AUDI A1 SPORTBACK
The A1 is far more easygoing, dealing with all manner of bumps more smoothly and effectively. However, the 208’s softer suspension means it’s the most comfortable of our trio for much of the time, floating over ripples and undulations and only gently swaying from side to side as it does so. It’s only over a series of sharp-edged impacts that you feel shockwaves through the car.
But surely the 208 can’t compete with its premium-badged peers when it comes to isolating you from the outside world? In fact, it can; it’s actually the quietest at a steady 70mph, with the least tyre noise filtering into the interior. The Mini may have the smoothest and quietest engine, but it’s by far the worst for wind and road noise.
BEHIND THE WHEEL Driving position, visibility, build quality
As with bigger Peugeot models, the 208’s driving position is controversial. You’re supposed to view its digital instruments by looking over, rather than through, the steering wheel – something Peugeot has tried to make easier by shrinking the steering wheel to the size of a dinner plate.
And if you happen to be long in the body, or you sit close to the steering wheel with the seat jacked up, you’ll probably think the whole arrangement is great. But just as many will find that the wheel completely blocks their view of the instruments and will have to resort to moving the wheel or seat to an unnatural position just so they know what speed they’re doing. We’d strongly advise taking a test drive before buying. The 208’s ‘3D’ instruments are also a case of style over substance, being trickier to read at a glance than their equivalents in the A1.
The A1’s conventional driving position works for a greater range of shapes and sizes. While its seat doesn’t hold you in place quite as well around corners, the fact that it has adjustable lumbar support (available only as part of a £1400 leather upgrade on the 208) makes it comfier on longer journeys.
The Mini is the only car here with leather seats as standard, plus there’s adjustable lumbar support to stop you from slouching. And although you get old-school analogue dials, they’re actually pretty easy to read. Our only minor complaint is that the pedals are offset to the right of the steering wheel, forcing you to sit at a slightly skewed angle.
You can’t fault the Mini’s interior quality, though. It feels a cut above its rivals, with materials
INFOTAINMENT
The optional 10.1in touchscreen (pictured) comes as part of the (£1695) Technology Pack. However, the standard 8.8in version is all you really need and still gets you Apple Carplay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. Being a touchscreen, it’s inevitably more distracting to use than we’d like, but at least the screen responds promptly when you prod it. Sound quality is decent rather than exceptional.
INFOTAINMENT
The Mini’s standard infotainment system (pictured) isn’t all that great; we’d de nitely recommend upgrading.the Navigation Plus Pack (£2000) gets you a classleading system that’s packed with technology and is really easy to use. But for considerably less cash (£900), the regular Navigation Pack brings Apple Carplay and Android Auto smarphone mirroring, as well as a built-in and connected sat-nav.
INFOTAINMENT
Pay an extra £650 and you’ll get this 10.0in touchscreen with in-built Tomtom navigation and live traf c updates for three years. Frankly, we’d save the money, because you can mirror any number of free navigation apps on your phone to the 208’s (admittedly quite small) standard 7.0in touchscreen.the fact that you need to use the screen to adjust the air-con is both annoying and distracting, though.
70 April 2020
that look upmarket and feel the part when you prod them. The A1 feels equally well screwed together, but there are far fewer soft-touch materials, while areas you touch regularly, such as the door tops, feel less than premium.
Perhaps surprisingly, the 208’s interior cuts the mustard in this company. Its dashboard feels squidgy, the leather on the steering wheel is suitably finegrained and there are fewer hard plastics than in the A1. That said, there are some fairly large interior panel gaps in places and the front centre armrest feels wobbly compared with the equivalents in the A1 and Mini as specified here.
SPACE AND PRACTICALITY Front space, rear space, seating exibility, boot
These are small cars, but even by class standards they aren’t all that roomy in the back. If you regularly need to carry around more than one other lofty adult, you’d do well to consider a Polo or Seat Ibiza.
The Mini has the most head room to allow six-footers to sit up straight, but its narrow rear seat area makes squeezing three adults in the back an almost comical experience. It’s also the hardest to get in and out of, due to its tiny rear door apertures.
The A1 and 208 are better for those rare occasions when you need to carry four passengers, but head room is less plentiful; tall people will need to cower to fit. Adding the optional panoramic glass roof (£500) to the 208 drops the height of the ceiling even lower, but avoid that and the 208 is fractionally the most accommodating in the back.
Its boot is the biggest, too, accepting five carry-on suitcases – the same as the A1 – but with more space left over. The Mini can hold only four cases, although the optional Comfort Pack added to our test car includes a heightadjustable boot floor, something you also get with the A1 but which isn’t available on the 208.
BUYING AND OWNING Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
We’ve specified our contenders in such a way as to keep prices and standard kit broadly on a par, adding an optional Plus Pack to the A1 and the Comfort Pack we’ve just mentioned to the Mini to match the top-spec 208. That means all of our trio come with things like automatic air conditioning and rear parking sensors.
However, the 208 is the only one to get front parking sensors