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By Jonathan Crouch

Citroen's My Ami Cargo redefines what a tiny van can be. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 48

Citroen's My Ami Cargo offers a rather different solution to the problem of efficiently delivering small, light packages within an urban environment. It's not the kind of van your company will previously have considered. But if you're inner city-based, it might be exactly the one you really need.

Backgroundword count: 123

So, you've an urban-based business with the need for the metropolitan transport of light, small items. You don't need to venture beyond the city limits, you don't want to spend more than £10,000 and you'd like full electric mobility. Does a solution to your requirements exist? Surprisingly, it does; and Citroen calls it the My Ami Cargo. This is the LCV version of the brand's Ami quadricycle, the Cargo variant we look at here added to the range because Citroen noticed that a large proportion of sales of Renault's old Twizy quadricycle were of the package-toting commercial vehicle version. This Citroen can carry a little more than you could in one of those - but not much more. It's just as unique too.

Driving Experienceword count: 202

It's electric of course. There wouldn't be much point if it wasn't. But it's got a far smaller battery (5.5kWh) than you'll find in any EV van. Still, because the electric motor it's mated to develops only 8bhp, hence the feeble 28mph top speed, you won't drain the cells very quickly and a (very achievable) range of 46 urban miles is possible. Because it's a quadricycle, you don't need a full driving licence to use an Ami Cargo - it can be driven on a moped licence from the age of 16. As you'd expect from the diminutive size, the turning circle is outstanding - just 7.2m. To give you a point of comparison, that of a base Fiesta is over 10m. A London taxi is rated at 7.6m. The elevated driving position and superb all-round visibility also help in the city and though there's no power steering to ease you into spaces, the vehicle is so light (that base Fiesta weighs a whopping 600kgs more) that it isn't really an issue. Still, you might well feel intimidated by trucks and buses, particularly as quadricycles like this don't get rigorously crash tested and don't have to have airbags and camera safety aids.

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