The A1 is a stylish, small car that sits almost in a class of one.
You’ll find a series of small changes to the nation’s favourite premium supermini – but only if you look really, really closely. The biggest difference comes on paper, where the most efficient engine, a 1.6-litre TDI diesel, has improved its key numbers to 80.7mpg and 92g/km of CO2.
It’s still available in three- and five-door (Sportback) shapes, and there’s a cute new 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that also sneaks in below the 100g/km mark. You can pair a twin-clutch automatic gearbox with just about any engine you choose.
One of the keys to the A1’s impressive sales stats is that it looks like an expensive car relative to other superminis, so it says the right things when it’s parked on your drive. You could have bought a Fiesta or a Corsa, but you didn’t, and if you’re reading this then image is probably important to you.
Unfortunately you really will need to fork out big bucks for a model line with bigger, arch-filling wheels that finish the visual impression off so well. With the small wheels fitted to this car there’s a shortfall in the style department.
Lots of practical features are working without you even knowing it. Variable-assistance power steering gives you more help at lower speeds, for example. You get a CD player and MP3 player input port as standard, while plenty of safety systems are on hand should you (accidentally) call on them.
It has to be said there’s not a great deal of room in the back for adults, but it’s passable for four occupants in total. The boot is modest and the cabin is biased more towards style than practicality or spacious storage options.
The revised 1.6-litre diesel isn’t the most refined, here. It grumbles and growls away smoothly, but very audibly while it steps up through the seven-speed S tronic automatic gearbox fitted to this car. The gearbox is very intelligent, though, hanging on to lower gears in places where you need it and making sure the engine’s torque is always an ankle-flex away.
On very smooth roads the journey goes by comfortably enough thanks to generously proportioned front seats, but even riding on 16in wheels the A1 has a curiously hard ride, striking potholes and cats’ eyes with occasionally jarring force.
Managing the dashboard and centre console can be a little awkward on the move because of the sheer quantity of buttons and dials that are squeezed into a relatively small space, and the dashboard-topping sat-nav and media screen is a bit old-hat in its graphics and bulk.
The three-door range starts from a reasonable-sounding £14,315 and rises to more than £21,000. As for fuel economy the 80.7mpg official figure is difficult to get anywhere near. On a 40-minute route through the East Midlands the best we could achieve was 61mpg – and we were trying hard to maximise it.
The A1 is a stylish, small car that sits almost in a class of one. Buyers who want to look good behind the wheel and who drive mostly in urban and suburban areas will get on with it really well – as long as they don’t mind the firm suspension.
Facts & figures
Model: Audi A1 1.6 TDI S tronic SE
Price: £16,930
Engine: 1.6-litre diesel producing 114bhp and 184lb/ft
Performance: Top speed 124mph, 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds
Economy: 80.7mpg combined (16in wheels)
CO2 rating: 92g/km (16in wheels)