NEW Citroen Ami Buggy review – can it actually make sense? | What Car?

foreign this is the new Citron Ami buggy possibly one of the most sought after new electric vehicles of the year but what is it and why is that the case in this review we're finding out first this video is supported by podpoint winner of our best home EV charger test 2023. look in our description below to find out more [Music] so first what is the Citron Army well it is a tiny two-seat electric quadricycle which is 2.5 meters long 1.4 meters wide it weighs 485 kilograms which is about half of a Ford Fiesta it also has a mighty eight brake horsepower electric motor a top speed of 28 miles an hour and from a full charge the claimed official range is 46 miles it also has a very tight turning Circle or 7.2 meters when it was first unveiled it was unclear whether the Ami would be coming to the UK or not the plan initially was to sell it in some other European markets instead but there was actually quite a bit of interest from over here so in the end Citroen decided that yes it would bring it to the UK foreign was released Citron followed it up with a concept version called the Army buggy which was essentially the regular car but with some off-road styling that then became a full production model called the Citron my Ami buggy but it was only sold in very small numbers and only sold in France this though is different it's the Citron Miami buggy 2. [Music] this is coming to the UK in fact it's already here as you can see and when this first went on sale it took just two minutes and 10 seconds for the first Ami buggy to be sold which is about as long as you've been watching this video now compared to the regular army this has no doors instead it's got these steel protective bars but like the regular Ami both of these bars are the same part which means effectively one is rear hinged to get into the court in a similar manner the front and the rear bumpers are identical like the regular car so it's not always immediately obvious which way round the buggy is facing even though it doesn't have doors it does have these shower proof covers which you can roll down like so or if you'd rather you can actually remove them completely [Music] again compared to the regular Ami there are some differences in the styling of this car so you've got this off-road car key color scheme you've got reinforced bumpers headlights surrounds wheel Arch extensions skid plates there's even a rear spoiler although to be fair you can get that on the regular army there are some changes inside as well so if you remember on the regular Ami the gear selector was down by the side of the driver here but with the Ami buggy obviously there's no doors so there isn't much in the way of weather protection and if it was to rain on the gear selector then that wouldn't be ideal so what they've done for the Ami buggy is move it up onto the dashboard here which is still very convenient it's good you can actually see it easily as well so that's fine another difference is this yellow color scheme that you can see in here with these highlights dotted around and it is quite nice lifts the interior having this bright dashboard but on a sunny day like this it does also mean that that yellow color is reflected onto the windscreen so as you drive along you've got this kind of wall of yellow in the windscreen as well but it's not actually that bad you also get this yellow bag thing on the steering wheel and to be honest it is pretty useless because it's very small and it also just doesn't really look that nice it doesn't feel very nice in fact it feels really cheap so I think if I owned an amp buggy the first thing I would do is take this off and probably not use it again but something that is good and a welcome addition to the interior of the Ami buggy is this sunroof now just the same as the doors that you can kind of fold back and zip up this is a similar arrangement for this sunroof so it's not particularly sophisticated it's certainly not electrically powered but it is very effective and again just adds to the kind of holiday feeling that you get when you're sat in this car now the interior otherwise is just the same as the regular Ami really so that is to say it's pretty basic in here you obviously only have seating for two although to be fair the space that you have for two people is perfectly fine unless they bring a lot of luggage with them in which case this clearly is not a particularly practical choice and neither is this interior a particularly plush feeling one either so the materials don't exactly feel very premium although it is all solidly put together it's also apparently got a different driver display surround compared to the regular army anyway now let's take it for a drive so the Citron Ami buggy on the road what is this thing like well the first thing to point out is the fact that there haven't been any mechanical changes compared to the regular army so the Driving Experience is exactly the same but the main difference of course is the fact that there aren't any doors so it's quite a bit noisier in here but what were you expecting exactly because it's the same as the Army it means that the suspension is not particularly sophisticated neither is the steering the fastest you'll be able to go anywhere is 28 miles an hour and clearly there are lots of situations where this would be quite a terrible thing to drive but on a sunny day like this when you're just driving from one beach to another this is just a really hilarious thing to be in and to drive of course compared to a regular car there is no area where this is the better choice apart from maybe when it comes to parking but then no one's going to be considering this instead of an actual car are they and for the job that this has been designed for it's really rather good and just very fun to be in [Music] so the question is what's the point well according to Citron the Army buggy is like a fashion accessory a bit of fun something that's a lifestyle option and according to them people who buy this car are going to park it up over winter and it's for people who are collectors maybe enthusiasts this definitely isn't some radical new mainstream rival to take on the VW Golf so how much is it well you can pick up a regular Ami for 7695 pounds and the most expensive version is 8695 pounds and of course the main appeal of this quadricycle really is its low price relative to other EVS this buggy though is 10 495 pounds which considering it's basically the regular Ami with some different paint no doors and a useless bag seems a bit expensive if that hasn't put you off and you are hold of a certainly be one of the most sought after new EVS of the year is because it's already sold out but while that might sound impressive there are just 40 headed to the UK there are another 800 headed to other European markets but they're sold out as well so what's the verdict then well to be honest it doesn't really matter because these are all sold out anyway but we are going to see more armies arrive in the future different versions similar to the buggy are rumored to be on the way but really what's clear is that the Ami buggy like the regular Ami can make sense but only in very specific circumstances and scenarios and clearly compared to a proper fully electric car than any other alternative is going to be more comfortable it's going to be faster it's going to take you much further on a full charge but it's also going to be a lot more money than what the Ami and the Army buggy cost so really if you need fully electric Local transportation at low speeds and you don't need to carry much stuff in the process then the Ami and the Ami buggy are pretty unique in what they offer thanks for watching this review if you want to see another one then click there and if you want to get a great deal on your next car go to whatcal.com by clicking there

Channel: What Car?

Views: 28,106

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Id: LZZ7cAYgmW8

Length: 8min 31sec (511 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 29 2023