Audi has been launching cars at an almost feverish rate, which makes it all the more surprising that it’s taken so long for the German firm to unveil its upmarket supermini the A1 writes Peter Carroll.

Audi’s big rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, got in the act a long time ago. BMW has the 1 Series and owns Mini, of course, while Mercedes has the A-Class and Smart on its books.

Audi did try something similar at the tail-end of the 1990s with the unusual, all-aluminium A2 but it never took off.

Things should be different with the A1, however, and Audi is looking to sell upwards of 18,000 of these a year in the UK alone.

• See more pictures of the Audi A1 in our gallery to your right

The new arrival is a stylish three-door car that’s looking to pick up a substantial slice of the ’boutique supermini’ market dominated by Mini for most of the past decade.

The first A1s have already arrived at showrooms in Wolverhampton and elsewhere round the West Midlands – and with prices starting as low as £13,420 on the road, plenty of other supermini manufacturers are going to feel the heat from Audi’s newcomer.

The A1 is a full nine inches longer than the Mini and possesses a completely different character.

It’s been described as a re-skinned Polo, but the car it most resembles, in looks at any rate, is SEAT’s Ibiza – another supermini from the VAG stable.

The Audi has a cleaner design compared with the Spanish car’s curves and heavily ‘creased’ body lines – and the optional silver contrast roof lines work very well too.

The A1 shows its class in the lighting department. The xenon front lights (again optional) of my test car were impressively powerful, while the back lights were beautifully designed, with the LEDs picking out a ‘w’ shape.

And there’s more of the same inside: at night, the rims of the door speakers light up to provide a subtle, premium-quality ambience.

This premium feel continues in the rest of the cabin too. The A1′s interior is superbly finished and gives the car considerable showroom appeal.

The look is understated and discreet, with the dark dashboard enlivened by chrome flourishes and a row of air-vents resembling tiny jet engines.

The switchgear feels as well-built as you’d expect from Audi and the seats are comfortable too. It should be easy even for tall drivers to make themselves comfortable at the wheel.

Things are tighter in the back but at least the car makes use of its extra inches by offering a proper and nicely-trimmed boot. At 270 litres it is getting on for double the size of the Mini’s, which has a paltry 160 litres.

The A1′s rear and wing mirrors are stylishly shaped but on the small side. Note that if you want parking sensors you’ll have to pay another £300.

The test car came with two SD card slots: one for the sat nav and the other for displaying pictures of videos on the screen.

I drove a 1.6 diesel Sport which starts at £16,250 on the road. There’s a fair bit of clatter from the diesel at start-up and it’s not the most refined unit in the world but there’s plenty of pulling power.

The petrol cars are 100kg lighter and perhaps more immediately appealing – but cannot compete with the diesel’s outstanding combined cycle economy of 70mpg. I’d need a longer test drive to see how realistic a figure this is.

The A1 is good to drive with weighty steering and secure roadholding. It’s not as sporty on the road as some of its rivals, notably the Mini, but many will like its ‘big car’ feel.

Ride quality is fine on the open road but things can get a bit jiggly over rough surfaces round town.

Despite its funky lighting and silver contrast lines the A1 feels ultimately a more grown-up proposition than most other superminis. It may not be the most exuberant car in its class but no rivals can touch it for cabin quality.

This executive challenger has been a long time coming and is ultimately not as radical as the previous ‘baby Audi’, the A2. But then that didn’t sell particularly well. This, on the other hand, will.