Thank you to our personal leasing customer, from Northampton, for sending through pictures of their amazing new Audi A1 which they received earlier this month.
In the small car range, the Audi A1 is very much the most popular car in the new car market, as many customers see this as a step above the comparable Ford Fiesta, Seat Ibiza and Vauxhall Corsa.
In fairness, Audi very much have a monopoly in the prestige small car class, as BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar have not ventured into cars of this size.
The risk for many premium manufactures is that the small-car class is very much based around the value to the customer.
In some cases, an Audi A1 can be more expensive than the bigger VW Golf, Ford Focus or Vauxhall Astra, so for many customers this is not a financially viable option. For BMW and Mercedes, they have probably taken the view that it would be too much of a risk to introduce a smaller product and would not be prepared to discount their brand enough to fit the demands of the market.
In terms of the Audi A1 range, the customer has four specification options:
· SE;
· Sport
· S Line
· Black Edition
On the engine-type, you have a 1.0, 1.4 and 2.0 petrol or a 1.6 diesel option. Historically, the diesel A1 was very much the sought-after engine, as the 5-speed manual engine offers 76.3 combined MPG and CO2 of 98g/km (and 116ps). However, with recent political and economic changes, the diesel engine is very much on the sharp decline. Statistics for 2018 already show a seismic-shift in purchasing/leasing behaviours, as customers jump into petrol vehicles.
To ensure that customers are considering their options carefully, this is nothing wrong with having a diesel vehicle per se. It is very much about having the right type of fuel for the type of driving which you undertake.
For example, if you are covering less than 8,000 miles per annum and are mainly covering stop/start journeys, you driving behaviour is very must consistent with a petrol vehicle. In the alternative, for the longer motorway style driving which covers over 20,000 miles per annum, a diesel engine will be more appropriate. For company car drivers, there are now electric and petrol electric options (PHEV) which offer a more company car tax friendly solution. However, these vehicles are still more expensive than their petrol/diesel alternatives, so it will be down to company budgets as to whether this will present the right solution for you.
In terms of the car shown here, the Audi A1 Sportback 1.4 TFSI 150 Petrol S-Line 5 door Manual, this is based on the following configuration:
· Nano grey Metallic Paint
· Aluminium trim
· Sprint cloth/leather – Black
· 17″ 10 spoke high gloss alloy wheels
As standard the car includes 17” alloys, leather gear knob, sports seats, LED interior lights, air conditioning, Bluetooth, 3-spoke multifunction steering wheel Line suspension, heat insulating glass, voice control system, floor mats, electrically adjustable door mirrors, heated door mirrors, S Line body styling, xenon lights, illuminated glovebox, Thatcham cat 1 alarm, lumbar support for front seats, first aid kit and a tyre repair kit. In terms of additional factory options on the Audi A1, consider privacy glass, SD card navigation and the Audi parking system.
On the technical-side, company car and business users can note the P11d at £21,375.00 and CO2 at 112g/km. The 1395CC 6 speed manual engine delivers 150ps, combined MPG of 58.9 and 0-62 times of 7.9 seconds.
So would you select the Audi A1 as your preferred leasing option? Or would you go to the cheaper Seat Ibiza, Ford Fiesta or Peugeot 208 or perhaps a VW Polo or Skoda Fabia is more your thing?
So which car would you take home on a lease deal? Comment Below…
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