Audi A1 engines & performance

For something that takes stylistic cues from the great Audi Sport Quattro of 1985 (vents at the base of the bonnet), the A1's performance - even in 35 TFSI trim - proved unremarkable and, at times, exasperating, which is a shame given that this engine might have proved a sweet match for a supermini.

Make no mistake, Audi’s 1.5-litre four pulls in impressively discreet fashion once the small turbocharger has fully woken up at 3000rpm and, beyond an unusually high biting point for the overly light clutch on manual cars, there’s little cause for complaint for those who live their lives at a slower pace. What's more, the seven-speed DSG automatic gives the A1 'big-car' dynamics, with smooth shifts allowing for pretty consistent acceleration.

For the rest of us, however, and for the person paying for a premium hatchback with at least a little sporting ambition, there’s a frustrating lack of urgency because the economy-minded gearing for the six-speed manual transmission is so long. Things are slightly improved with the seven-speed auto, despite it not being particularly decisive about when to change gear in the upper reaches of the rev range.

Power is delivered in linear but languid fashion no matter which gearbox you go for, and so to go anywhere quickly you need to work the engine quite hard, shifting gears often and using generous and sustained throttle inputs. What's more, it sounds extremely unpleasant when you rev it out - almost as though it doesn't want you to explore the power band. 

Sadly, this engine simply doesn’t have the character to reward the effort required and so, for the most part, the A1 35 TFSI feels somewhat limp.