2018 Audi A1 S-Line: Oppositelock review

"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
10/27/2018 at 20:56 • Filed to: Oppo review, Audi

(Disclaimer: Audi wanted me to drive this car so much they sold it to Sixt which rented it to me for 274.9 GBP for 8 days, premium location (Heathrow) and different return location with only 204 miles on it!)

Exterior: It’s a GTI in a nice 2 piece suit.with wheels stretched to the far corners, it offered decent handling in a small package. Something that would come in handy given the roads it would see.

the car would not remain clean for long.

Interior: Good seats. Comfy on rough Welsh roads, but still supportive and well bolstered.

Photo Audi UK

Electronics: i found the navigation annoying to program as it kept switching to shortest route, taking me off the highway, and then trying to take me down the wrong way to Stonehedge. I gave up and used my phone. Also randomly the radio would come on while driving .

Wheels + Tires: Fitted with some rubber bands, they provided excellent traction on dry and wet roads, yet the low profile was less than ideal when I had to scooch onto a shoulder and just spun.

Brakes: After a morning of Twingo Tamer setting a steady pace for our group, we switched at the end to have an Elise lead. A sudden tractor caused a bit of a pucker moment where the A1 surpassed what I was expecting in stopping power.

Engine: With VW group 1.4tfsi featuring 120hp and 148 ftlb of torque the A1 was peppy and the low torque curve was nice on Welsh roads where it pulled it up steep hills without having to constantly downshift.

Transmission: Fitted with a 6-speed manual, gears were nicely spaced. Only 2 things that took a bit of getting used to, nuetral wasn’t perfectly vertical which was a bit of conteracting muscle memory. Second was for the first 6 days there was no feeling when the clutch was grabbing. I’m not suring if feeling the last day was due to wear-in, or finally getitng used to it.

Handling: The S-Line featured Audi sport suspension and handled Welsh roads firmly, but still in comfort.

Running costs: Over the week I put on 1189 miles with about 200 on highways, I averaged 41mpg (Imperial gal). I was satisfied considering the amount of time in Wales spent in 2nd going over hills.

Overall: A fun nimble hatch ready to take on country roads.

DISCUSSION (12)

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
10/27/2018 at 21:29

It took the beating on those random little farm tracks admirably and was quick enough to smoke my Twingo (although everything is). Seemed like a good little car.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
10/27/2018 at 21:59

I know this would never fly in the U.S., but I have such a thing for premium superminis like this.

Brian McKay > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
10/27/2018 at 22:28

I’m amazed that the windows are dark. In the southern United States, many vehicle owners are too stupid to have tinted windows.

And I’d expect the roof to be black if the windows are dark.

b ut kudos for making a two-tone car and for tinted windows ...

in cloudy and foggy northeastern Europe

M.T. Blake > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
10/28/2018 at 00:14

Awesome! Sadly it looks like the aspiring interns car who probably is saddled with so much student loan debt that they’re living in the Audi in the company car park.

tpw_rules > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
10/28/2018 at 10:37

Also randomly the radio would come on while driving .

This happened to the car I bought in Germany. Turns out it was a feature to automatically power on the radio during traffic broadcasts. Quite annoying until I found out the setting to turn it off.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
10/28/2018 at 16:12

Twingo: Slow car, quick driver

A1: quick car, slow driver

It was a good matchup

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Brian McKay
10/28/2018 at 16:13

It was a very light tint. Looks much darker than it did from the inside.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > tpw_rules
10/28/2018 at 16:18

O ne of the times it came on, I had previously been using the GPS with the volume rather high. Scared the crap out of me.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart
10/28/2018 at 16:53

I would have a tough time spending that much on a fancy polo in the US , but it was so much like a go- cart.

Brian McKay > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
10/29/2018 at 19:55

It looks like DARK Florida tint.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas
10/30/2018 at 14:50

I don’t think you’re a s low driver, it's more you were getting used to our tiny country roads and being on the correct side of the vehicle :P

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
10/30/2018 at 19:45

In some ways I thought it was easier to drive in the UK on the opposite side with miles, than the normal perpetually convert kms to miles.

“ How fast am I going into this turn... 70km x 2/3 40ish mph ”