Audi A1

EndlessSky

EndlessSky

EndlessSky

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Joined
19 Dec 2010
Posts
511
Location
Staffordshire
Anyone got one? If you have I'd love to hear your thoughts about it, and whether or not you'd be happy doing 60 country lane miles a day in one.

Thanks :)
 
Anyone who has got one is going to think its amazing or they'd probably not have one.

I dont have one because I think its pretty sucky, if that helps. If it was amazing I'd buy one.
 
In the 1.6 TDI, sure.

Probably not in the 182bhp 1.4 TFSI - gets tiring quickly as it likes finding ditches and racing through the gears.

Definitely not in anything with the larger alloys or the sports suspension though, because the ride is appalling.
 
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The cabin's actually pretty spacious in the A1 - in the front, at least - for a car in its class. Colleague does 120 miles a day in his, no problem. Very comfortable on the cruise :) Nice place to be, too, and a slick looking little thing.

Costs a fortune once you start hitting those option boxes, mind......

It's got a similar footprint to the 1-Series, to give it some scale. Bit shorter and narrower, though.
 
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Lashout, thanks for that :)

What's the thought behind the finding ditches comment?

I understand that the sport / s-line ride in the Audi isn't particulary well liked, is it just very hard (which I don't think I'll mind) or is it not very good with regard to handling?

Sorry for all the questions, and before anyone asks I will of course test drive any car I'm concidering before I actully get anything new! It's just nice to get a few opinions :)
 
EndlessSky said:
I understand that the sport / s-line ride in the Audi isn't particulary well liked, is it just very hard (which I don't think I'll mind) or is it not very good with regard to handling?
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I found the ride in the S line A1 pretty good, certainly compared to say a M Sport 1 Series which seems to have a suspension system comprised entirely from concrete.
 
[TW]Fox;19746451 said:
It's really small. Small cars are for popping to the shops in.

Audi do a car called the 'A4' which is well suited to doing 60 miles a day.
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A good point but a new A4 is out of my budget and a smaller car can be more fun on the lanes :).

An A1, A3 or a 1-series are (with varying degrees of monthly cost) in my budget and I've not seen many A1s around so just wondered what they were like.
 
EndlessSky said:
A good point but a new A4 is out of my budget and a smaller car can be more fun on the lanes :).

An A1, A3 or a 1-series are (with varying degrees of monthly cost) in my budget and I've not seen many A1s around so just wondered what they were like.
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I doubt there is much fun about an A1, Audi are not exactly known for precision handling chuckable hatchbacks. Get a used A4 or something if you must buy a diesel Audi. Infact you appear to already have a VW Scirocco. Whats wrong with that? Keep it because none of the cars you are looking at are appreciably superior in a way that really justifies a change.
 
There are dozens of cars better suited to 60 country lane miles a day for the same, or considerably less money than you'd have to pay for an A1.

The A1 is badge engineering at it's finest. I think they're ugly - particularly the from the rear. Seeing 3 of them on the forecourt of the Audi dealer with £20k+ stickers on them made me sad.

A Fabia vRS can be had for £7k cheaper than an A1 1.4 TFSI S-Tronic S-Line. Lot of money for a bit of soft touch plastic.
 
From what I've seen the Audi A1 is PLENTY chuckable.

Fox have you actually experienced the A1 or are you just guessing?
 
EndlessSky said:
Lashout, thanks for that :)

What's the thought behind the finding ditches comment?

I understand that the sport / s-line ride in the Audi isn't particulary well liked, is it just very hard (which I don't think I'll mind) or is it not very good with regard to handling?
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The 1.4 TFSI in 185PS form just struggles to get the power down well, especially in the wet. Basically any time you floor it or it kicks down it weaves its way from one side of the road to the other, particularly on rougher country roads.

It's fun, for about ten minutes, then you go "I'd actually just like to go forward, please". Because it's such a lively, aggressive little thing it's hard to stop it from pulling, out of junctions and so on - gets tiring after a while. It is entertainingly fast though and I averaged about 36mpg out of it.

I love driving it, because I usually only use it for 50 mile hops - it's a real hoot and great fun to scoot around in - but on a daily basis I found the 1.6 TDI a much more pleasant and relaxing experience.

The ride, though, on the 17's with the sports suspension, is just too firm as mentioned. This also causes another problem - because its so stiff on the rougher roads, like country ones, it really starts to get a bit twitchy and the traction and grip issues just become exacerbated. Thuds over bumps as well and really sends some good thumps through the cabin - and your spine. Just not enough compliance. No excuse for it really, barring appealing to people who think that because the ride's terrible it 'handles like a go kart'.

Definitely worth a drive though. Depends on the roads you intend to use it on :)

The only other memorable issue I had is that the sat-nav isn't the easiest to use - but that's just a familiarisation thing. Oh, that and the one I drive doesn't have paddleshifts, which is a shame with the DSG box.
 
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The Scirocco is awsome, but it has to go back :( (it's leased) and I've made the sensible, if rather sad decision to get something easier on the wallet in both monthly lease costs and fuel costs. I'll be sad to see it go, but circumstances change and I have different priorites now.

The company car list I have access to has most makes and models on it, so I'm open to suggestions but the main critera is 1) not to bore me to death on the journey to and from work (country lanes) 2) to be pretty frugal on fuel and 3) to be a "nice" place to be.

Edit - Lashout - Thanks for that mini review, I really appreciate your time in writing that up :)
 
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EndlessSky said:
The company car list I have access to has most makes and models on it, so I'm open to suggestions but the main critera is 1) not to bore me to death on the journey to and from work (country lanes) 2) to be pretty frugal on fuel and 3) to be a "nice" place to be.
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Definitely could tick those boxes, if it's specced right.

Always a pleasure, anyway, least I can do. It'd be interesting to drive one of the lower-output TFSI engines and see if they're just as engaging and flexible but without the slightly OTT nature of the 185PS mill.

The TDI's obviously not a ball of fire but the tradeoff is that you can drive it like it's stolen (and you have to if you want to get around quickly) and it'll average 50mpg, probably a bit more once it's got some miles under its belt. I think 60 comes up in around 10s.

If you're going to be doing lots of deaccelerating and accelerating though, could well be worth considering the more potent petrol versions - although there's a balance to be struck here between economy and enjoyment!
 
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As a point of note there isn't much difference pricewise between the comparable VAG models on the Company Car list. So a Skoda 1.4 vRS / Polo 1.4 GTI / A1 1.4 S-Line TSI 185 would be roughly the same cost for base spec. I suspect the kit levels would be vastly different though.
 
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