Have you ever sat behind the wheel of a Smart FourTwo and thought, This car is way too big? At a time when it’s getting more and more difficult to find a subcompact car in the United States, Citroën has made a bold move on the other side of the Atlantic, releasing the Ami — an electric vehicle with a target audience including teenagers getting acclimated to driving and city dwellers looking for a compact vehicle to take around town.
Writing at The Guardian, Jon Henley has more details about the vehicle’s launch — which included one Citroën dealer in Paris selling 50 the first night the Ami was on sale. Citroën describes the Ami as an “urban mobility object,” and its top speed is 20 miles per hour. That, in turn, means in that in France, anyone 14 and older can drive it.
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The Ami’s range on a single charge — which takes three hours — is 46 miles. And its cost is relatively low as well: €6,000, or just over $7,100.
While there are some restrictions on where you can drive the Ami — for instance, expressways are a no-go — Henley’s description of driving it gives it high marks. Henley also notes that the Ami may be a safer alternative to scooters, in that its frame provides more stability in the event of a crash.
According to Citroën’s page for the car, the Ami will soon be available in a host of other countries in addition to France: Spain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Germany. It’s easy to see the appeal of one of these for getting around a city, especially on learning that two can fit in a standard parking spot.
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