Audi seems to be rocketing its already-successful small car segment, with the launch of the new A1. The company enjoyed a massive 830,000 sales of the car since it went into production in 2011. And the new A1 does not seem to have any intention to harm the trend.
The updated supermini, which shares its platform with VW Polo and SEAT Ibiza, will now only come as a five-door Sportback. Audi has tweaked the dimensions a bit with a longer, wider and lower body. Measuring 4,030mm long, 1,740mm wide and 1,410mm tall, the second generation is 50mm lower than its sibling, Polo.
Merging the quintessence of Audi's iconic Quattro from the eighties, the new supermini gets a similar frame grille and three air inlets below the bonnet. New additions on the car include full LED headlamps along with a set of 18-inch alloy wheels.
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The car enjoys major internal tech-friendly tweaks after Audi decided to ditch the button-oriented dash with a slick MMI touchscreen infotainment system derived from the range-topping A8 luxury saloon. Additionally, the flagship A1s will get an exclusive 10.1-inch display while the mid- and entry-level segment gets the 8.8-inch touchscreen. Apart from that, an optional package offered throughout the range includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
Audi has replaced the analogue dials behind the steering wheel with the new fully digital instrument cluster. However, features such as wireless phone charging, a Bang & Olufsen stereo and Audi's MMI navigation plus system, which bundles social media access, live traffic updates and Google Earth into the infotainment set-up comes as optional.
Audi claims that it has improved the practicality of the car with a larger boot space of 335-litres compared to the outgoing model with 270-litres. Folding the rear seat will increase the capacity to a total of 1090 litres. This can be attributed to the increase in length and width.
Audi has ditched diesel engine for the new A1, which is now offered with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo engine providing 95bhp of power in the 25 TFSI badge and 116bhp in the 30 TFSI badge. However, the top variant with the 40 TFSI badge will deliver a power of 197bhp and will sport a 2.0-litre turbo engine.
A front-wheel-drive powertrain will be available across the line-up with an option of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes. The flagship 40 TFSI will, however, use a six-speed S Tronic auto.
The car comes with a host of safety features including lane departure warning adaptive cruise control and a reversing camera have been added to the car.
(Image source: Auto Express)
