICE. Good to have smaller options coming in EV's though.
Yes it's likely that there will be break throughs in battery energy density that ll push these over the at least the 100 mile mark in future or maybe you can have a tinkered that will pack more batteries in to part of the cargo hold
For someone who would like something cheap to go too and from work I have a 25 mile journey. That is a 50 mile round trip. Add to that I have both country roads and a dual carriageway to contend with. So would need something capable of 60 to 70miles of minimum range, to allow for battery degradation and temperature range issues. And the ability to travel at perhaps 60mph for extra urban and dual carriageway driving. If all someone wanted was to get a single bag of shopping etc within the confines of only 30mph roads, then fine. But quite frankly an older second hand Nissan Leaf or Renault Zoe surely these days would come in at between £3000 - £7000 And be far more practical for that commute.
Since this is a large quadricycle I cannot fathom why the laws in the UK are so strict, technically the Ami should be drivable with the minimum of a category AM license, the same license as a moped. The UK are far too strict compared to other countries in Europe, which is a shame as many more of these vehicles could be on the road.
What it would be perfect for is a site yard vehicle for security guys who need to patrol. Speeds are low at typically 15-20mph, and range is more than ample.
As you say, a bit niche, but useful in undemanding city or rural flat areas when the bicycle would be a bit wet for getting to the local shop. Perhaps you could hang it on the back of a motorhome.
I can't help thinking that it would be safer and a little more practical in the UK with a 38mph limit. And if you still wanted one spec for all markets, have a different key for the 14-17 year olds. And when the car/quadracycle is in high power (38mph mode) display a light in the windscreen, so the local gendarmerie/plod can see that someone with a full licence should be driving. I do think you were right in talking to the take away/deliveroo types as a possible use and you wonder if its a case of. they can't be sure until they try it. I wonder how it would fare as a last mile parcel/post option. There must be plenty of routes and pedestrianised areas where this would work. A big minus for the Ami cargo, the same minus I gave my Kangoo ZE, is that the Zoe I had, you could keep the key in your pocket, so jump in press the start button, drive. To exit, press stop, get out, walk away and the Zoe would lock. Yet the Kangoo, where you could be getting in and out a number of times on the same street, only had an ignition key. I know this adds cost, but if I had a keyless option on a delivery vehicle it would be worth it.
Why don't Citroen build a modern electric 2CV based on the original design with the the longditudal spring dampers, plastic easy repair body panels and simple to fix idea but with a modern crash frame superstructure The problem is so many car mass production facilities cost way too much to make an uncommon component car manufacturing not viable today
The most obvious market for Ami is the middle class retired. We have two petrol cars, both underused and almost certainly both will eventually fall foul of tightening ULEZ limits that are sure to spread to major UK cities as a net zero/money raising strategy for cash strapped local authorities. For retired people in urban environments Ami could easily handle 80 percent of journeys, leaving a larger ICE vehicle to use for motorway and Ikea runs. Ami also makes an ideal station car park vehicle that can still get in a space next to those gargantuan SUV’s that make 1960’s designed car parks a pain to use when available spaces are limited. I can see a rapidly developing after market for supplementary heaters and portable battery packs for these vehicle. Roll on the Mk2 version with air con and a uk friendly 40 mph maximum speed. 😅
I’d have one, although I prefer the Fiat Topolino. I live in a town but I am disabled and cannot walk far. I currently use a 3 wheel electric scooter that’s limited to 8, yes EIGHT, mph. The Ami/Topolino would mean I could go shopping, around town, the doctors etc even in the rain! It would give me back some independence no matter the weather.. Good job, Citroen and Fiat
If the cargo box and steering swapped sides, to suit UK roads - then make it a hatchback, and the box into a trough, it would be ideal for carrying lengths of timber from the DIY store, etc. I presume the full-width box at the back is the motor and switchgear, so that can't be removed or lowered - so it would need a side ridge to stop your timber from sliding sideways, but that is easily arranged.
Maybe good as an inner-London commuter vehicle? Probably enough power and range, and will fit into parking spaces few other cars would. Obviously, exceptionally friendly for those who commute into the central London Congestion Zone. IMO, it's too compromised for use outside of the inner-London context...and not cheap enough.
Not very practical where I live ( Sheffield ) unless you avoid the hills and wouldn't be much use for a run out to Derbyshire. Give it a 100 mile range and a 50 mph top speed and it would suit a lot more drivers.
