Electrek Review: Testing a tiny 8 HP Citroen Ami microcar

[rickbartley]

One of your initial statements rings true with me. Back to basics really means how much is really enough to meet your individual transportation needs? Bikes, scooters, golf carts/micro cars can potentially eliminate the need for a 2nd family car in some suburban scenarios or just save expenses, wear and tear and extend the life of your expensive traditional car or truck. Seems practical to me where it works.

[ChitFromChinola]

I like. The Buggy version is crazy cool. Citroen is not afraid to be different.

The shot of you running an extension cord into the hotel is priceless.

[duhk]

The U.S. needs more microcar options like this for when I put my bikes away for the winter in my city.

[gopromax]

Bought one second hand (except 38 week wait for a new model) to my daughter for college a year ago, perfect device, safer than a moppet, faster than public transportation, charging at home most part of the time, heater is weak, bt some 3d stl available on thingiverse did the trick same to improve the heater system. perfect car for small to medium cities

[gregyohngy]

I was using a Lectric 2.0 Ebike after I got rid of my Prius. Decided to get a 3 wheeled Nimbus One, but they didn't make them in 2023 as promised. I decided to get a used Fiat 500e. It's small and can get to highway speeds.

[colleenwright-kakkar]

I may never own one, but I did enjoy watching you and your wife having fun in it

[JeremyParsons]

I'm watching this for a third time and I noticed some exceptional time-lapse and drone shots of the car and Santorini that I didn't notice the previous times. This is actually a better review and a nicer travel blog than I had realised - thanks !

[SmartMart]

The Fiat badge version - the "Topolino" looks even better.

[FeelItRising]

just having a regular wall plug seems to be a huge advantage

[Kiev-in--days]

Amazing vehicle. An order of magnitude better than any Tesla for most people if you think about it.
Pretty sure Columbo would ride this car nowadays.

[John--qhxl]

Cute, whatever it is, vehicle. A solar panel roof might be nice. It would keep the sun from scorching you as well.

[raylivengood]

Neat car, but I’d like to see a video about your trip to Santorini 😁

Super cool drive up the mountain 🏔️.

[karlInSanDiego]

Between this, and the sister cars Fiat Topolino, and Opel Rocks, I would guess this is the highest production LEV quad. Thanks for sharing this review, Micah.

[thorbjrnhellehaven]

I want to want an Ami.

The general specifications would suit my neighborhood commutes most ov the time, except the random cold days/weeks through the winter.

Other than its challenge in cold climate: I want it. This is supposedly why Citroën decided to not launch it i Norway as well.

If someone finds a way to install a battery heater, I might even try to import an Ami for myself.

[karlroebling]

Level one charging sucks but at a 230 volt receptacle in Greece it should be twice as fast as level 1 charging in the US

[cosmodoc]

the rental company should have given you an adapter for the charging stations!

[douggoodman]

Nice for tight spots! About the same cost as a used ten-year-old Nissan Leaf with similar range.

[thorbjrnhellehaven]

While explaining charging, you are mixing up terms.

The Ami by default use *Mode 1* charging, connected to domestic socket. (Not "level 1)
The charging stations yo mentioned have *Type 2* sockets, (not level 2).

Level1/Level2 is commonly used to distinguish voltage levels. Common in 120V countries, but rare in Europe, because default is 230V

Mode is a different term, to describe the communication between the vehicle charging station/socket:
Mode 1: no communication, charging from normal socket
Mode 2: the cable has electronics to tell the car the maximum allowable power, charging from normal socket
Mode 3: the charging station communicates with the car, to tell the maximum allowable power, using charging station with tethered cable or special EV charging socket (in Europe that socket would be Type-2)
Mode 4: DC fast charging, the car tells the charging station how much power the battery can handle, then the charging station controls the charging.

It is possible to charge Ami from a Type-2 station, if you use an adapter, turning it into a Mode 1 socket. However the adapter will ignore the Mode 3 communication. Possibly with some undecided issues, but their conditions are fairly rare.

[HUJUism]

Cant wait to get one of these bad boys used.

[Dknight-du]

😆 She didn’t want to join him riding up the steep hill. She’s supposed to be the “Ride or Die” partner.