Audi A1 Sport review

Joel Helmes has filed this Audi A1 Sport review.

The baby Audi is a three door hatch powered by a 1.4 litre turbo and supercharged petrol engine.

It’s a car that’s perfect for people who want terrific fuel economy, nice creature comforts, and plenty of get-up and go!

Through the years many of the so called “sporty” models offered by manufacturers have been that in name only.

I’m talking about cars which are the same mechanically as a base model offering but with the addition of a pin-stripe!

So I must admit I’m a little pre-conditioned to be disappointed when a car is given the “Sport” name.

But this car might just change those feelings… I’m really pleased to say the Audi A1 Sport is a genuine sports model, bordering on even being a true sports car.

The little four cylinder engine produces what can only be described as an unbelievable amount of acceleration.

It’s a touch flat until the turbo kicks in but when it does watch out because the grunt is just unbelievable, in fact it’s probably just as much fun, and just as responsive as the big six cylinder turbo BMW 1 series M Sport I reviewed a few months ago.

It is just remarkable that small engines can produce this much power and torque; in fact the official figures show 136Kw and 250Nm – not bad from a 1.4 litre petrol engine!

But just because you have all this power on tap doesn’t mean the car is always a snarling beast, this is the true genius of the Audi A1 Sport you can select D for quite sedate motoring, one more click down on the selector into S and away you go like a little rocket.

Most importantly Audi has also got the suspension and braking up to the same standards and it makes for an awesome package.

Inside the Audi Ai Sport it’s all green ticks, the most comfortable car seats I have ever come across, great sat-nav/entertainment interface, well designed and laid out dashboard, beautiful materials throughout, and an overall feeling of quality.

What also impressed was the amount of rear seat head and leg room, for a small car the Audi engineers have done a remarkable job creating a space where two adults can sit without having to be contortionists!

The external styling is also brilliant; all round the A1 Sport is a great package.

There was only one element of the car that I didn’t like and that was the speedometer, there are just so many numbers on there that it takes a second to really register the speed you are doing.

Interestingly I also couldn’t match Audi’s claimed extra urban consumption figure of 5.1 litres per 100, the best I could get was about 6.1.

But really if you‘re after a car that’s lots of fun and is economical and comfortable too then the Audi A1 Sport could be for you.

The Audi A1 Sport will set you back about $42,500.