Audi A1 Hatchback (10 on) - Review

Review by John Mahoney on
Last Updated: 26 May 2011
A small Audi is big news in the car world. Signalling the brand’s first ever head-to-head battle with MINI – a car made by Audi’s arch enemy, BMW - the new A1 takes a very different, grown-up approach. Instead of focusing on fun, the A1 smacks of classy sophistication. Quite frankly, nothing in its small premium class looks and feels so expensive behind the wheel, even though, underneath the smart-suited A1 is the humble Polo’s underpinnings. The A1 also pinches VW’s frugal turbocharged petrol engines too, kicking off with the 85bhp 1.2-litre and then the larger 120bhp 1.4-litre. Later on it will be joined by a 180bhp turbo- and supercharged version to challenge the Mini Cooper S. There's also a 1.6 TDI diesel available. Thanks to being well-built, efficient, a stylish hatchback, and cheap to run the Audi A1 1.6 TDi SE scooped the parkers cost of motoring award for the small hatchback category in 2011. Read on to find out why we think the A1 is one of the most desirable small cars money can buy.
4 out of 5

Other Audi reviews

4 out of 5

Running costs

Cheapest to run in the A1 range is the 104bhp 1.6-litre diesel. Thanks to its efficient common rail diesel engine it averages 70.6mpg. Next for low costs is the 85bhp 1.2 TFSI petrol. It emits 118g/km of CO2. The more powerful 120bhp 1.4-litre engine also boasts low running costs. Even top-of-the-range S tronic double clutch autos return 54.3mpg while emitting 122g/km of CO2. If that isn’t enough to give the A1 an edge over its competition come resale the A1 will be worth more than any of its competition including the MINI.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,116 - £1,306 *

Diesel

£866 - £943 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

2 years, 19,000 miles

Warranty

3 years 60,000 miles

Road tax (12 months)

£0.00 - £120.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

4 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
    99
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
    139
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

Watch this space. Currently the 1.6 TDI is Audi’s lowest-polluting offering with 105g/km of carbon dioxide emissions, but following shortly on from launch this could improve further with a few technical tweaks that will help the 104bhp 1.6-litre diesel average a few more mpg and emit less than 100g/km of CO2. We also expect similar upgrades on the most powerful 1.4-litre petrol with the S tronic automatic to reduce carbon emissions to under 120g/km. Impressively stop/start is already offered on all models including the automatic – a class first.

Find the exact engine and CO2