It measures only 2.41m long, so it is tiny, but very easy to park, and probably small enough to take into Morrisons to do your shopping in, and I’m sure it would go up and down the isles, and with a small turning circle, of only 7.2m, it’s very nimble.
Citroën has been clever with their design, as the front panel is identical to the rear, just the lights are different. The drivers door opens rearward, and the passenger door opens forward, all Ami’s are left-hand drive, so ideal for Gibraltar and its narrow streets.
In the cabin, which is remarkably spacious for such a small car, it is fairly basic, with hardly any nice bits of standard specification. It does have a heater, but I found it to be underwhelming, and you are better not using it, and conserve some electric.
The Ami does have a nice touch first used on the Citroën 2CV over 80 years ago, these are the hinged ‘pop-up’ Windows, a bit of retro design in a modern vehicle.
The Ami is technically not a car, it’s a large electric quadricycle, and in some European countries it can be driven by 14 year olds without a driving licence. This could be a very good or a very bad thing!
The electric motor produces just 8 BHP, which gives it a top speed of 28 mph, or 45kph, so highly unlikely you’ll ever get a speeding ticket. RGP, take note.
Anyone thinking of buying an electric Ami, really needs to think long and hard about where and when they are going to use it. Its range is going to be very dependent on the gradient of the terrain. Also, obviously, required is the ability to efficiently charge the vehicle. This isn’t always practical in Gibraltar if you live on the top floor of a block without parking. The Ami really is a “buyer-beware” vehicle, do your homework before making any buying decisions. It is also available badged as an Opel Rocks Electric, so could be available over the Frontier at the relatively new Opel dealership there, with all the duty fun and games that would entail.
But the Ami is not expensive to buy, in the UK the one-the-road price is £7995, but if you do buy one, be prepared for many people looking at it, it does attract lots of attention.
