Feann Torr•31 Jan 2012

REVIEW

Audi A1 Sportback 2012 Review - International

Name: Audi A1 Sportback 2012 Review - International
Brand: Audi

German brand set to take more of MINI's market share with practical, high-tech five-door city car

Audi A1 Sportback

International Launch
Costa Brava, Spain

What we liked

>> General ease of use
>> Ride and handling
>> Quality engines

Not so much

>> Turning circle
>> Cool gadgets not for Oz

OVERVIEW

--More than meets the eye

Based on its three-door sibling, the Audi A1 Sportback is basically a fancy name for the five-door version -- but there's more to this Teutonic tiddler than just a couple more doors. There's more room in the rear seats, it has the practical benefit of two rear doors, and boasts tricky new engine tech in the form of cylinder deactivation. Not to mention a slew of high-tech online features which, unfortunately, have not yet been confirmed for our market.

Arriving in Australian dealerships in June 2012, don't expect a great deal of difference between the three-door A1 and the five-door A1 Sportback in terms of execution and driving involvement, but considering how well the A1 has been attracting buyers in Australia -- outselling the MINI Cooper and Clubman models combined -- this is not a criticism, merely an observation.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

--A trio of tech-savvy tykes

Aimed at young professionals and technology savvy drivers who may (or may not) be new to the brand, the Audi A1 Sportback is expected to be priced from around $30,000 for the 90kW turbo four-cylinder model (pricing to be confirmed closer to its June 2012 local launch). Like the three-door model, there will be two grades when the A1 Sportback arrives, the entry-level Attraction and up-spec Ambition.

The Attraction comes standard with cloth seats, remote central locking, 15-inch alloy wheels, power mirrors and windows, six airbags, Bluetooth audio streaming, Concert radio with eight speakers, cruise control, auto headlights, rain-sensing windscreen wipers, plus a leather covered sports steering wheel.

The up-spec Ambition models are a bit sportier, getting all of the above but adding larger 16-inch alloy wheels, sports suspension, chrome exhaust tips, sports seats with lumbar adjust, front fog lights and aluminium accents in the cabin.

At the top of the tree is the 1.4 TFSI Sport model, which builds on the aforementioned features with 17-inch alloy wheels, an S line exterior body kit package, xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights, LED brake lights, rear parking sensors, climate control, and LED ambient lighting for the cabin.

The interesting thing with the A1, like the MINI, is its individualisation. Of course these extras cost money, lots of a money in some cases, but they do allow owners to personalise their cars which has a certain appeal for a large group of buyers.

Only a handful of optional extras have been confirmed at this stage, starting with Milano leather upholstery ($2300), aluminium-look air vent sleeves ($220), MMI Navigation Plus ($3600), premium Bose audio system ($1450), and finally a panoramic sunroof ($2090). S line Sports Packages are also available, but the only pricing details we have so far are 18-inch alloy wheels ($2900) and S sports seats ($1300).

All Australian Audi A1 Sportback models will come with a three-seat configuration for the rear, but a two-plus-two option is available for no extra cost.

Body-coloured roofs are standard, but three contrasting roof rail and roof packages, which are available in black, blue and silver, are available as a no cost option; and are likely to be very popular. The orange and red models looked particularly trick when matched with black roofs and pillars.

In all, 12 exterior colours will be offered, with six optional interior colours also on the cards.

Two really funky features that we sampled on European-spec models which have not been confirmed for Australian A1 Sportback, were internet radio (we listened to Triple J while cruising around Spain) and the integration of Google Earth and Streetview for the satellite navigation system -- the latter improving the navigation experience by orders of magnitude. Then there's the Audi Connect system which can link the car to its surroundings (and other vehicles), another techno-cool feature that is unlikely to be offered in Oz.

MECHANICAL

--Now with diesel power

Audi Australia is keeping things simple with A1 Sportback’s engine choices mirroring the three-door range. So you can join the A1 Sportback club with a 90kW/200Nm 1.4 TFSI four-cylinder engine, a turbocharged jobbie that can easily shift the car's 1.1-tonne mass. As with all the models in the range, it returns the same economy as the three-door model -- 5.4L/100km, with CO2 output of 124g/km.

Then there's the 1.6-litre diesel mill that grinds out 66kW/230Nm and takes in 3.8L/100km of fuel spits out 99g/km of carbon dioxide.

Lastly is the big (little?) daddy A1 Sportback 1.4 TFSI Sport, which is powered by a twincharged (turbocharged and supercharged) 1.4-litre four-banger that kicks out a MINI Cooper S-rivalling 136kW/250Nm. The first two engines are fitted standard with manual gearboxes (auto is optional) and the Sport gets the seven-speed S tronic automatic trannie as standard. Expect plenty of love for the auto however, with 75 per cent of Aussie buyers currently choosing an auto A1.

The new A1 Sportback feels identical to the A1 on the road in terms of ride and handling, and that's no big surprise. It weighs only 25kg more than the three-door and rides on exactly the same platform. Suspension sees A1 Sportback running McPherson wishbones fore and a torsion beam axle aft. An electronic differential is standard on all models too, and it does a good job at reducing understeer when pushing hard into corners.

PACKAGING

--Familiarly similar

Where the A1 Sportback differs to the A1 is in its dimensions and extra doors, though look twice and you'll miss the differences. Look again and you'll probably miss them...

