Hi
The wife is looking for a new car , she likes the A1 ,
Any body got one / drove one
Likes /dislikes

Thanks in advance for opinions

Excellent. I’ve got a 2.0tdi sline.
Such fun to drive.
Make sure you get a 5 door as access to the back is a bit tight in a 3 door.
The only thing is the boot is a bit small. Fine for day to day stuff but you won’t get 2 suitcases in there.

I like the A1, nice to drive

unfortunately I have no idea how I’ll afford one

How long before ‘only an idiot would buy an A1 and not a Skoda Fabia which is the same car’ I wonder?

I don’t really get the A1, it’s like an overpriced less user friendly Polo. For me its as follows:

Fabia – You are cost conscious, keep a car a long time and don’t care about the badge or looks.

Ibiza – Young and trendy, but on a budget, willing to put up with a dash from the 1980s.

Polo – Sensible everyday car, with good looks inside and out, VW badge means better brand image and re-sale.

A1 – all about the badge, more money than sense. Loses the practicality of the Polo.

Tiny. S line drives like a go cart. Though steering felt a little light / no feedback / road feel at times. Auto box version is rubbish. Slightly plasticy feel to the cab. Only had it as hire car for a while so can’t comment on living with it. Was quite fun in some twisties in the hills. Tiny. Though I seem to recall I fit my V10 in the back – possibly slightly dismantled.

I have the 6 speed manual. Test drove Fabia,Polo,Golf. A1 was most fun. As said above, it’s a go cart. And I get mid 50’s earrly 60’s mpg mast of the time.

Pfft you don’t want an A1 you want to save your money buy a *insert STW approved car here* instead.

Edit: oops, Dragon beat me to it

Excellent. I’ve got a 2.0tdi sline.
Such fun to drive.

I like the A1, nice to drive

Test drove Fabia,Polo,Golf. A1 was most fun

God you people haven’t really lived have you if you think the A1 is a ‘fun’ car to drive? I drove an S Line version and it was dull dull dull, and in almost every way inferior to almost every other small car out there (less fun, less practical, less space, more expensive etc).

The A1 had firm crashy suspension, completely numb steering, and little sense of dynamic fluidity or adjustability.

Two friends had one. The first an S Line, which bored him to tears after 6 months and he now is much happier driving a Fiat Punto. A girl at work swapped her 09 Mini company car for the new A1 and now desperately wants her old Mini back.

Sure if you don’t really enjoy driving, value VAG group badge snobbery over a good product, and perhaps have never driven a proper fun car then you won’t know any different and you’ll probably absolutely love the A1.

If you actually enjoy driving though steer well clear and for the same (or less) money (a very nice to drive) BMW 1 series can be had, or a Citroen DS3, Fiat Punto, or whole multitude of other far more interesting, far more practical and far better cars.

Surprisingly too Fiat now rank well above Audi and VW in the car reliability surveys so Audi can’t even claim to be the best built cars any more.

rebel12, what car do you actually drive?

We have two, an Audi RS4 for the day to day and a little 205 Gti for weekend fun. I love older Audi’s – just a shame that recently they seem to be making pretty dull cars, trading off some of their past glories.

1.9?

Ok.
I can’t afford that luxury and any car would be boring in comparison.
I’m happy with mine, especially the fuel consumption.
We’ll have to agree to disagree then.

sorry but they remind me of Austin allegros

Audi A1 looks nice but nothing special I guess it’s just a small nice car. All of them look nice.

I drive a 2005 Toyota Corolla auto so not as exciting as any of the above. I guess I need the help from Eibach or Tanabe to improve it.

Test drive yourself, rather than asking others I reckon 🙂

Here’s the thing though.

I’d say 90% of people who buy a car care not a jot for how it drives.

Things like steering feel, body control, gearbox etc etc are as alien a concept as you trying to explain to them how the damping on your new Fox forks isn’t as progressive as you’d like.

The overwhelming majority of people by cars based upon price to buy/run, looks/colour and percieved reliabilty / safety

How else do you explain the continued strong sales of every Peugeot since the 306 and the last 20 years worth of Vauxhauls

I test drove all of the cars on that platform (Fabia, Polo and A1) with my Mum when she was looking for a new car – I’ll point out at this point that she’s 64, so gives you an idea as to who they’re appealing to ;o)

The best car overall, in my opinion, was the Fabia in the 1.2 TSI, quick enough, but still pretty frugal and a more usable size cabin than the A1. Polo was fine, but a little dull. She went for the Polo though – A1 was too expensive for the same level of kit and engine, and she found the looks of the Fabia challenging.

One of our reps has a 1.6tdi A1 also – which is fine. I don’t think they’re anything to get excited about though. I’d say Polo and Fabia are a better deal.

Mini is a much better car to drive and sort of a similar price, but also check out the Suzuki Swift Sport for bang for your buck in a similar size car. They DO drive well – not ‘fast’ but damn quick on wiggly roads. Good value too.

