Officially a quadricycle, is the ultra-compact Citroën Ami EV up to the rigours of everyday city life? Our Al Suttie tests it out with a week in the Scottish capital.

Citroën Ami Pop

List price (BiK): £8440 (2%) CO2: 0g/km Economy: 46 miles Test efficiency: 46 miles

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Monday

Citroën has revived an old name for a very new vehicle with its Ami. Some time with this EV tot in Edinburgh should tell us if it’s more than a clever play on the name. The infamous cobbled streets of Scotland’s capital will also shake loose any fundamental flaws in the way this two-seat electric quadricycle performs as a means of mobility in and around town.

Tuesday

Ami by name, ami by nature – if you drive this little Citroën, you’re going to have to get used to chatting to people and making new friends. Everyone seems to love it, talk about it, ask what it’s like to drive, and take pictures of it. Every time I’ve stopped, someone has come up to strike up a conversation. It might add five minutes to a journey, but it makes for a much happier day overall.

Wednesday

Pared to the bare necessities, there’s no air conditioning in the Ami, which tells on a late summer afternoon in Edinburgh. With the glass roof letting the sunshine into the cabin, it can get quite warm in there when sat in traffic. The flip-up windows, which are a nod to the original Citroën 2CV’s, don’t do much when at a standstill, but they create a welcome breeze inside the vehicle as soon you get moving.

Thursday

The simple digital display of the Ami shows 46 miles with a full battery charge. With every mile driven around town, the mile counter ticks down accordingly, making it very accurate. Given the small range of the Ami, this is important to know when you’re getting close to needing a recharge, but with a 28mph top speed you’re also not going to suddenly find yourself stranded unless you’re very negligent at checking the battery’s charge.

Friday

The more you look around the Ami, the more you realise Citroën has been very clever and dedicated to creating a simple, no-frills EV. The plastic panels are the same front and back, the doors on either side come from the same mould to keep cost down, and the door releases are orange fabric straps. Even the indicator stalk needs to be cancelled by the driver as self-cancelling adds weight. It’s quirky stuff, but also easy to live with.

Saturday

The only downside of the Ami that I can find when using it in around town is the lack of a boot. There is plenty of room in the passenger footwell to stick bags and a curry hook to hang shopping from, but it is trickier if you want to leave anything valuable inside as it will be on display for all passers-by to see. Still, at least there are plenty of storage points on the top of the dash panel. I also barely noticed that it was left-hand drive; it’s such a small vehicle that you almost sit in the middle of it and it’s a doddle to place on the road. Also, with the gear selector buttons down on the left of the driver’s seat, it does away with any sense of being a ‘normal car’. A ‘Cargo’ version that ditches the passenger seat for storage space is also available.

Sunday

After a fair few miles in the Ami, it’s clear the ride is pretty harsh over Edinburgh’s cobbled streets. Enough to put me off? Probably not when using the Ami as a commuter second or third vehicle, but I wouldn’t want to spend all day in one as a delivery driver, for example. As a cheeky, fun zero-tailpipe emissions town vehicle, though, it fulfils its brief admirably while also bringing a huge amount of Citroën trademark leftfield thinking with it.