First drive: Citroën Oli concept

By Sam Phillips

29 Mar 2023

Unlike many concept cars, the Citroën Oli isn’t intended to preview a forthcoming model. Instead, it’s designed to showcase the future of the brand.

That left us intrigued. So when Citroën offered us the keys to the striking vehicle, we couldn’t resist taking it for a spin to get a sense of the French brand’s future direction.

What is it?

Launched towards the end of 2022, the Citroën Oli concept arrived as a boldly styled, adventure-oriented machine and previewed the brand’s future design language for affordable electric transportation.

The rugged off-road inspired EV isn’t set for production, but has instead been created to set out the firm’s ideas for its future models. In fact, the Oli has already made its mark on the brand, with the next-generation C3 set to feature the concept’s headlights and other styling cues.

Featuring a smaller 40kWh battery in order to save weight, the Oli has a range of up to 249 miles and can be charged from 20-80% in just 23 minutes - it's worth noting that these are target figures rather than official statistics. Despite being a concept, the Oli has a top speed of around 70mph, but engineers revealed that during testing it could do up to 80mph. Spoiler alert: we were not allowed to go anywhere near that fast.

The Oli also features an array of lightweight materials, with some of the concept’s exterior panels made from cardboard. Yes, cardboard.

Made by partner BASF, the panels are made using recycled corrugated cardboard and are formed into a honeycomb structure. But it cardboard sounds a bit flimsy, don’t fret: they are finished in a protective resin and are so strong you can sit on the car itself.

You can also transform the Oli into a pick-up thanks to its truck-styled rear deck and boot. With a few changes to the rear glass screen and by folding the panel behind the rear seats down, the Oli is transformed into a pick-up with a 994mm wide load bed.

The Oli also brought the launch of the brand’s new logo design. The classic chevron badge has been updated, taking inspiration from the firm’s logo from 1919.

What is it like to drive?

Before I dive into the Oli’s driving characteristics, it’s worth noting that I was only able to drive the concept inside Farnborough International’s vast exhibition hall and not on the road, and we were strictly limited to 5 mph. Then again, when I was made aware of the Oli’s estimated £1 million price tag (one-off concepts are expensive too build…), sticking to 5mph was absolutely fine.

Jump in the driving seat and even before you set off you’re thrust into a world of sustainable materials and lots of orange trim. The floor is made from recycled rubber, while the seats are 3D printed to save weight and cut costs.

The seat cushion is comfy, but the 3D printed mesh backrests were pretty firm, offering little in the way of lower-back support.

Upfront the vertical windscreen offers an excellent view ahead, even if it is a little on the thin side, and the large side doors meant vision to the sides was excellent.

Everything is very simple in the Oli: the dashboard, for example, isn’t littered with screens and vents and instead features a single beam running across the width of the car.

Above its dash sits a ‘Smartband’ system which projects information on the car across the lower windscreen, removing the need for an instrument cluster. Thanks to the positioning of the screen, it was very easy to read the display when driving.

In fact, it might be strange to applaud it for being simple, but that’s what makes the Oli so appealing. Of course it won’t make production, but the ideas and philosophy behind it will feed the brand’s future cars, and simplicity is no bad thing.

Now, being a concept, the Oli did have some additional features for the sake of driving the car, such as a foot-operated parking brake. There was also a constant whirring noise from the electric systems for the power steering.

After a quick briefing on how to use the controls, specifically the gear selector lever positioned behind the steering wheel.

For all the wild and bonkers styling on the outside, it feels strange to praise the Oli for feeling very normal to drive; in fact the very simplicity of the Oli is what makes it worthy of praise.

Power delivery was smooth, the cabin felt relatively silent despite the low hum of the power steering pump. If it weren’t for the orange finish you could easily have mistaken it for another EV.

The steering was light, making it easy to weave around the exhibition hall. What was really impressive was the Oli’s turning circle: it manoeuvred itself around 180 degrees seamlessly and that was without full lock on the wheel. It was impossible to judge the ride quality of the Oli considering I drove it around a flat exhibition hall.

Citroën’s radical concept might not be on its way to the production line, but the French brand is hoping to carry as many of its ideas forward as possible. In fact, Citroën recently revealed that the new C3 crossover would feature the same headlights as the Oli.

After several more laps of the exhibition hall it was time to say goodbye to Oli. Its exterior may be bold and unconventional, but at its heart is a whole new direction for Citroën and one which we're looking forward to.