With a Citroen Ami. Was parked next to one in the supermarket and thought for the distance I cover these days, why not? Only around 6,000 € I think and surely the kids can stand that in the inheritance between them.
So I watched a video and am still interested but some things hold me back. No boot but I see they have arranged for the passenger seat to fold and left a fair space from under the dash, but would that be big enough for the dog? I don’t ‘do’ small dogs. No aircon and worse, no fully opening windows. Also, in one video the noises seemed extreme, I thought electric cars wee supposed to be quiet.
But, my weekly motoring these days is largely confined to 3 trips to the shops, thus 24 kms, and a 30 km round trip every 10 weeks to collect Jules’ pills. Plus my present car gave me a real fright a few weeks ago when its repair raised the possibility of an outlay not far short of this little gem’s purchase price.
He was held down by a gang whose leader looked very like the picture in @Mik_Bennett 's posts, a little hole was drilled in his skull and what passed for a brain was replaced with something completely different.
They were prepared to drill even bigger holes but realised that one tiny one was quite sufficient.
There was no pain inflicted but a sobbing voice could be heard muttering something about ‘bloody iclouds’ so it was thought less stressful not to mention apples when other fruit are available.
The toppolino has always been the same car for a couple of thousand more. Perhaps that’s changed, but it certainly always was the case so unless you want the appearance it makes no sense getting one. Ditto the Opel Rocks, again exactly the same car with some different styling and a higher price.
I really can’t believe you are thinking of buying one of these David.
Think of the beautiful cabs you’ve driven in the past especially the Renault Magnum. Can a Magnum man become an Ami man. What a letdown.
Don’t do it David, please don’t do it!
There are a lot of them around here, and I don’t like them at all. They’re just small boxes on wheels, and I doubt you’d be very well protected in one if there were an accident—even when it’s stopped
Indeed check out the safety. Given they (and the Fiat which is basically the same car, its Stellantis) are limited to 45km/h my understanding is they dont have the same safety standards required as for faster cars
You may say “that is fine” until one day a tractor decides to have an argument with you.
Yup, no air bag, anti lock brakes or stability control. We saw a couple lying on their side like dead bugs in the Jura as they came off the road at tight bends.
And you would hate everyone behind you cursing as you held up traffic with your max speed of 45km hour. Plus you have to walk around with a big sign saying I have no licence because a) I was drunk/drugged b) didn’t pass old age medical or c) failed my driving test.
However statistics don’t lie and insurance co’s have them all. High premiums reflect this.
Though I do think the Citroën Ami would be perfect for @David_Spardo . Once he’d got his charging sorted out, I guess. And currently France will contribute to the purchase.
My only worry is would Jules fit in leaving room for the driver and a bag of shopping? I think so but take Jules to the showroom to test.
For the sake of @kirsteastevenson who has one, let’s add a couple of extra types to jane’s list of a), b) and c) who might be found driving a Citroën Ami.
d) über-trendies who are also practical and ecological
e) people that couldn’t bear to be seen in the new Dacia Spring elecric car for which they paid just 10,900 euros net (if they qualified for the 7,000 subsidy level) which would retain more value and have more buyers if sold. Could probably get a dog cage or 3 dogs in too, plus their food shopping . ( There was only about 1,000 subsidy on the Citroën Ami.)
My biggest concern would be safety in the event of a smash, the Dacia Spring has a very low safety rating and I would never take my grandchildren in one TBH. I watched an Ami in front of me some time ago take a roundabout too fast and it almost had two wheels off the ground and there isn’t much to protect the driver should the worst happen. There are lots of decent second hand cars around for the same money as a new matchbox, maybe take a look at some of those first.
The Citroen Ami is not a car, it’s a quadricycle - hence its low top speed and its basic build, and why you can drive it without a normal car licence.
if you want to know what it’s like to own one, check out some older videos on the often hilarious Me and Mon Ami channel on YouTube (originally recommended on here by @kirsteastevenson I think), though they more often drive their Fiat Panda electric car these days.
I would have thought it would be fine if you mainly do short journeys in a quiet rural environment or a small town without too much traffic.
safety rating has improved on the new version of the Dacia Spring Shiba. Definitely better than the Citroën Ami at the same speed - but people use the Citroën Ami if they want to do far less.
Glad to see someone remembered, I’ve only just seen this as my eyes were rolling so much from most of the other comments that Ive only just been able to focus…
