Audi A1 Sportback - First Drive
Audi’s three-door A1 super-mini was an instant hit in the UK. In 2011, its first full year in the market, it was already snapping on the heels of the home favourite, the BMW Mini, with sales of over 18,000 - a remarkable achievement given that Audi hadn’t offered a small car here since the technically impressive but slow selling A2 was withdrawn several years ago.
Now there is a new five-door version of the A1 that is surprisingly roomy and practical for its size. Audi claims that this car, the A1 Sportback, matches or beats the Mini Clubman in almost all load space dimensions. That’s quite impressive, considering that the Clubman is a specially extended estate version of the Mini whereas the Sportback is similar in terms of footprint and silhouette to the original three-door A1. The Sportback also has a weight advantage of about 100 kg or more over the Clubman, depending on model, despite offering a roomy rear seat for this size of car and that extra pair of doors. Prices for the Sportback start at a fairly keen £13,980 for the 1.2-litre TFSI engine combined with the least expensive (but still fairly generous) SE trim. The A1 is pricier than the other Volkswagen group cars in the same size bracket but it’s also by far the cheapest car you can buy that carries a German prestige badge - if that’s something that’s important to you. The premium for the Sportback compared with the three-door A1 is a modest £560, although if you get tempted by the options list, final prices can creep up towards £20,000 or more.
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