Why the new Citroen Ami is the EV city bubble car 14 year olds can drive // The Late Brake Show
Welcome to The Late Brake Show. The new Citroen Ami is an EV city bubble car that 14 year olds can drive, so long as you live in France. The Ami isn't truthfully classed as a car, but as a quadricycle restricted to 45kph (26mph), meaning in its home country you can be 14 or over and drive it legitimately on the road. These are known as 'sans permis' cars in and - putting it bluntly - are great fun city cars or the kind of vehicles certain people buy who may have been banned from driving. Yes, you could get prosecuted from driving and yet still drive one in France, because it isn't classed as a car.
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The new Ami fascinated Jonny because although it shares nothing with the classic Ami (made to sit in between the space age DS and 2CV between 1961 and 1979), this does distill so much of that basic, utilitarianism chic that Citroen is so good at. In this detailed review episode Jonny drives as fast as he can around what was the epicentre of the British car industry - Coventry.
The Ami is already on sale in France and a few European countries, although most people will rent it by the minute in cities, or lease one for as little as €30 per month. Buy one outright and they are €6000, which is half the price of a new Renault Twizy. Smarts are way more expensive, but way safer and more luxuriously appointed. The Twizy wins on range and agility, but the Ami is a more desirable cabin when the weather goes sour.
If you are in the UK and might be interested in buying an Ami, Citroen is gauging interest of potential customers by asking them to register here. If enough people are keen, the UK will probably seem available to lease or hire: https://info.citroen.co.uk/new-cars/c...