Citroen Oli concept car first drive

The view? Terrific. The seats? Comfortable. The minimalist interior? A perfect statement of the point the Oli makes. Not all will make production soon, but they hinted at a process that is likely to drip feed into showrooms, starting with the upcoming C3 Aircross. Acceleration was ample, steering alert, progress silent even on what were presumably rock-hard tyres, and ride impossible to judge on a show hall floor.

“How long can I keep going?” Nerves faded and enjoyment rose as we drove round and round. “As long as you like: it’s just you and me now. Do donuts if you want!” Cobée laughed, sensing my rising enjoyment and awe, if not the head-scratching my continuing lappery was evidently causing the assembled team.

I didn’t donut but I did complete a few more runs. Why not? If this is the future, I’m all in.

Citroen Oli concept is radical vision of £23k family EV

The Citroën Oli is a new concept car illustrating the brand’s renewed commitment to affordability and sustainability, heralding an array of new technologies earmarked for upcoming cars.

An adventure-oriented pick-up similar in stature to the Citroën C3 Aircross, it doesn’t preview a production car (despite being road-legal) but rather serves as an embodiment of the marque's new ‘back to right’ philosophy.

Design director Pierre Leclercq said the concept shows “the future is bright” and that “making something clever and affordable doesn’t mean that it has to be horrible; it [can] be fun and exciting.”

The headlines are a hypothetical price tag of around €25,000 (£22,560), a weight of around 1000kg, plus a 248-mile range from a relatively small 40kWh battery and a single electric motor.

However, it’s the concept’s design and construction that have the biggest implications for production-bound cars.

Bumpers

The front and rear bumpers are identical, as on the Citroën Ami. This reduces costs, both in manufacturing and repairing, as well as environmental impact, because only one set of moulds is required. On the whole, the car is made from 50% recycled material and is 100% recyclable.

Windscreen

Range-boosting aero was a key part of the brief, but the vertical windscreen is a defining design cue. It was mainly about challenging convention but also yielded benefits including significantly reduced material and labour requirements. Trick ducting in the headlights and bonnet directs air over the windscreen, mitigating drag. The exact same screen features at the rear, too.

Top surfaces

The roof and bonnet are made from a cardboard compound, rather than steel. That might sound suspect, but creator BASF’s use of a honeycomb pattern has resulted in something strong enough for you to stand on. A coating provides additional strength while helping to keep out the rain and UV rays.

Wheels

The custom-made 20in aluminium-and-steel wheels are cheaper to produce than equivalent alloys and weigh only 6kg more. They’re shod in experimental Goodyear Eagle Go tyres that will supposedly last 500,000km (310,000 miles) and two re-treads, which means less waste. What’s more, the wheel arches can be removed with household tools, allowing for quick damage repairs.

Battery

A small 40kWh pack was chosen for cost, weight and environmental reasons, and the car was effectively designed around this. Top speed is limited to 68mph (110km/h) and the 0-62mph time was briefed to engineers in ‘slower than’ terms, rather than a target to beat. Ultimately, Citroën is targeting an efficiency of 6.2 miles per kWh – almost double that of most EVs currently on the market – for a range of 400km (249 miles).

Infotainment

Much like the Dacia Manifesto, the Oli employs a ‘bring your own device’ approach to infotainment. A cassette-player-like slot connects your phone to the wide infotainment screen and uses its computational power to drive the system. This means fewer on-board computers (and thus semiconductors) are required, reducing the Oli’s cost and environmental impact. Physical climate controls are also included for ease of use when on the move.