The overwhelming majority of people by cars based upon price to buy/run, looks/colour and percieved reliabilty / safety

I think brand loyalty and/or perceived image are the two biggest factors. The fact that all cars are far better than they used to be means that people buy a new one, EVEN if it’s a Vauxhaull or Citroen, and think ‘wow this is much better than my old car, therefore this brand is great’ when their old car was a 20 year old banger.

People are always saying stuff like ‘I love Peugot, they’re great. Mine’s been totally reliable really, only had it fail to start a few times. And the passenger window doesn’t work.. and you can’t get 4th when it’s cold, but apart from that great. I’ve done 50k miles and all I’ve had to do is change one head gasket, four wheel bearings, a DMF and an ECU. No problems!’

Ok.
I can’t afford that luxury and any car would be boring in comparison.
I’m happy with mine, especially the fuel consumption.
We’ll have to agree to disagree then.

Really? I’ve driven a Fiat Panda (as a rental car in the Alps) and it was far more fun to drive than the A1. Cars don’t have to be expensive or powerful to be fun and involving. A friend picked up a 2 year old Renaultsport Clio 200 recently with years warranty remaining (no nothing’s gone wrong with it at all) for £11k (or half the list price of your A1) and that’s an absolutely amazing drive – a real hoot.

That’s nice.
I had an S2 for many years, changed it for a mk2 Golf Gti 8v so had hoot cars.
I’m very happy with my A1. It’s enough fun for me. You, not so much. I got it for a price I was happy with, 2 months old fully specced.
I really can’t see a problem.

“People are always saying stuff like ‘I love my Passat, it’s great. Mine’s been totally reliable really, only had it fail to start a few times. And the passenger window doesn’t work.. and you can’t get 4th when it’s cold, but apart from that great. I’ve done 50k miles and all I’ve had to do is change one head gasket, four wheel bearings, a DMF and an ECU. Now the gearbox has got problems!’

A 200 might not be the best example, the low 20s mpg will hurt pretty badly. Instead just buy a mint 172 or 182 for £1,500-£3,500 and get high 30s instead 😉

Seriously though, there are many good fun cars to be had as long as your social standing/insecurity can deal with the badge.

On the other hand, as it’s the wife buying, there’s nowt you can do to influence her decision anyway so you what as well give up now

1.2 Ibiza driver, love it!

OP feel free to ask any questions as you asked about the A1.

Sorry should apologise – I’m a bit of a car snob, not for expensive cars but for ‘good cars’ and expensive does not mean by default that it’s good in my book. I’ve owned Audi’s, Fiats’s, a Ford, Peugeots, an Alfa, a BMW, a Volvo, a Vauxhall etc so I’m certainly not fussed about the badge.

I’d just rather have something different, fun and unusual and can’t get my head around someone spending the best part on £20k on a mediocre car just because it’s new, or because of the ‘BRAND’. It’s a real shame that most people don’t realise that for just half of their £20k ‘new mediocre car’ budget they could get something really, really truly special.

No worries. I will keep this car for 10 maybe 15 years so 1.2k per year really is not expensive motoring.
It’s only used when I’m in the uk which normally is once every few months.
That’s 100 pounds per month.
Going for an Audi gives me comfort that during this time I should have no major mechanical issues.
And the main thing is I love it.
That’s it really.

My girlfriend had one and it was perfectly okay…no mechanicals and I can’t think of anything bad to say about it, now she has a Ford Fiesta ST which is bags of fun…I want one too! You’d probably get one for not much more than a fairly basic A1.

I had an S2 for many years

Please post pics if you have any!

iolo – Member

Going for an Audi gives me comfort that during this time I should have no major mechanical issues.
And the main thing is I love it.

It’s great that you love it, which to be honest is probably the most important thing when buying such a major purchase.
But most of the bits that go wrong are the same as in the Ibiza, Fabia & Polo, so don’t be under the illusion that the Audi badge means it will be any more reliable than them.
My OH has just bought a 2.0TDi Ibiza FR and it’s a pretty nice car. Almost as nice as my 10yr old Ibiza 1.9 TDi 😉
The Ibiza can be had for a heap less than the A1, but yeah it doesn’t have the Audi badge on the front and perhaps the interior is better finished.

I’m with Rebel on this one… to an extent.

Look nice, great engines (but you can get the engines in any VAG). One I drove the dashboard made more noise than any car I have ever driven. Big car feel, composed on the road.

Drive an A1 and then get in a Fiesta and you will see just how dull the handling is though.

All the silly comments about it being over priced are stupid. Residuals are better than the competition, therefore PCP’s/contracts can be very comparable to the cheaper alternatives, and if you buy you will always get more when you sell.

reliability surveys so Audi can’t even claim to be the best built cars any more.

I don’t think they were ever well built. Mine was poor. I’ve had one Audi I will not have another.

Have a look at the Seat Ibiza FR 1.2TSI