For those reasons, I’d plonk for a Fiesta ST, but equally I’d miss all the things the Audi does better â€" nicer cabin, better ride, better stereo, quieter â€" and when I consider how painful commuting is every day, the decision blurs again.
Speaking of competitors, this month the CarAdvice office had a new Mini Cooper three-cylinder auto in, and a Kia Proceed GT. The former is a natural A1 competitor that has been reduced in price to $26,650, while the latter larger warm hatch costs an identical $29,990 to the Audi. The Mini and Kia claim 7.8- and 7.7-second 0-100km/h times, where the A1 claims 9.0sec (though it feels faster than that).
I fell a bit in love with the new Mini, though it has a shunty auto that seemingly tries to mimic the A1’s lurchy, optional S-tronic, so I will have to try the manual. It also doesn’t ride as well as the Audi, or sound as good, it only has three dooors, and questionable Hankook tyres hurt its handling. Yet for all that, its classy new cabin impresses, it feels trad-Mini darty around town, and it is cheaper.
The Proceed GT looks lovely, and I’ve heard it handles really well, but around town its 1.6-litre turbo is laggy, it feels heavy and its interior is nowhere near as good as the Audi’s.
Tellingly, as I flirted with other sub-$30,000 contenders, other CarAdvice members filtered through the A1, armed with strict instructions to treat it like it was their baby.
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