Overall rating:

Did we mention the MINI? It's very difficult to avoid drawing comparison between the A1 and Germany's best British car because the Audi is, really, the first proper rival the MINI has had. There's every chance that if you're spending £16,000 on a city car, form is higher on your list than outright function. The Audi A1 absolutely trounces the MINI in the latter category.

However, that it also competes on the same playing field in the former category is a proper surprise and, for us, what makes the A1 the new leader of the posh city car sector.

Key Facts

Model tested: Audi A1 1.6 TDI Sport three-door
Price: £16,320 (details correct as at 07 March 2012)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel
Transmission: front-wheel drive, five-speed manual
Body style: three-door hatchback
Rivals: Alfa Romeo MiTo, MINI Cooper D, Volkswagen Polo
CO₂ emissions: 99g/km
Combined economy: 74.3mpg
Top speed: 118mph
0-62mph: 10.5 seconds
Power: 105hp at 4,400rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 1,500 - 2,500rpm

Inside & Out:

The Audi A1 is more conservative than the MINI, but it still manages to muster up more personality than pretty much any Audi excluding the TT - from which the cabin takes some inspiration. Quality is better than anything else its size (and plenty of much bigger cars) and there's an intuitiveness to the layout that a certain Anglo-German small car simply doesn't have.

Add that to space for real people behind the front seats (unlike the MINI), an impressively sizeable boot (unlike the MINI), and an air of the premium hitherto unseen in this class (including the YOUKNOWWHAT) and you've got a very complete and compelling small car package.

Ride & Handling:

Ok, so the steering lacks the nth degree of subtle feedback and sharpness, and the ride is occasionally just on the wrong side of jittery. But largely the setup of the Audi A1 is reminiscent of a bigger car - which is to say that it feels at home anywhere. It's settled, composed and quiet on the motorway, while having enough sharpness to feel agile in the urban sprawl - and enough give in the suspension to make meeting potholes and sleeping policemen relatively non-infuriating.

Engine & Transmission:

Audi's 1.6-litre TDI diesel engine powering our A1 Sport makes up for what it lacks in outright punch with low-end flexibility. Hold onto a gear and it ultimately feels flat, but its best zone, below 3,500rpm, is strong enough to merit use of the word 'nippy'. Don't pretend you haven't used it before.

The gearbox has a little more left-right slack than you'd get in an A4, but it never jumps into the wrong gear, nor feels cheap.

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:

Our test car was a TDI Sport model, which is, weirdly enough, priced within a few quid of the MINI Cooper D. Thanks to an update, the emissions and fuel economy figures are identical in the Audi too with 99g/km and 74.3mpg.

There's no getting away from the fact that £16,000 is big money for a little car. Residuals are unproven, though provenance means they're likely to be good, but the real issue comes with the options list. Standard equipment is ok - you get alloys and air conditioning in all A1s for example - but that old premium chestnut, personalisation, is always there threatening to dent your monthly outgoings, like a kooky temptress.