Most people don’t take tiny cars seriously, but I believe they serve a purpose. Their history is very rich, and it’s thought they led to the EVs we have today (arguable). However, they were the most efficient city cars for the longest time, and still are. Not long ago, Citroen released a new concept vehicle, the Ami Buggy. It might look like a golf kart for the beach, but it’s an adventure car, according to the manufacturer.
Mat Watson of Carwow had the chance to review the Citroen Ami Buggy at the manufacturer’s car park. It wasn’t the most adventurous of places, but it was good enough to check out its capabilities.
The Citroen My Ami Buggy definitely looks adventure-ish. It has knobbly off-road-looking tires, prominent wheel arches, protected lamps, and a light bar on top. However, there’s one thing the French automaker left out - it’s extremely slow. It did 1.7-seconds on Watson’s comical 0-10 mph test.
The Jeep Wrangler, Nissan Frontier, and Subaru Outback Wilderness come to mind when you think about adventure cars. But these are humongous and much more powerful and capable than the Citroen Ami Buggy.
The Citroen Ami Buggy can still make a good adventure car. All it needs is some enthusiasm, more like the guts of a Yamaha Kodiak 700. As is, it makes a terrible choice for an escapade. It is highly underpowered and could easily get stuck in the sand. You’re probably not going to enjoy your adventure if you spend half the time getting your car out of sticky situations. It also lacks maneuverability since the tires keep getting stuck, turning the wheel too tightly
All in all, the Citroen Ami Buggy is still a work in progress. Watson thinks Citroen could release it as a limited special, but before they do that, they need to seriously consider increasing its merger mile range (43.5 miles) and power.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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