Audi S1 Review

"Quattro" is the keyword for the Audi A1 on your screen. This is the Audi S1, which has AWD and more hp. Why? I think because they can. Never enough power, and so they thought at Audi as well. They put the 2-liter TFSI we know from the Golf R in the small Audi A1. It has 228 hp, which is a lot of power on the front wheels. Not very convenient, so some goes to the rear wheels as well. This handles better. We know the engine from the Golf R, but it's not 100% the same. This Audi A1 still needed its A/C. They ran 1/2 inch short for the same turbo, so they installed a smaller one. It's powerful enough with 228 hp and 273 ft lb of torque. That does go. 0-62 mph in 5.8 seconds. The Sportback like this one does it in 5.9 seconds. A small difference. The top speed is limited to 155 mph. Limited. AWD in Sweden, lots of white stuff on the road, so it gets slippery. Ice makes it even more slippery. Then it's great to have two extra powered wheels. In essence this car is FWD. Only if the front wheels lose traction, it'll send power to the rear wheels. Combined you can go sideways. Basically you'll still get understeer. Safety for the buyer, which is important. It handles great. The 6-speed manual gearbox is standard. There's no S tronic available at the moment. It suits the car. Changing gears, a feisty engine. The sound is good too. You should recognize the Audi S1. They gave it a great color: Vipergrün. I think it's pretty hot. Such a nice color. Everyone should order it. Then there's a spoiler, diffuser, and sharp headlights with red details. It looks like the Golf GTI, but who cares. It looks nice. On the inside it has thick bucket seats, a glossy black in this case. It says "quattro" on the rear, as with everything else. It's on the dashboard, front, rear, sides, underneath-- If you flip the car, you'll probably find 16 more quattro logos. Just to remind you you're driving an Audi S1. I'm putting emphasis on S1, because that's one of the car's problems. The Audi had a limited edition a few years ago: the Audi A1 quattro. It had AWD as well, yet it came with 248 hp. It didn't get the S1 name, because that was the legendary rally car. It's not right to put that name on a small, urban car, even though it has more hp. They did it anyway. Marketing makes use of that, because I get to co-drive one. Next stop: the price. This car starts at 38,000 euros. A Sportback like this one is 39,000 euros. Ticking a box like satnav, you'll go over 40,000 euros. It will give you a cool car, but it's still a fancy Polo with AWD and 228 hp. It's still a fancy Polo, which makes it a lot of money. On the other hand, what to compare it with? Nothing. There's no other small, AWD sports car. They've found their own niche with its own price tag. If you're an Audi fan, you can justify your buy with the old rally S1. Now they've built something in memory of it. If you can tell that to yourself, you can spend 40,000 euros on something fun. Subs - Maru