Citroen Ami Review

How much does it cost?

Prices for the Citroen Ami in the UK start at £7,695 and rise to £8,695 if you option a number of individual colour packs. It is also worth noting that Citroen offers finance deals that see Ami available for around £99 a month with the right deposit.

Seeing that Citroen hasn’t sold masses of Ami in the UK and it is still somewhat of a novelty, used prices are strong, with a quick scan of used cars on The AA suggesting that models with around 7,000 miles on the clock (high mileage for an Ami) can be picked up for just under £4,500.

Citroen also released a very limited Buggy edition of the Ami, which comes with chunky tyres and more aggressive bodywork. It cost £10,495 when it was released last year, but only 1,000 were made, with just 40 heading to the UK.

Engine and performance

Overview

The Citroen Ami only comes in one powertrain configuration and that’s an 8bhp (6kW) electric motor that drives the front wheels and develops 40Nm of torque. This takes its feed from an equally tiny 5.5kWh battery pack.

As a result, it is only possible to cover just shy of 47-miles on a single charge, while charging via a standard three-pin domestic socket takes around four hours. There’s no fast-charging option here.,

Out on the road

Any road test of the Citroen Ami is very much limited to slower urban routes, as the restricted top speed would make it very dangerous to take on faster roads and motorways.

But around town, it is perfectly capable of keeping up with traffic and even feels sprightly breezing away from the lights. There’s excellent visibility out of the cabin and rear, which is great, given that you don’t even get a rear-view mirror.

Operation is fantastically simple, with an old-school key and ignition switching the vehicle on and a three switch arrangement next to the driver’s left thigh selecting drive, neutral or reverse.

The boxy exterior design also means there’s very little in the way of bodywork, as you essentially sit right at the very front of the Ami. It’s more like parking a golf cart than it is a standard compact city car.

That said, it’s not exactly the most refined ride around and large lumps or potholes will be felt by both occupants inside.

Ride and handling

The sparse, almost “wipe clean” interior of the ami has enough room for two adults to sit, with a slightly staggered seating arrangement ensuring shoulders don’t rub together as it bumps down the road.

And bump down the road it will, as the suspension set-up is best described as rudimentary. It does a perfectly acceptable job of minor imperfections, but anything larger is transmitted straight to the backsides of occupants thanks to unforgiving and rather thin seat pads.

Handling is as you’d expect, in so much that the Ami goes exactly where you point it, but there’s very little in the way of feedback. Steering is very light, though, which makes it very easy to park and manoeuvre.

Above all else, the diminutive frame means Ami can be parked in impossibly small spaces, which makes it a great option for cramped city centres.

Interior and features

Interiors

Like the Renault Twizy, the interior of Citroen’s Ami is predictably basic but it has been finished with a keen eye for details. The entire dashboard, for example, is one large stowage area for tossing keys, phones and other bits and pieces.

There is netting on the doors that allow for bottles and more to be stowed, and classic door handles have been replaced with low-cost but colourful fabric pull tabs.

Don’t expect anything in the way of in-car technology, with a simple smartphone dock and USB charging outlet provided for navigational and infotainment duties. There is a ‘My Ami’ smartphone app that users can connect to the car to retrieve information, as well as a ‘My Ami Play’ app that acts like a mini Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, just not as thorough or useful.

The cabin is almost bereft of buttons, with just three switches taking care of a rather pathetic heater, the hazard lights and a heated rear window, which feels like a luxury here.

That said, Citroen has provided a small LCD display that’s mounted behind the steering wheel for speed read-outs and mileage information. Oh, and you get a couple of cupholders.

The upside of this basic approach is that the Ami’s interior can essentially be hosed down with a pressure washer if required.

Boot space and practicality

The seats take up the majority of space inside Ami, leaving very little in terms of a boot or luggage space. Shopping bags and gym kits can be stuffed in footwells or on the passenger seat if nobody is riding shotgun.

Citroen has hollowed-out a 63-litre space behind the driver’s seat, but it’s not the easiest to access and there’s only enough room to carry a few small things.

Features

There are very few features to speak of, with standard equipment including LED lights at the front and rear, a single front windscreen that just about clears the driver’s side and an enormous panoramic glass roof that makes the interior feel bright and airy.

Inside, there’s a single USB-A socket for charging small electrical items and a heating fan that warms up the cabin in colder climates. Ventilation is taken care of by fold-out side windows.

A charging cable is also tethered to the vehicle and tucked into the passenger door. It means you don’t have to use the stingy load space for accessories, but it is limited in length, so make sure you park close to an outlet.

Trim and colour options

The only real options involve adding a splash of colour to the exterior of a Citroen Ami. Entry level models are relatively plain, with all cars coming in the same greyish/blue hue.

Stepping up to My Ami Orange, Grey or Blue adds some rear window decals, wheel trims and lower door decals in a choice of the three aforementioned shades. These cars cost £8,095.

My Ami Pop (£8,495) throws in a different set of graphical decals, black floor mats and contrast black plastics on the lower front bumper and around the headlamps. There’s also a small black spoiler.

Finally, the range-topping £8,695 Ami tonic adds all of the above but finishes things off with a contrast yellow set of decals, additional door decals and yellow accents throughout the cabin.

Safety and reliability

Due to the fact the Citroen Ami is classed as a quadricycle, it doesn’t have to adhere to the same rigorous safety standard as other electric vehicles.

As a result, Euro NCAP hasn’t crash-tested the vehicle, although the light, thin metal structure that makes up the car clearly won’t perform as well as rival compact EVs.

Similarly, there aren’t enough on the market, nor has it been around long enough to comment on its overall reliability and customer satisfaction levels. But all Amis come with a two-year unlimited mileage warranty, plus a three-year or 25,000-mile warranty for the battery.

MPG, emissions and tax

The Citroen Ami is still classed as an electric vehicle, so anything registered after April 1st, 2025 costs £10 for the first year and then £195 thereafter.

It doesn’t emit anything from its tailpipes and manages around 47-miles on a single charge, although this figure will dramatically decrease if in the cold when using the heater and wipers, while steep gradients and varied terrain will also sap batteries.