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Audi A1 car review

22/10/10

Price£15,670; £16,320
We like...Beautifully put together
We don't...Stiff ride

Suddenly, joining the Audi club has just become way cheaper. The new A1 is the make’s smallest car and its arrival brings it within stretching distance of buyers who’d otherwise settle for a supermini – perhaps Volkswagen’s Polo, for instance.

There’s a risk that when a maker of expensive cars goes cheaper that quality is diluted and, somehow, the result isn’t a ‘proper’ Audi. So it’s reassuring that they’ve got the look and feel of this three-door hatchback just right. It’s as good as that of its sternest rival, the BMW Mini, which is itself a beautifully built car.

And, although it’s based on the Polo, it has the mature, understated feel that Audi owners know well. While it looks cute it doesn’t feel it to drive. Instead, it captures well the essence of Audi-ness: it’s mature, feels refined and is ….ahem…ever so slightly boring.

Climb aboard and first impressions are positive. Four big eyeball vents dominate the dash. Chromed heater controls lift the otherwise largely charcoal coloured fascia. The front seats are deep and comfy and they and the wheel offer a full range of adjustment. The front cabin is spacious – unlike some other there’s no sense of the two in the front intruding on each other’s space until they want to.

Audi A1 Audi A1 Sitting in the back is possible for a pair of grown-ups, although their heads will knock against the roof lining. But, to be fair, if you regularly need to travel four-up you’d be better spending a little extra on a bigger Audi, an A3 perhaps?

We drove the 1.4 TFSI petrol with 120bhp and the 1.6 103bhp turbodiesel. Both haul the little car along with more than enough verve, while turning in exceptionally strong fuel economy and low emissions. Stop-start controls which halt the engine while waiting in traffic are there as standard and help towards these results.

Audi expects the petrol to prove the more popular and it’s a good unit, quiet and relatively smooth until you can it. But it’s the diesel that’s our choice. The 1.6 engine is one that’s also used in Volkswagens, Seats and Skodas and here it’s smoother than we’ve known it, even beating its petrol counterpart. It’s also remarkably quiet, all the while pushing out just 105g/km of CO2 and promising up to 70.6mpg overall. The petrol’s pretty good but doesn’t come close at 124g/km and 53.3mpg.

Audi A1 Audi A1 The A1’s main controls have the smoothness and progression necessary to give a ‘big car’ feel. But there’s not the alertness in the steering as you dart into a bend that’d you take as read in a Mini or a BMW 1-series. And while the body stays flat and level on a poor road, not showing the front-to-back pitching you experience in some small cars the car’s ride is firm, bordering on uncomfy. Both cars we drove were mid-trim ‘Sports’, which are more stiffly set-up than the lower-level model, the SE.

While prices look attractive, we’d take issue with Audi’s approach to extras. The red paint on our photo car, for instance, adds £530 to the invoice total, while the contrasting roof panelling adds £350 more. Tick a few more options boxes(sat-nav, for instance, adds another £1000 or so) and soon you have a £20,000 car. That’s too dear.

Should you buy one? Confidently. It looks right, feels good, and will be affordable to own – not least because of a 5yr/50k miles prepaid servicing deal priced at £250. Care is needed when choosing colours and extras though. The contrasting roof stripes are a must while the wasabi green cabin panels should be avoided at all costs.