Audi turns tiddler into s-mall racer
It's not often Audi boasts about fewer horsepower than the competition but the new S1 has less of it, where it matters, than any of its rivals.
Of course, there's a twist to the figures. The turbocharged powerhouse under the S1's bonnet has more horses than its rivals and qualifies this potent newcomer for entry to the genuinely quick car club.
But because the S1 is four-wheel drive – all the time – this unique to its class feature means each of the wheels has less power to worry about than the two-wheel drive competition.
That has obvious benefits when the going is slippery, say on a streaming wet road or pulling hard out of a side road trafficked by farmers at harvest time. It also means the front wheels, which do the steering of course, have less to fight against when you want to change direction.
This switch to all-wheel drive in a car with such modest dimensions (it's a snug four seater, at best) shows how serious the company was when it decided to turn its A1 tiddler into a proper performance machine, thereby producing the S1.
It meant a completely new rear suspension which, as well as costing a packet to engineer, has robbed the boot of a little room compared to the cheaper but slower A1 models further down the range.
At the other end of the car you'll find a 2.0 litre engine that, in similar guise, also performs sporty duties in a range of other cars in the VW Group family (Volkswagen and Skoda to name but two) and which gives this new Audi the sort of performance that will make almost any journey an adventure.
Best of all, because it's such a comparatively small car (but perfectly formed... it's an Audi, after all) and because the engine produces really useful power without needing to be revved hard, it covers a typical British B-road with the sort of verve a keen driver dreams of.
For a sporty Audi it even rides our rougher roads pretty well, especially with the suspension set to look after itself rather than having the optional firmer setting selected. You can pay more for bigger alloy wheels, which might look mightier, but won't help the ride.
An inch perfect driving position (something a surprising number of car makers still struggle with) makes long distance drives a pleasing prospect, even if the standard, smaller wheels and tyres kick up a racket on a typically course UK motorway surface.
With all the power at its disposal, the S1 laughs off inclines and, on a fairly demanding test drive, actually had me smiling at the way it leapt up hills without needing a change from fifth gear.
Back on the flat, sixth was quite enough to keep up with anything this side of a rep in a hurry.
The S1 comes in two shapes, the five-door Sportback tested here or the £730 cheaper three-door, simply called the S1. Both come with a manual gearbox without the option of an automatic and both add a premium of more than £2,000 over the next quickest model in the A1 range.
That actually seems modest considering the deep engineering changes for the S1, which also comes pretty well equipped as standard and feels every centimetre a properly finished and furnished Audi inside, even if charging an extra £225 for cruise control is a bit cheeky.
By Ian Donaldson
