Long-Termers

AUDI A1 SPORTBACK

The premium city car has been parked up for a while but now it’s time to see what it’s like to drive. Jack Evans reports.

Afew months ago I was told our new Audi A1 long-termer test car was due to arrive. It was great timing, too. Summer was on the horizon and I could easily imagine the variety of different activities that Audi’s smallest model could help with.

Then lockdown arrived and with it the sweeping changes in our daily lives. It just so happened that only a few days beforehand the A1 arrived at the office, which is where it sat languishing – but still looking rather good in its bright green paintwork – for several weeks.

Thankfully, with the measures easing, I’ve been able to rescue it from its confinement, which means I’m now able to see what it’s like to live with on a daily basis.

First off, the way it looks. The A1 represents a very well executed bit of design. It’s compact, for sure, but it looks robust enough to avoid that ‘teeny tiny’ appearance you sometimes find with cars in this segment. The added features such as LED headlights and tail-lights help to bump up its looks too.

Inside, the A1 is roomy and packed with clever features. The central infotainment screen is one of the latest that Audi produces, and it integrates smoothly into the dashboard as opposed to other ‘pop-out’-style displays currently on cars such as the A4 and A5. The full Virtual Cockpit is handy too, with clear and logical graphics.

The only real sticking point when it comes to comfort is the seats. For some reason, the backs of the chairs are extremely hard, so longer journeys do mean you incur a fair amount of backache. They’re fine for pootling around town – where the A1 is most suited, in fairness – but out on longer stretches they’re just not quite right. That could be down to body shape, of course. This S Line specification car gets sport seats, so it could be that these are just a touch firmer than the regular chairs on entry-spec models. The engine? That’s a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol with 114bhp and 200Nm of torque. It’s that latter figure which makes its presence known in the way the A1 drives, as you’ve got plenty of low-down pull to help bring you up to speed in a timely manner. In fact, Audi claims the A1 will do 0-60mph in 9.2 seconds (which feels about right on the road), and should you even want and be able to do so, it’ll hit 126mph.

But efficiency is the name of the game here, and that’s something the A1 does very well. Audi claims up to 48.7mpg combined, while CO2 emissions are just off the golden 100g/km mark at 108g/km. It really is camel-like in its preservation of fuel, and even after several longer jaunts I’ve barely noticed the fuel display change. Those claimed economy figures seem pretty on the money too.

The A1 is practical as well. There’s a useful 335 litres of boot space (the larger Audi A3 can only better this by 45 litres), while folding the rear seats flat extends this to 1,090 litres. Given its compact overall proportions, this is pretty impressive – not to mention useful.

I’ll admit that at £24,985 after options our A1 sits on the punchier end of the price spectrum. However, given its versatility and solid feel, I reckon many would argue that it both looks and feels worth the money, and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing whether that’s true over the next few months.

THE

KNOWLEDGE

Audi A1 Sportback 30 TFSI S Line

Price (as tested): £24,985 Engine: 1.0-litre turbocharged

petrol

Power: 114bhp Torque: 200Nm 0-60mph: 9.2 seconds Max speed: 126mph Emissions: 108g/km CO2 MPG (combined): 48.7 Mileage: 853

This month’s highlight:

Finally getting the chance to see what our little Audi’s like to live with on a daily basis.

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Mileage: 7,419 Tip run revealed no problems over the number of cardboard boxes you can fit inside the car. CarDealerMag.co.uk | 67

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