Ami, the tiny cube on wheels that French 14-year-olds can drive

[mysteryowl]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/11/ami-the-tiny-cube-on-wheels-that-french-14-year-olds-can-drive

The vehicle is cheap and the reactions from the pavement are a bonus, from the disbelieving double-take or uncontrolled giggle to the frankly envious where-do-I-get-one-of-those (plus the odd pitying stare, but then this is Paris).

At first glance, Citroën’s new Ami, a playful polypropylene cube on wheels with an unashamedly Toytown aesthetic, seems hardly the kind of car to excite the passions of France’s drivers. But, perhaps because it is not a car, that is just what it is doing.

Classed as a light quadricycle, the Ami is, Citroën says, an “urban mobility object”. All-electric, 2.4 metres long and 1.4m wide, with a top speed of 45km/h (28mph) and a range of 75km (46 miles), it can be driven in France without a full licence by anyone aged 14 or over.

It can be recharged from a standard home socket in three hours and, in its basic grey-and-orange edition, costs €6,000 (£5,550) to buy outright, or, with €100 down, €78 a month – roughly what most Parisians pay for an all-zone metro and suburban rail pass.

$22.00 per month rental or $7100.00 New

[Sherman A1]

1. Very interesting

I wish I could have had one for my daily commute for years, it would have been great.

Thanks for posting.

[mysteryowl]

2. Europe is a trend setter

This kind of "car" would be great for warm climates like CA, AZ, FL etc.

[Lochloosa]

3. No A/C it's just an electric VW Bug. Without wing vents.

Wing vents were really important in FL when driving a bug. It's an air flow thing.

[lindysalsagal]

20. It'sa golfcart with roof and windows. Tops out at 45km/hour, 70km range

It's just city based.

[NBachers]

4. I'm intrigued by the car but the phony frantic tech-strobing camera and the frenetic obnoxiousness

of the reviewer forced me to shut it down before it finished. I'll look around for a more tolerable review.

But - Thanks for putting this in front of us. This car would cover most of my day-to-day needs. We're sure to see vehicles like this in the near future here in the USA.

[Sanity Claws]

5. I'd get that for myself

forget teenagers.

[uponit7771]

9. +1,

[LittleGirl]

6. No, we need more public transportation

not less. These still need parking! Not what we need at all.
Sorry, I’ll see myself out.

[Iterate]

13. This is the car that takes you to the train.

In that way this, or something like it, works for the lower density development built since the 50's where a bus route isn't going to happen and the train is a few miles away.

[RVN VET71]

7. Fantastic idea but . . .

in a primitive country where even adults on bicycles get harassed by unwashed and gap-toothed unshaven idiots in beat up old trucks, I'd be concerned driving one. (Yes, America, I'm talking about you.)

[Hoyt]

15. As a former middle-distance bike rider in rural Georgia, I can vouch for this. I did catch a few of

those gap-toothed idiots down the road.

[RVN VET71]

18. My nephew lives on N.C.

He's a bike-rider and every once in a while he'll put up a post beginning "This doesn't happen all that often around here, but it does happen" and detailing how he or a friend were driven off the road by one of the single-digit IQ folks driving a truck. Not even once a year, but often enough to make you feel wary of the trucks and the occasional inbred driver.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Apparently there are a bunch of companies making these types of vehicles

Article from 2016 (diesel models) - https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15345640/an-aixam-to-grind-a-sub-class-of-tiny-french-cars-that-caters-to-drunks-the-elderly-and-kids/

[robbob]

10. I don't get it?

It’s still an automobile, it still is driven on roads. How does that make it safe for a 14 year old to operate?

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. I agree - it's still big enough and fast enough to be a danger in the wrong hands

when out in public. I'd want the driver to have passed a test.

[flotsam]

22. They compare as more safe

than scooters which younger teens opt for. The main factors being visibility and a steel safety cage.

[Codeine]

24. France has some odd classifications

for smaller vehicles that allow non-licensed operation and no vehicle fees.

[tavernier]

11. I don't think it looks any different from most Parisian cars

that I’ve seen when I’ve traveled to Paris on many occasions. I once saw a man whose tiny vehicle was trapped between two other closely parked cars. He went inside a store and came out with two other gentlemen. They picked up the car and moved it into the street without too much difficulty.

[paleotn]

12. Teen version of this?

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

For city interiors, where internal combustion engines should be limited to essential services only, it's a wonderful concept.

[MineralMan]

14. Cute! I like it.

[Baclava]

16. I dont know about buying one, but a couple months rental might be fun! I want

[Solly Mack]

17. I like it.

[dalton99a]

21. Kick

[flotsam]

23. It could be a true "Volkswagen"

Your city could set a citywide speed limit of 30MPH to avoid morons running these over from behind. On all major roads leaving the city you could place limit signs where higher speeds are permitted-and these vehicles are not-and perhaps little turning areas for the city cars to turn back. Huge help for traffic enforcement and safety and a great aid to low income and young and elderly drivers. Also those devoted to higher speeds would avoid population centers. A nice way to slow things down and add a sense of community.