Audi A1 Sportback S line Competition 2013 Review

Price Guide: (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $35,500
Options fitted: (not included in above price): None
Crash rating: Five-star (ANCAP)
Fuel: 95 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 5.3
CO2 emissions (g/km): 122
Also consider: Ford Fiesta ST (from $25,990); MINI Cooper Hyde Park (from $34,800); Peugeot 208 GTi (from $29,990); Volkswagen Polo GTI (from $29,190)

Audi's minuscule A1 might not be its top-selling model, but the little hatch contributes nicely to the company's annual Australian sales tally.

So far this year, the A1's 899 sales have kept it in virtual lock-step with Audi's second-best selling passenger car, the A3 hatchback -- which, in turn, sits behind the sedan/wagon A4 range. All, however, fall short of Audis Q3 and Q7 SUVs.

The A1 is intended to compete in a segment more frenetic than normally contested by the company. Many of those 899 sales have undoubtedly been to upward-aspirant buyers stepping up a class into Audi's most affordable model.

And Audi’s latest A1 sales initiative is the limited edition S line Competition which, for a big price saving, brings the visual pizzazz of the flagship 1.4 TFSI Sport model at a more affordable level.

With a before on-roads tag of $35,500 -- which is $7000 cheaper than the Sport variant -- the limited edition A1 (only 200 will go on sale) borders on funky, while appealing to the hip pocket with claimed value-added savings of around $5500 over what would be the normal retail price for a similarly-spec’d Attraction model.

For a premium of $2500 above the regular A1 Attraction, the S line Competition gets a claimed $8000 worth of extras with serious 17-inch five-spoke alloy wheels, LED tail lights, rear parking sensors, and the odd bit of extra detailing such as, S line front door sills, contrasting roof colour and body-colour air vents inside the cabin. Oh, and a couple of foglights in the front bumper panel.

Although it looks pretty neat, and offers a little more dynamic potential because of the bigger wheels, the limited edition A1 is not a lot more than a dress-up however.

The engine is Audi's 90kW/200Nm 1.4-litre TFSI turbo-petrol and the transmission is the familiar dual-clutch seven-speed S tronic. These combine to produce a zero to 100km/h acceleration time of an even nine seconds -- well short of the 6.9 seconds claimed for the “real” 136kW/250Nm 1.4 TFSI Sport model.

And the interior, apart from the body-colour air vents, is pretty much your normal A1 Attraction. It lacks the sports seats and climate control air conditioning, and misses out on the xenon headlights and sport suspension of the Sport model.

Packaging is regular A1. Up front, everything is fine even for taller passengers, with plenty of legroom and well-shaped, supportive seats, but everything falls to bits in the back seat where both legroom and headroom are abysmally lacking. This where the car's small, close-to VW Polo dimensions, and the fact that one of the cars targeted by the A1 is the MINI, come home to roost.

And the 270-litre boot, through very nicely finished and featuring the usual 60:40 split-fold backrest, is more suited for a romantic weekend away than a family shopping trip. To make the most of the limited volume, the spare wheel is a space-saver.

The cabin was also notable for a lack of space for storing small oddments. Only the normal door bins, and a small space ahead of the twin cup holders in front of the gearshift were at passengers' disposal.

That said the A1, even without any extra gear, remains a well presented mini hatch. The ambience, particularly inside, is distinctly Audi with quality trim and neat detailing, and the 90kW turbo engine punts it along nicely. The S tronic, typically of a dry-clutch dual-clutch transmission, can be a little clunky and at times a little hesitant taking off. But there's no questioning its efficiency and on-the-move dual-clutch smoothness.

The engine never feels under duress and executes highway passing manoeuvres with ease. It even feels quicker than its officially claimed zero to 100km/h time.

Fuel economy on test was well short of the official combined figure of 5.3L/100km, failing to better more than 7.0L/100km, even though much of the driving was done on freeways.

With the bigger wheels and the 215/40R17 tyres the A1 Competition is unquestionably a little grabbier while the steering (2.6 turns from lock-to-lock) becomes a tad more precise, yet the ride quality hasn't deteriorated past being comfortably firmer and slightly sportier.

A1 sales so far this year are down very slightly over 2012 (in fact the July 2013 figure was less than half that of July sales last year) so a little value-added titillation seems to be in order. That said, Audi's little hatch is more or less effectively trading blows with hatch and Clubman variants of arch-rival MINI, which managed sales of 1003 units.

More sizzle than steak, the A1 Competition truly reflects what the smallest Audi is all about. At the end of the day, four rings on the grille count for a lot more than a recently-contrived badge on some pretentious upstart from somewhere other than Germany.

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