Used Citroen Ami for sale: everything you need to know

If you want to traverse a city with minimal environmental impact and maximum attention, then nothing short of stripping down to your birthday suit and riding around on a bicycle beats the Citroen Ami. Wildly compromised in some ways and perfectly suited to city life in others, it’s the most unusual vehicle to hit the roads since 2012’s Renault Twizy.

The Ami isn’t technically a car at all but a quadricycle, so it shouldn’t really be considered a rival for traditional city cars. A low top speed and limited range mean it really is constrained to city limits, but it’s simple and fun to drive and makes anything larger look incredibly wasteful.

In fact, it’s hard to think of traditional rivals - beyond a used Twizy or a maxi scooter, the only real alternatives to the Ami are public transport or that aforementioned naked bicycle ride…

Should you buy a Citroen Ami?

With a 28mph top speed and a 47-mile range, there is a very clearly defined line beyond which a Citroen Ami isn’t worth considering. As soon as the roads get faster and distances get longer, the Ami is completely out of its depth, and this will rule it out for a lot of buyers.

If you’re still reading though then maybe the Ami will work for you. Your first big decision will be whether to buy new or used, and while we usually cover used cars in these sections, being able to put down just over £1,300 and then pay £99 per month means buying new can be very affordable indeed. As the Ami is still relatively new, the most you’re likely to find off the roughly £7500 new price for a used one is maybe £1,000 or so.

Citroen offers a limited range of trim levels, which are primarily colour themes, with only the Ami Cargo being notably different - swapping the usual two-seat layout for a single driver’s seat (all Amis are left-hand drive, but in a car this tiny it’s not really an issue) for a storage area.

That brings us on to the unusual layout of the Ami. The car is largely identical front to back, keeping costs low, and identical side to side too - right down to the door hinges, so the left-hand driver’s door opens from the back, and the right-hand passenger door opens from the front. The interior is basic in the extreme - there’s no aircon, though you do get a (rather noisy) heater. The split side windows open upwards, like on a classic Citroen 2CV, and the passenger seat is fixed in place.

Stiff suspension and a tiny turning circle make the Ami feel nimble, though that suspension means it’s far from comfortable. A tiny 8PS electric motor gets you from zero to the 28mph maximum in around 10 seconds so it’s not quick and can struggle on hills, but in heavy traffic, even 28mph is more than enough.

Accept the Ami’s compromises and it’s a likeable vehicle, and at current energy prices a full charge is less than 50p, so it’s hilariously cheap to run too. Other than Renault’s old Twizy, which could cover 50 miles and did 50mph, but wasn’t fully weatherproof, there’s really little else like it.

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What’s the best used Citroen Ami model to buy?

As all Amis are basically the same, the best Ami to buy is whichever one you like the look of and suits your budget. If you suspect you’re unlikely to ever carry a passenger though and feel more cargo space would be useful, then the Ami Cargo is the natural choice, and will stop friends bugging you for a lift…

Used Citroen Ami range and performance

• Citroen Ami: The Ami gets just a single power source, with a tiny 5.4kWh battery pack supplying current to an 8PS electric motor at the front wheels. There is no 0-62mph time, as the Ami can’t even hit half that speed, but it gets to 28mph in 10 seconds from rest. Range is quoted at just under 47 miles.

What used Citroen Ami trim levels are available?

The Citroen Ami’s trim levels are largely visual. Picking a Colour or Pop over the basic Ami gets you little more than a set of wheel trims and some contrasting colour elements to some of the plastic trim. They’re not worth paying over the odds for, in other words, but we’ve summarised them below so whether you’re buying new or used, you have a better idea of what you’re looking at. The biggest departure from the standard model is the Cargo, thanks to its large luggage area alongside the driver.

• The Citroen Ami is the basic Ami at its most basic, offered only in grey, with no wheel trims, but equipment does include LED headlights and tail lights, a panoramic roof, heating and ventilation, and a USB-A socket for charging devices.
• The Citroen Ami Colour is effectively the same but offered with orange, grey, or blue accents, including on the standard wheel trims.
• The Citroen Ami Pop is all about bright decals, with a black finisher below the windscreen, lower door and B-pillar decals, black front and rear bumper elements, a tailgate spoiler, and interior parts colour-coded to the exterior decals.
• The Citroen Ami Tonic is another colour-themed model, this time with yellow and khaki contrasting elements.
• The Citroen Ami Cargo replaces the passenger seat for a 260-litre cargo box (compared to the standard car’s 63 litre capacity), the upper surface of which can be used as a work desk.

Used Citroen Ami dimensions and boot size

The Citroen Ami’s dimensions are:

• Length: 2410mm 
• Width: 1390mm (without mirrors)
• Height: 1520mm

The Citroen Ami’s boot size is:

• 63 litres
• 260 litres (Ami Cargo)

Used Citroen Ami road tax

It would be grimly ironic if the Ami somehow cost an absolute fortune to tax, but being an electric vehicle, tiny one or otherwise, you won’t currently be charged a single penny to renew the VED or ‘road tax’ each year. There’s little chance of it succumbing to punitive fees if the government ever decides to charge tax based on size or weight, either.

How much is it to insure a Citroen Ami?

As the Citroen Ami isn’t technically a car, it doesn’t get the insurance group rating you’d expect to find on a car either. We’d not expect it to cost much to insure either way, though the Ami’s lack of conventional safety features may count against it for some providers.

Read our full Citroen Ami review