Anyone for a £ 5k new car?... Ami for starters

CITROEN’S LITTLE PLUG- IN WONDER IS THE PERFECT CITY MOTOR

And now for something completely different. Allow me to present the Citroen Ami, the most unusual, thought- provoking and cutest car we’ve tested this year. For many years, in fact.

It’s tough knowing where to start as there’s so much to say about this. First thing that you need to know is it’s classed as a quadricycle which means it can be driven by

16- year- olds.

Youngsters and those without a car licence will have to take a CBT test just as they would for a moped or scooter.

The Ami, as you can probably guess, is fully electric. Housed in a flat compartment under the floor is a 5.5kWh lithium- ion battery which you can charge from a domestic socket in three hours.

That’s pretty small by EV standards but big enough to give it a range of up to 43 miles – but more than adequate for city use.

And because the Ami has a governed top speed of 28mph that is where you will be using it. An A- road journey would be bad; a motorway unthinkable.

The Ami is bijou as they would say in France. Only 2.41 metres long, 1.39m wide ( excluding mirrors) and 1.52m tall. It also has a very cityfriendly turning circle of only 7.20m. Oh, and it weighs only 485kg with

battery. As an aside, the battery in a Jaguar I- Pace weighs 750kg.

Citroen UK has put feelers out on social media to see if we natives fancy an Ami – as yet its sale here is undecided.

It’s unlikely the firm will make a right- hand drive version, but that doesn’t really matter because the Ami is so narrow what side you drive it from is virtually irrelevant.

This tiny car is certainly built to a price – not just by using cheap plastic materials but also by some clever out- of- the box thinking. For example, the doors are exactly the same right and left – so only one set of parts and one set of production tools are needed.

The driver’s door is hinged at the front and the passenger’s at the back. The windows are all the same too and hinge open upwards as on a 2CV. Look carefully and you’ll see the front and rear bumpers, bottoms of the bumpers and under- body panels are exactly the same parts front and back. More cost saving.

Step inside the Ami and you’ll find two seats. The driver’s can be adjusted fore and aft but the passenger’s is fixed.

The interior is very minimalist. Sit in the driver’s seat and you’ll find down to the left, next to your thigh, buttons to select Drive, Neutral and Reverse. Simple.

Before you, on the steering column, is a basic instrument panel showing speed and range. To the right is a phone mount – you supply your own infotainment and satnav in the Ami which will probably work better than most bespoke car systems anyway. The good news is there’s a heater as standard. There’s no boot, so you stash your stuff in various clever storage areas. By the passenger’s feet there’s enough space for a wheelie case and a net to hold it.

The cabin is very light thanks to an enormous glass area that includes a panoramic sunroof.

Like most EVs the Ami sets off at a spirited rate. Nippy sums it up. The ride is quite comfy, the unassisted steering accurate and the whole thing feels stable.

How would it cope in an accident? Well it’s light which really helps, but ask yourself this: would you rather your 16 year- old ( or any loved one) was driving this Ami with four wheels and a proper roof – or an electric scooter?

In France the Citroen Ami costs € 6,000 (£ 5,460 at the moment in the Brexit drama) – half the price of the rivals we’ve listed above.

Even if we have a no- deal and tariffs it’ll make little difference to the price. And all the rivals will go up by the same amount.

I can see this model working in UK cities. The Ami is tough enough to stand abuse, it has no soft furnishings inside so it can be easily cleaned or even hosed out.

I’m pretty sure Citroen will bring it to the UK – and if it does we’ll see a lot of them. I can’t wait.

Its 28mph top speed and 43- mile range is all you need for around town