Most cars I see only have one or two people in them, and are stuck in traffic churning all sorts out of the exhaust. If you need to use a car, it seems like a great option.
by RockyParis
Most cars I see only have one or two people in them, and are stuck in traffic churning all sorts out of the exhaust. If you need to use a car, it seems like a great option.
by RockyParis
24 comments
They’re only available in left hand drive, charging them is tricky as they use a domestic plug, and they don’t have a proper heater, so a nightmare to use in winter.
Don’t drive but my guesses:
Tiny, uncomfortable, claustrophobic, don’t have the flexibility to carry more passengers or luggage when you need to, probably doesn’t have much range either. If you’re going to spend money on a vehicle, may as well get a proper car.
People would get electric cars if they were cheaper, but right now almost all electric car brands are targeting the luxury market rather than focusing on large numbers of affordable vehicles. I think the only actual affordable EV available is the Nissan Leaf.
Ideally anything larger than that the tax would increase parabolically. That would sort it pretty quickly.
Possibly because cars are seen by some as a status symbol and, apart from perhaps the Park Lane Apartments branding, nothing about a dinky Citroen Ami says “affluent”.
People have been sold the idea that being sat high up in bigger cars is better hence the popularity of stupid crossovers.
Arent these relatively new
I guess it’s great for space and perhaps drivability in the congested and busy streets of London but that car is ugly af 😂
Smart cars were popular for a while, but if you’re going to have a car, something with more flexibility where you can carry a couple suitcases or an extra couple people, is useful. A low-end hatchback is probably cheaper, too.
Because we live in a world where for some reason people think bigger is better. This means everyone wants a massive fuck off car to show others how special and important they are, even if this means being balls deep in debt with a massive impractical car that is crippling their bank account. We live in a strange world. Fuck huge cars and materialistic greed!
It’s actually classed as a quad bike and wasn’t even going to be made available in the uk but after Brits went mad for it Citroên decided to make it available and sales have done well considering it performs more like a bike.
They look shit, and if you go shopping it handles fuck all. And what if you need more passengers one day? It is easy to take more passenger in a bigger car even if you don’t need it usually, but difficult if your car just cannot handle more passenger full stop.
I saw one of these bumbling around Belgravia and wondered the same. In the end I figured it came down to falling between stools, you have all the agro of driving and parking, but without a comfortable vehicle for out of town trips. If you’re in town just use public transport, it’s faster, cheaper, and less stressful.
Because they’re shit
Because their top speed is 28mph and can’t legally go on motorways while costing £8k+ brand new.
Those cars are only really useful for short journeys within zone 1/2, which is a use case much, much better served by public transport and cabs. They also don’t really sidestep the biggest two issues with driving in London – traffic and parking. Everyone else is better served by a more versatile car.
They can only go 28mph and have a range of 47 miles, which makes them quite inconvenient for anything except inner-city driving. They’re also tiny, so luggage and passenger capacity is very limited.
Also, personally I think they’re quite ugly vehicles. They’re all squashed, like the pug of ~~quadricycles~~ cars.
If you get hit by an SUV (which are gaining in popularity) it’s over
These very popular in some cities. Amsterdam for example. I’ve heard one reason is that they are easier to find places to park.
Can’t speak for all car users, but I have a car for when I need to leave London or for when I need to transport larger items. For getting into the most congested parts of the city, public transport is more convenient. I can only see this car being useful for trips where public transport or a bike would be equally viable, and they are considerably cheaper options.
This isn’t a good option to replace most cars. It only has 2 seats and a 50 mile range. Good for city commuting but not much else.
You wouldn’t be able to take a day trip with the family or take kids to school or collect elderly relatives who struggle to walk far. OK your point that most cars aren’t doing that daily is valid. But that doesn’t mean it never happens. People would either need to own another car on top of this, or rent a car once every few weeks to see family or do a big shop.
Electric cars don’t fix commuter problems, if everyone drove this instead of using the tube the roads would be chaos. Getting big SUVs off the road is a positive thing but replacing them with this isn’t viable. This car fills the role of an electric bicycle but keeps you dry if it rains.
I love quirky vehicles like this, but I’m not surprised not many people buy them.
They’re the perfect vehicle for driving around London _but only London_; they’re gonna suck pretty hard if you want to do anything else that people would normally use a car for.
I’ve seen several in the wild and I think they were all estate agents’ cars, which is the perfect use case really.
Just because you sometimes see people driving with one or two people in the car doesn’t mean they don’t also have a need for more seats other times, not to mention you’d struggle to even get your shopping in there let alone if you ever need to transport anything larger. Cars like that can have a use but can also be pretty impractical for a lot of people’s every day life.
Saw the aftermath of one of these vs a Range Rover and I’m just damn surprised that the driver of the Citroën survived.
Can’t go on motorways is a big one for many