Audi A1 Sportback

Audi A1 Sportback with 5 Star Rating from What Car

2012 Audi A1 Sportback review

Think of the new Audi A1 Sportback as an A1, but with that little bit extra. With five doors instead of three, and five seats instead of four, it's designed to give buyers all that's good about the award-winning supermini, but with an added dose of practicality. The question is, does it succeed? Well, yes and no.

What's the 2012 Audi A1 Sportback like inside?
For passengers, it's much better than the three-door A1. The extra doors make access to the back seats much easier and, thanks to a significant improvement in rear headroom, it's a good deal more comfortable once you're in.

Sure, your hair will brush the ceiling if you're six feet tall, but at least you'll be able fit without having to slouch. There's a fraction more shoulder room in the back, too, but you'll be hard-pressed to notice – it's still too limited to accommodate three people in comfort. Still, those who can fit will enjoy a wonderfully plush environment thanks to the A1's sumptuous materials and exemplary build quality.

The A1 Sportback isn't so successful at carrying luggage, though. The boot is no bigger than the three-door car's, giving 270 litres under normal circumstances and 920 litres with the rear seats folded down. However, that's much more forgivable than the way in which the back seats fold down. In the three-door, the backrests lie flat because you can move the seat squab out of the way first. In the Sportback, the squab is fixed, so the backrests lie at an awkward angle. That's not really acceptable in a car geared towards extra practicality.

What's the 2012 Audi A1 Sportback like to drive?
The driving experience is pretty similar to the three-door A1's. You get the same crisp control and impressive stability in corners, while the car's agility is helped in no small part by the accurate, well-weighted steering.

However, the ride in our test car, the Sport-trimmed A1 Sportback (which occupies the middle ground of three suspension set-ups), wasn't as smooth as we're used to. Don't panic unduly, though – that could be explained by the optional 17-inch wheels fitted in lieu of the standard 16-inch alloys – we know from experience that the A1's ride deteriorates drastically on bigger wheels.

Four engines are currently available: three turbocharged petrols giving 85bhp, 120bhp or 182bhp, and a 104bhp diesel. The diesel's figures for fuel economy and emissions sound very appealing, but the engine itself doesn't – it's grumbly, coarse, and you feel too much vibration through the controls. It's pretty flat low down, too. We also tried the mid-range petrol, which is a much better bet – it's smooth, flexible and capable of real pace.

Should I buy one?
The A1 Sportback isn't a revolution in practicality – after all, the footprint of the car is no bigger than the three-door's. However, if you like the idea of an A1, but regularly need to use the rear seats, the Sportback fits the bill perfectly. Plenty of people will buy one, too – Audi reckons that two out of three A1s sold from now on will be Sportbacks.

The A1 isn't cheap by supermini standards, and the Sportback carries a further £560 premium over the three-door version. Still, your outlay will be protected by super-strong resale values, and running costs for most models are very competitive.

The diesel's figures are particularly impressive, returning an average of 74.3mpg and emitting just 99g/km of CO2. However, we'd point you towards the punchier, smoother 120bhp petrol – it costs less to buy trim-for-trim, and with figures of 52.3mpg and 126g/km, the running costs won't bankrupt you.

Whichever version you go for, though, you'll get a decent amount of standard kit including alloy wheels, electric front windows, an MP3-compatible stereo, six airbags and stability control.