With a premium look and feel, Audi’s A1 is a great choice in the supermini class. It will cost you a bit more to buy, but it will also hold its value well.
It’s great used too, especially with the lower-powered petrol engines. You can pick one up for as little as £6000, but £8000 is a more realistic budget. The only problems reported are occasional minor electrical issues relating to Bluetooth connectivity and warning lights coming on.
Those quibbles apart, there are plenty of good reasons for buying an A1.
Beats Mini on fun
Before the A1 came along, the Mini was the benchmark fun-to-drive hatch, but the grippy and sharp-handling Audi puts it in the shade for driving pleasure.
Good spec
Pick Sport trim in either the straight A1 or the bigger A1 Sportback and you’ll enjoy Bluetooth connectivity, sports seats with back support, leather on the steering wheel and sportier suspension.
Petrols go well
No need to pay out for the higher-powered 1.4-litre petrol engine: the lower-powered 1.4 delivers a good mix of economy (over 46mpg in the real world) and sporty fun. Low CO2 emissions keep the tax costs down too.
Premium pride
The A1 proves that, when it comes Audi premium quality, size really doesn’t matter. The smart exterior look is backed up on the inside by high-quality materials.
Good safety
Euro NCAP’s most recent 2010 rating gave the A1 a five-star maximum. Every model has six airbags, child seat mounting points in the rear, stability control and a tyre pressure monitoring system.
Slow depreciation
You might regret ticking the kit option boxes on some cars, but not on the A1. High resale values mean you’ll recoup a higher percentage of your outlay when you sell it.
Lots of tech
If you like toys, you’ll love the A1’s central infotainment screen, instrument cluster driver display and upgrade options.
It’s not all good news. The A1’s smallish windows can complicate parking, and any adults you put in the back might start to complain fairly early on in the journey. The boot’s not exactly huge either.
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