Hi all,
Bit of a lurker on here as I basically don't post but always liked the Mk5 Golf's.
It's a 1.4 TFSI Sport model in Brilliant Black (about 122 bhp/200nm torque but a stage 1 remap can take this up to 150ish/250 torque) which in my opinion is pretty decent in such a small car. Driving the A1, while inside it feels like any other new Audi. It has the up to date MMI and interior details which can be seen in other new models like the Q3 and the new A3. As with most new cars (especially german ones) the option list is huge, personally I think it is a bit much. Audi will quite happily charge you for extras such as Sat Nav and those LEDs which imo look fantastic but are not worth £2k on top of what is a £15k car.
Originally I was looking at Polo or an A1. Quick look at the Polo garage and I wasn't so keen. The spec of the cars, while cheaper, was pretty much not there. I ended up leaving without a test drive as I hated the feel of the gearbox and clutch. Next day I went to the Audi garage in Leicester, where I test drove a demo Sport model - which had all the extras, xenons, hdd tech pack, sat nav, jukebox, led lighting and all that gubbins. It was a lovely car but still a bit too expensive, at well over 17/18k though the salesman was trying his best to get me to buy it.
Then visited a more local Audi dealership (Tamworth) and ended up buying brand new (already built) 'poverty spec' Audi A1 1.4 TFSI Sport. I didn't need to test drive the A1 again as I knew it was exactly what I was after. The two weeks of waiting without the car was torture and felt like an eternity. My car is totally stock but even in this form you get plenty of features out of the sport model. Even MMI is standard across the range (SE included). From the Sport you get things such as, a MFSW leather (just like the bigger audi's), bluetooth (can play audio through BT as well), SD card slot/CD/Aux, telephone prep, dash display, sport cloth seats with 1/8th of leather :? , leather gear stick, and some very nice aluminium trim on the door handles, around the centre console etc. Boot space is more than adequate for me, can fit two golf bags easily when the back seats are folded down, or an R8 exhaust system. :D
The A1, at least with this engine has a nice bit of a punch to it when the turbo kicks in, I can only imagine the 1.4 185ps is even better with its supercharged & turbocharged engine. It definitely beats anything in the Polo line up bar the GTI which can only be compared with the A1 Black Edition 185ps.
I've had the car since Feb 2012 and really enjoy driving it, done over 12k miles now and it costs on the 2 year PCP deal - £182.70 a month, which is very affordable when compared to what other brands offer. But I always think about what I will get next...I love the Mk2 TT's, particularly the Black Edition, TTS and TTRS models, as well as the A5s - petrol of course.
Below are pictures of it after its first wash. And some from last friday's winter details. I've tried my best to prevent swirls by using proper wash techniques - quite happy with apart from the accident I had only a month after buying it, which was shame as the accident repair company inflicted a huge amount of swirls on the wing that was replaced and the drivers door. :(
Winter Detail:
