Citroën Ami - a tiny, electric 'polypropylene cube on wheels' for urban driving

[TopCat]

This isn't the vehicle for me but I am excited by it and what it means.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

I took a family of four, plus bikes, to the IoW this summer, in a Micra with a roof pod and rear rack. No 4x4 required.

Impressed you got 4 bikes on one - what rack was it? Presumably the micra didn’t have a tow bar to mount it on?

 

[RubyToogood]

What I would really like to see is widespread electric mopeds and motorbikes. I saw someone on a Super Soco today and wanted to stop him and ask him how he liked it.

 

[dessiato]

The problem with plug in cars is that a lot of city dwellers don't have somewhere to plug them in. I, for example, rent a garage about 500m away. It's my nearest place to park. Additionally there's no plug in places in the towns I most often visit. As much as I like the basic idea of an electric car until I live in the suburbs with off road parking alongside my house there is no way I can have a plug in car.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I cannot think of a single time I've had to do this, and never heard a reasonable scenario for "speeding up to get out of danger"

You are going round a roundabout, you see someone coming onto the roundabout too fast, brake, they will hit you, speed up, they miss. One of a myriad of scenarios.

 

[A380]

Try Peterborough or Milton Keynes etc, plenty of dual carriageway roads above 30mph that are part of direct routes from one part of town to another. Precisely to avoid cars going via residential areas, which this thing will have to do. Like a scooter but wider and heavier.

In MK this would be cool on the RedWays...

 

[Crispy]

Impressed you got 4 bikes on one - what rack was it? Presumably the micra didn’t have a tow bar to mount it on?

No tow bar (although it can have one fitted)
One of those ones that clip onto the boot door.
Was under the rated weight limit and did just fine on the A3.
To be fair one of the bikes was very small

 

[chilango]

The problem with plug in cars is that a lot of city dwellers don't have somewhere to plug them in. I, for example, rent a garage about 500m away. It's my nearest place to park. Additionally there's no plug in places in the towns I most often visit. As much as I like the basic idea of an electric car until I live in the suburbs with off road parking alongside my house there is no way I can have a plug in car.

If/when electric cars become the norm, and most car owners therefore have an electric I guarantee you a solution will be found pdq.

 

[A380]

When I started a thread about contemplating buying an Electric Zoe every one accused me of wanting a sex robot.

 

[Aladdin]

The problem with plug in cars is that a lot of city dwellers don't have somewhere to plug them in. I, for example, rent a garage about 500m away. It's my nearest place to park. Additionally there's no plug in places in the towns I most often visit. As much as I like the basic idea of an electric car until I live in the suburbs with off road parking alongside my house there is no way I can have a plug in car.

I know a guy (true story) who bought an electric car. Drove it home. Went to his apartment on the 8th floor and realised there was absolutely no way to plug in his electric car. He had to return it to the dealer.
The cars are great but only with charge points every 100 yards or so.

 

[Idris2002]

The problem with plug in cars is that a lot of city dwellers don't have somewhere to plug them in. I, for example, rent a garage about 500m away. It's my nearest place to park. Additionally there's no plug in places in the towns I most often visit. As much as I like the basic idea of an electric car until I live in the suburbs with off road parking alongside my house there is no way I can have a plug in car.

There's a sushi place in Halle that has one of those Renault Twiztys pictured upthread. I would sometimes see it parked out someone's front door, with its electric charging cable snaked through to the plug inside.

 

[T & P]

The Renault Twizy is quite a funky looking little thing:

If I wanted a car for getting around town, though (which I don't: I don't agree with driving in cities unless it's absolutely necessary), and I had somewhere out of the rain to keep it, I'd still go out and buy the best city car ever made:

I was coming here just to post about the Renault Twizy. It’s so ridiculous and ugly it actually works- for me at least. Far more appealing than similar all-electric micro cars. And as well as the child-engined one there’s a second version available, which does 50 mph

 

[Marty1]

I hope incidents like this one don’t occur with these new low powered vehicles:

 

[Saul Goodman]

I cannot think of a single time I've had to do this, and never heard a reasonable scenario for "speeding up to get out of danger"

 

[RubyToogood]

The advantage of electric mopeds/motorbikes is that usually you just take the battery out and take it into the house/office to charge.

 

[dessiato]

If/when electric cars become the norm, and most car owners therefore have an electric I guarantee you a solution will be found pdq.

I suppose a 500m + the cable needed to go from my 2nd floor apartment and first level parking place would work. Not sure the locals would appreciate it. Or the town could build more charging points and install them in the various car parks. In the meantime I'll carry on with petrol.

 

[Sasaferrato]

The answer is hydrogen. The cars exist, the filling stations exist. Use wind, hydro, tidal and solar to make hydrogen.

 

[T & P]

The advantage of electric mopeds/motorbikes is that usually you just take the battery out and take it into the house/office to charge.

Another big advantage of bikes and trikes is that there’s free parking everywhere, even at airports, are CC exempted, and also you can go on many bus lanes. These four wheeler things might also be CC exempted but otherwise are treated like cars.

I bought a trike a few months ago and couldn’t be happier. They’re very safe and stable and if you first got your car driving licence before 2013 you don’t need a bike licence or even a CBT to ride one. 400 cc so fast enough to keep up with motorway traffic, and frankly I reckon it has more storage space than those electric vehicles. It even has heating

 

[fishfinger]

The answer is hydrogen. The cars exist, the filling stations exist. Use wind, hydro, tidal and solar to make hydrogen.

Too soon?...

 

[spanglechick]

Another big advantage of bikes and trikes is that there’s free parking everywhere, even at airports, are CC exempted, and also you can go on many bus lanes. These four wheeler things might also be CC exempted but otherwise are treated like cars.

I bought a trike a few months ago and couldn’t be happier. They’re very safe and stable and if you first got your car driving licence before 2013 you don’t need a bike licence or even a CBT to ride one. 400 cc so fast enough to keep up with motorway traffic, and frankly I reckon it has more storage space than those electric vehicles. It even has heating

Hard to carry a weekly shop home, though. And not so good in the rain.

 

[Cid]

View attachment 229969

Evading the filth is all about finding somewhere they can't go. Tiny vehicle an advantage.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Crikey the new defender is a fugly car.

I'm convinced it's deliberate. They're for people who want to be seen wasting money on stupid shit.

As for these micro-cars, it can't beyond the wit of man to make one that isn't fucking hideous. A couple of straight lines would be a start, I know they were outlawed in car design at some point in the mid-90's but surely we can bring them back?

 

[Saul Goodman]

Evading the filth is all about finding somewhere they can't go. Tiny vehicle an advantage.

No good if they can catch you on foot.

 

[Teaboy]

You are going round a roundabout, you see someone coming onto the roundabout too fast, brake, they will hit you, speed up, they miss. One of a myriad of scenarios.

They've joined a roundabout without checking its clear? You make sure you welly into the side of them. Collect the injury claims and a new car. Its a gimme of a claim.

 

[Cid]

No good if they can catch you on foot.

True enough. Ride a bike.

 

[Sasaferrato]

They've joined a roundabout without checking its clear? You make sure you welly into the side of them. Collect the injury claims and a new car. Its a gimme of a claim.

I'm missing two discs in my lower spine, and my neck is in a shocking state. No, I practice defensive driving and gtf out of there.

 

[Cid]

You are going round a roundabout, you see someone coming onto the roundabout too fast, brake, they will hit you, speed up, they miss. One of a myriad of scenarios.

How on earth would you get into this situation?

 

[WouldBe]

I cannot think of a single time I've had to do this, and never heard a reasonable scenario for "speeding up to get out of danger"

I had a metal number plate come off a lorry on the motorway as I was overtaking it in lane 3. The number plate was heading for the windscreen. Braking would have been dangerous, so I accelerated to run it over.

 

[weltweit]

Back in my motorbiking days my 750 Suzuki was pretty rapid from about 50 - 80mph (third gear) which meant I could overtake pretty much on demand. I am sure it did get me out of some situations, but it could also get me into trouble faster.

However it was much safer and better than when I started on underpowered machines that could only just keep up with the traffic.

 

[DownwardDog]

Ironically, a "sans permis" would probably work very well for me were I ever to manage to move to the part of Brittany I had in mind - rarely getting off B road - though there is the "maillot jaune" culture there with plenty of aspersions cast towards slow vehicles.
And by the same token, perhaps also in the Gower with the odd trip into town for shopping outside of the rush hour.

Sans Permis are amazingly expensive for what they are as they have small production runs and a captive market of drunks and people with medical issues. They also have negligible support with parts being very hard to get.

You'd be way better off just getting an old Clio and replacing it every five years when the floor drops out due to rust.