Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Audi's Mini Fighter - The Audi A1

[Source: USA Today]
I'm not feeling Audi's upcoming A1.

The way the roof tapers off into the back end, just doesn't sit right with me. Feels very "meh". I'm sure a nice body kit and some aggressive rims will help but still, the back is really underwhelming. And whats with the two-tone exterior color scheme? Screams chicks' car.

Lets hope they put the 2.0TFSI engine into it and create a S and RS line-up. If they put the 1.4TSI (utilizes a turbocharger and a supercharger) that is used in Volkswagen's new Polo GTI, then you would be taking sales from the A1. Why would you pay a premium for the same performance? The same sort of problem that people had with the A3 2.0TFSI - why get a more expensive car, when you could get a cheaper MK5 Golf GTI with the same engine and better driving dynamics?

That is unless you wanted the A3 2.0TFSI with Quattro =) Only comes in manual though...

Audi says that it will offer the A1 with these three engines - petrol 1.2T, petrol 1.4T and a 1.6 diesel engine, all mated to Audi's 7-speed DSG transmission.

Heres a video of the car in motion, being tested by Audi DTM (German Touring Car Championship) driver, Markus Winkelhock.

3 comments:

Rigval Reza said...

Hello!

Go to myautoblog.org and read what I think about those coloured pillars. To me its just a fad.

Regards,

P.S. need to try something other than a TT, unless yours comes with the dynamic drive suspension. The one I tried had the unadjustable shocks.It didnt feel planted. Prefer a 350z over a TT for the same amount of dough.

Loki said...

Hey (I agree with your write up about those coloured pillars! Bleh!).

My Q5 you mean? It comes with Audi Drive Select with a damping control system - Auto / Comfort / Dynamic mode but I think you are referring to the Audi TT MK2's magnetic ride, which is not an option available to Malaysian TT customers - according to the Euromobil PDF. Try grey importers perhaps if you want to feel the difference?

Also, Audi magnetic ride is only available to certain models (the ones that I know for sure are the TT MK2 and the A3). The A4 and the Q5 (same chassis after all) have their Audi Drive Select and this option is not available to the other models.

Rigval Reza said...

yeah..i suspected as much. local Audis have weird specs. The driver's cars like the tt dont have adjustable damper settings. And they expect the looks and style to sell the cars i suppose.