Audi must be bouncing happy. With a slew of successful model ranges and well received recent launches, they have gone on to pull off what neither BMW or Mercedes Benz have been able to. They have successfully ventured into the small car market, with their offering of the A1 which is cute, stylish and practical. It’s a car that appeals to families as a second car and to businesses as an efficient, small company car that has sufficient cache to get away with being small.
Over and above that, the A1 has proved itself to be a great value car to run and has topped the charts in several “most efficient car award” tests, the latest one published being from Business Car Manager.
Roundly based on the VW Polo, a car that is easy to overlook in the small car market, the Audi had its own suspension added and of course a cute body and interior, with usual Audi fit and trim quality. The Sportback, the five door version, is a four person car and in the 1.6TDiSE guise it is efficient and where a company car driver is given an allowance for mileage travelled on business use, it’s a winner.
It is still young enough to be cool and drivers will jump in it happily. The engine is an absolute gem and we know it personally, having used it in a Golf Bluemotion and never had a problem beating official fuel consumption figures. In the A1, a car that is aerodynamically better and marginally lighter, we don’t doubt the official fuel consumption figure of 74 mpg.
Most company car drivers will happily drive an Audi and given the choice, company car or cash, the A1 should be right up there on their list with emissions of only 99g/km. A normal tax payer will be in for a company car tax bill of just £36 per month, with long life servicing and great future values reducing running costs further still.
The Sportback makes the car easier to live with than the three door, with rear access no longer a problem. The SE has enough spec to make you smile as well. Air-conditioning is standard, 15 inch allows and electric windows.