Audi A1 Review (2018-present)

What is the Audi A1?

There was a moment in automotive history when the idea of a small car with a premium finish and price tag seemed flat-out bonkers. In fact, the brilliant yet ultimately unsuccessful Audi A2, introduced in 1999 seemed a good case in point, as it didn't sell well.

Then BMW relaunched the MINI brand and hatchback, proving industry nay-sayers very wrong indeed. Not to be outdone, Audi followed suit in 2010 with the Audi A1, a small hatchback that exuded all the solidity and lustre of any other model wearing the four rings logo, only at a more affordable price. It went on to be a hugely popular car, and as of 2018 we’re into the all-new second-generation model.

Complete with a new platform and, unlike the first-generation car, a five-door-only body – called Sportback – the newer A1 offers a more practical, sensible take on the MINI. It’s still comparably pricey next to alternatives like the VW Polo, Ford Fiesta or Fiat 500, but despite the fact that most A1 Sportbacks will cost well over £20,000 new by the time they’re specced up, it holds its value very well and also promises low running costs from a range of perky small petrol engines.

All A1 variants are front-wheel drive; you can’t get Audi’s quattro four-wheel drive system but you can get the intriguingly-named Citycarver, which adds a higher ride height and some rugged SUV styling cues, yet – as the name suggests – is still very much an on-road car.

How practical is it?

The A1 is very practical for a small car – it’s roomier in the back than the five-door MINI hatchback, and leagues better than the rather pokey if achingly cute Fiat 500. Two tall adults will be fine in the Audi’s back seats, and you can legally squeeze a third passenger in the middle although they’re unlikely to be too happy about it.

Boot space is very decent – at 335 litres it's 65 litres more generous than its predecessor – and is only bettered in the class by the Seat Ibiza and Honda Jazz, plus you get split-folding rear seats as standard. Ultimately, interior packaging in cars like the Audi A1 and its brethren – particularly the Ibiza and Polo – has improved enough to warrant them stealing a good number of sales from family hatches like the VW Golf.

What's it like to drive?

The Audi A1 has to be a good steer if it’s to live up to the Audi badge, and it doesn’t disappoint. With a range of sweet, free-revving petrol engines, pliant ride comfort and neat, predictable handling it’s a grown-up-feeling car that’s easy and satisfying to drive whether you’re wielding it around town or doing motorway miles. A MINI is more fun on a good road, but the extra comfort and practicality of the Audi is no small incentive for plenty of buyers.

As with all Audis, the engine badging bears no relation to the engine size. The range kicks off with the 94bhp 1.0-litre 25 TFSI, then there’s the 30 TFSI with 114bhp from the same engine, the 148hp 1.5-litre 35 TFSI, and topping the range is the 197bhp 2.0-litre 40 TFSI. The two lower-lowered engines get manual gearboxes as standard – a five-speed on the 25 TFSI and a six-speed on the 30 TFSI – but a seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic automatic is optional, or standard on the 35 TFSI. The sporty 40 TFSI gets a six-speed dual-clutch auto as standard.

Technology, equipment & infotainment

The A1 majors on offering equipment levels of much larger cars despite its urban-appropriate size, so even entry-level Technik trim get 10.3-inch digital dials and an 8.8-inch MMI colour touchscreen infotainment system, complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for smartphone connectivity.

The rather pricey but popular Technology Pack adds even more configurable digital dials and an upgraded 10.1-inch touchscreen and wireless phone charging (standard on the lavish-but-expensive Vorsprung trim). The tech is hard to fault, and the interior quality in the A1 is great, if not quite up to the standards of the A3 and other bigger Audis. It’s still a seriously posh-feeling car, but in terms of perceived material quality in the cabin, the MINI just pips the Audi.

Audi A1 running costs

All of the smaller petrol engines in the Audi A1 Sportback should be fairly frugal to run. Since the 1.5-litre in the 35 TFSI isn’t likely to be working quite as hard as the 1.0-litre engines, we would expect to see similar real world economy from all of them with around 40-45mpg quite possible in moderate use – especially if you do a fair bit of motorway driving, as plenty of A1 drivers do. The 40 TFSI manages around 40mpg officially, but it’d be realistic to expect around 35mpg in routine driving, although if you enjoy that extra power particularly often, you’re unlikely to be fretting about the 30mpg or less that it’ll drop to.

Insurance is reasonable on the A1. Our pick of the range – the 30 TFSI Sport – is rated group 20, which is the same as the equivalent VW Polo, so payments won’t be expensive and the A1 could be a reasonable choice for learner driver. Having said that, insurance will be more expensive than for cheaper options like the Renault Clio and Ford Fiesta.

The Audi A1 Sportback holds onto its value well, so by the standards of this class of car you’ll lose relatively little in deprecation. Mind you, the spec of the car plays a big part in how easy it is to sell on or part-exchange, so keep that in mind if you’re inclined towards the more outlandish colours on offer in the A1 palette, as they can divide opinion more than subtler hues.

Audi offers two different three-year servicing plans. The fixed plan costs £399 and is recommended for those who cover less than 10,000 miles and spend a lot of time in town, while the £299 variable plan is aimed at those who do more motorway miles (which are less wearing on the car) and do over 10,000 miles per year. The car will beam a message on to your drivers display when it needs a routine service, so while it’s worth taking one of Audi’s fixed price service plans (which are transferrable to another owner) if you’re buying new or approved used, you’re unlikely to miss a service.

The tyre sizes on the A1 Sportback are common and so it should be easy and affordable to get replacement tyres, although if you’ve gone for the bigger, wider wheels found on higher trims and bigger engines then inevitably it’ll cost more for replacement tyres.

Audi A1 reliability

Like all Audis, the A1 comes with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, which is really the bare minimum you should expect on any new car these days. It uses a platform, engines and other parts that are used widely across the Volkswagen Group’s various brands, so you’d think that all these bits and pieces would be tried and tested.

However, the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey tells a very different story. Of the 19 models included in the small cars category, the A1 came in stone-dead last. A quarter of owners reported that their cars went wrong in some way, and that the problems were time-consuming and expensive to fix. In fact, a quarter of the repairs necessary cost £1500 or more.

In the same study, Audi placed 26th out of the 32 carmakers included in the manufacturer standings, putting it behind both of its big rivals in the shape of BMW (12th) and Mercedes (24th).