The Audi A1 Sportback has the same overall length and wheelbase as the A1, 3954mm and 2469mm respectively, but is slightly taller and wider, by 6mm in both directions. The A1 Sportback's roof is taller and has also been pulled back slightly to give rear seat passengers more headroom, which is up by 11mm on its donor, and having spent an hour sitting in the back seat I can report it is a little roomier than the A1.

As a taller driver, I found my knees were a little high off the squab but leg room wasn't bad, and there was about one-finger's gap between my head and the roof which was a positive sign. Overall the rear seat was not an uncomfortable place to be, and an additional 13mm of shoulder room was also welcome.

The A1 Sportback has the same luggage space as the A1 -- 270 litres expanding to 920 litres when you drop the split-fold rear seats. With 60 per cent of the rear seat folded down (they're not flat folding) we managed to fit three adults in the car with all our luggage (three large suit cases, three small ones and a couple of laptop bags), and no complaints.

Available as a no-cost option is a 2+2 seat layout vehicle, the idea being to give rear seat passengers a bit more shoulder space, but even in the 2+3 layout the rear seats are scalloped enough to be form fitting.

The front seats, too, are nicely contoured and cabin is finished in fine style, with soft touch dash plastics and a tidy minimalist centre console making a good first impression. The instrument cluster is a little dull and looks too much like a VW, but it's effective.

SAFETY

--Five-door practicality, five-star safety

Six airbags are standard on the European-spec models and this will be the case for Australian delivered models, with front and front side airbags for front passengers and side head airbags for front and rear passengers. The usual driving aids have been added to the package too – antilock brakes, stability control and traction control – ensuring a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

Belt force limiters, active head restraints, child seat anchorages and included, while speed-sensitive electro-hydraulic steering improves low-speed sensitivity.

COMPETITORS

--Euro zone contra expected in Oz

MINI Cooper, Citroen DS3 and Alfa Romeo MiTo are the main rivals for the Audi A1 Sportback. At a stretch you could add the Aston Martin Cygnet, but it's more expensive than the abovementioned models.

Volkswagen Polo is the A1's twin-under-the-skin, while the Peugeot 207 and Renault Clio are slightly less luxurious European rivals.

ON THE ROAD

--Sticking to the straight and narrow

Audi's chassis gurus have been working their magic for decades now, and the A1 Sportback doesn't miss out on this expertise. To cut a long story short, this car is a lot of fun to drive. Its short footprint and direct steering deliver crisp turn-in and, as clichéd as it sounds, the car has an appealing and tenacious character that encourages the driver to put its performance to the test.

On the damp roads around Costa Brava in Spain the Audi A1 Sportback was able to hustle along very rapidly, the stability control intervening regularly but almost imperceptibly. It's no bad thing, the car handles exactly the same as the three-door A1.

Throw it at a corner -- a wet, off-camber corner with gravel on the edge, if you're really feeling brave -- and the A1 Sportback will handle it, with a touch of stability control tweaking the brakes in just the right measure to keep you on the straight and narrow.

Like the iconic MINI, the A1 Sportback has a distinctive go-kart feel to the way it behaves mid-corner but it's also a charming little car to drive in most situations and combined with one of the best steering racks on a German car. This makes for an engaging drive.

The electrohydaulic steering is well weighted but provides enough feedback for the driver to know when to ease off the throttle.

We drove the car on several freeways and a couple of country roads and the ride quality is supple enough to soak up most of the mild corrugations we encountered.

In terms of acceleration, all models exhibited spritely performance, with the range-topping A1 Sportback 1.4 TFSI Sport delivering the biggest thrills with a 136kW whack that saw it firing out of corners with vehemence. This twincharged engine has a bit of character too, singing out a rorty growl. It'll accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.0 seconds flat and has a top speed of 227km/h -- not bad for a 1.4 small-fry.

The 90kW 1.4 TFSI and 66kW 1.6 TDI were not available on the test but we did drive the entry-level 1.2-litre petrol turbo petrol model which was surprisingly fleet of foot for something with just 63kW/160Nm. It delivered plenty of kick between 2500 and 4000rpm and though it's a manual only proposition, Audi Australia hinted that it would consider adding the model to the local line-up, potentially representing a price-leader in the category.

We also drove the 103kW/250Nm 1.4 TFSI petrol engine with cylinder deactivation technology that promises to deliver fuel economy of 4.7L/100km, and though we couldn't achieve that figure, the car was frugal. It's not slow either, sprint from 0-100km/h in 8.1 seconds and though others assured me they could feel the transition from four- to two-cylinders, I couldn't feel it. It was a seamless switchover and could drive at around 100km/h running on just two-cylinders, though when we set the cruise at 120km/h it reverted back to all four.

Like much of the Internet-reliant technology being offered on the A1 Sportback, Audi says the 1.4 with 'cylinder on demand' technology won't be coming to Australia. A spokesperson for the local importer told us that "all bases were covered" in terms of fuel efficient models. It's not due to reach Europe until mid 2012, and our source suggested that if it did get green lit for Oz it wouldn't be until 2013 and would attract a price premium.

Apart from an average turning circle, the only criticism I can make of the new A1 Sportback is that it won't be offered at launch with many of the gadgets that make it special. The Audi A1 Sportback is a great little driver's car however, and the added practicality of room rear seat room and easier access will do nothing to hurt the car's already considerable appeal.

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Written byFeann Torr

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