Audi A1

Audi’s chic supermini promises class-leading luxury and sportiness – but is it past its prime?

The second-generation Audi A1 promised to introduce hitherto unseen levels of luxuriousness and sportiness to the supermini class when it launched in 2019, in spite of its more mundane, Volkswagen-based origins and underpinnings.Ingolstadt has a long history with gentrified superminis like this. What started with the Audi 50 in 1974, followed by the innovative-yet-expensive A2, then the first-generation A1 in 2010, has now become the brand’s showcase for technology and quality at the bottom rung of the fiscal ladder.Indeed, this car vows to continue the trend started by its forebears, promising to set new benchmarks for perceived quality, powertrain refinement and general desirability via a completely overhauled interior, striking exterior design touches from more rarefied Audi models, a range of efficiency-focused turbocharged engines and a competitive starting price.Audi hopes this will be enough to fend off talented – and, in many cases, much newer – competition from the likes of the Mini Cooper C, Fiat 500, Skoda Fabia, and Renault Clio.How, then, does it fare in the autumn of its production run, and, even in this ever-shrinking class, has it overstayed its welcome?Audi A1 range at a glanceAudi offers the A1 in a choice of three trim levels: Sport, S Line and Black Edition. S Line and Black Edition cars typically introduce differing cosmetic tweaks over Sport cars, including larger alloy wheels, various ‘S’ and ‘S-Line’ badges dotted around inside and out, redesigned bumpers, and, in the case of the Black Edition, darkened trim pieces. Entry-level ’25 TFSI’ cars come with a 1.0-litre turbocharged triple with 69bhp, which is mated to either a five-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. One level up from this is ’30 TFSI’, which features the same engine tuned to 114bhp and comes with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch auto. Top-rung ’35 TFSI’ cars, meanwhile, get a 1.5-litre turbocharged ‘evo’ four-pot, which can only be had with the seven-speed DSG. All engines are, of course, sourced from the VW Group, and no diesel powerplants are available.All cars sit on passive suspension which is both lowered and stiffened if you choose a car in S-Line-trim. Each model gets torsion beam rear suspension just like every other car on Volkswagen’s MQB-A0 platform; none offers four-wheel drive. The 1498cc four-pot turbo is the only engine in the range with cylinder deactivation technology, wherein it can shut down two of its cylinders to save fuel.

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