Audi’s A1 for effort
LOGBOOK LOWDOWN Price: Engine:
from £22,350 Turbo-petrol – 1.0-litre, 115bhp
0 to 60mph in 9.4 seconds, 126mph top speed 45.6mpg 110g/km
Ford Fiesta,
Mini Cooper, VW Polo
8/10 three cylinders and a 1.0-litre engine under your right foot.
It drives pretty well too, although the 17in alloy wheels and S Line suspension do make the ride rather firmer than is ideal at times.
The steering is sharp enough to turn into bends enthusiastically but there’s little feel about what the car is doing beneath you and without that it’s hard to see future sportier versions of the A1 really rivalling the Mini Cooper for driver enjoyment.
Despite the twin-clutch gearbox it doesn’t even have gearchange paddles behind the steering wheel either.
Rather oddly too, we found the A1 to be slightly too sensitive at times to inputs on the brake and throttle pedals, grabbing the brakes far harder than what was initially required and making it difficult to pull away smoothly and slowly from a standstill.
Without trying the manual version of the same car it’s hard to tell if this latter issue was down to the engine or the gearbox or a combination of the two but we’d certainly recommend test driving both. Inside, the A1 is something of a mix. On the face of it, the baby Audi is as well-built and well-equipped as
Average fuel economy: CO2 emissions: Rivals: Rating:
some of its larger stablemates. It’s very smart in places, with the centre of the dash angled towards the driver, featuring a large touchscreen that’s simple and easy to use on the move. Our test car had a slight honeycomb finish to the dashboard which we rather liked too, especially alongside the digital dials. There were also both old USB-A and new USB-C ports on the dashboard which future-proofs the car alongside contactless charging for your mobile phone.
DESPITE all that tech as well as seat heaters, it seemed a little out of place to have a traditional handbrake lever rather than an electronic one as is now so common elsewhere and would save space. Also, for all of that quality elsewhere in the cabin, it’s a massive shame that there’s lots of cheap, hard plastic running along the top of the doors.
On a more practical front, there’s a handy Isofix child seat mounting point on the front passenger seat and some large door pockets – although the central cup holders are a little small.
Space in the back is fine for children but adults won’t want to be in there for any length of time. There’s a decent sized boot of 335 litres, while a space-saver spare tyre is available as an option for an extra £125.
Overall, there’s a lot going for this new Audi A1. It may have grown for this second generation and, ultimately, still be based on the VW Polo which is noticeably less expensive but its styling and driving manners mean that it’s not without appeal.
The sweet spots of this A1 range are definitely to be found at the lower end of the range and without too many options, proving the old adage that less is more and £29,000 for a supermini isn’t “less” in anyone’s book.