Five-door Audi A1 starts at £13,980 16 | 01 | 2012
AUDI HAS CONFIRMED its new five-door A1 Sportback (see more official photos of the A1 Sportback) will start from £13,980: that's a £560 premium over the existing three-door.
Audi dealerships across Scotland are already taking orders for the new car, with first deliveries scheduled for March.
As you would expect, the Sportback is bigger than the three-door A1. It's 6mm taller and 6mm wider, and offers 11mm more rear head-room. There's also 13mm more shoulder-room in the rear of the car.
Luggage space remains the same as the three-door: 270 litres with the split/folding rear seats in place or 920 litres with the seats down.
Buyers can initially choose from four engines: a 1.2-litre petrol, two 1.4-litre petrols and a 1.6-litre diesel.
The entry-level is the 85bhp, five-speed manual 1.2TFSI petrol in SE trim. The most economical version, the 104bhp 1.6-litre TDI — which returns 74.3mpg and emits just 99g/km of CO2 — costs from £15,040. It too has a five-speed manual ‘box.
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For those more interested in performance, the nippiest is the 182bhp turbocharged and supercharged 1.4TFSI.
Capable of hitting 62mph from standstill in 7.0secs, and with a maximum of 138mph, the 1.4TFSI — it's available only in S line trim and comes with the seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch gearbox as standard — costs £21,270.
It's expected the 1.6TDI and the 120bhp, 148lb ft 1.4TFSI will account for the majority of sales in Scotland.
If you can wait until after summer, there will also be a new 141bhp, 236lb ft, 2.0-litre diesel.
Spec level on the new A1 Sportback is attractive. Alloys, remote central locking, air-con, electric front and rear windows, a split folding rear seats and a six-seater single CD Concert audio system linked to a 6.5-inch retractable display are all standard across the range.
The SE gets 15in alloys, the Sport model gets 16in and the top S line 17in alloys.
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Step up the Sport and you get sports seats, sports suspension, front fog lights, Bluetooth, leather steering wheel and upgraded interior styling.
The entry-level S line — the 1.2TFSI, which costs £17,365 — also gets tweaked sports suspension, special interior and body styling, a rear spoiler, cloth/leather upholstery and an LED interior light package.
You can also personalise your car thanks to the choice of two customisation packs. The ‘Comfort’ — which includes light and rain sensors, a rear parking guide and cruise control — will set you back £605.
But if you're a tachno geek, you'll need the ‘Technology’ pack which consists of sat-nav, Bluetooth, a multi-function steering wheel, MMI system and a 20GB music storage facility. It costs £1375.
Read our roadtest of the 2012 Audi A4
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Jim McGill