Audi A1 vs Cupra Formentor

What's the difference?

If you’re eager for a sporty compact hatchback with premium design and luxury car badges, the Audi A1 40 TFSI is a very, very strong contender. It’s fast, fun, and functional for a little hatchback. It’s just very expensive, and for most people the $10K cheaper 35 TFSI model will tick most of the boxes. I’d recommend you drive it before signing on for the top-spec model.

The Cupra Formentor VZe Tribe Edition offers some great luxury features and is coupled with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that should entice those wanting something more efficient than the standard petrol grade. It's peak efficiency is only available with a fair amount of charging commitment, though, and the driving comfort isn’t always the best but its fun and looks hot. The price point also makes it appealing compared to its rivals.

I don’t think I’ve seen a better transformation between generations than the current A1. In its previous guise it was bubbly and cute, but now it’s an angular brute.

This version’s S line sports body kit and funky 18-inch alloy wheels certainly help in that regard, but even the standard lighting signatures - LEDs front and rear - make it stand out as anything but a cutie pie city car.

The good news is that it hasn’t grown too much, either. Sure, it is a bit bigger, measuring 4029mm (on a 2563mm wheelbase), 1740mm wide and 1409mm tall. The last one was smaller (3973mm long on a 2469mm wheelbase, 1746mm wide and 1422mm tall), but this one isn’t elephantine in its proportions and so remains simple to park and squeezy enough to be considered a Light Car by industry standards.

And there are some really, really playful colours available. Like this Turbo Blue (which is only for this spec), and Python Yellow. There’s also black, green, red, three different greys, and two whites. The only issue is that flat white (Cortina White) is the only no-cost paint option. The rest will set out back $490 (for Tioman Green or the blue you see here) or $990 (for the rest). 

And then you can option the paint with a black roof, for $1380 combined with blue or green, or $1880 in all the other colours. The black exterior styling pack adds black highlights around the grille and on the front and rear bumpers. Those little Audi four-ring stickers on the rear doors are standard on this spec.

But to be honest, it stands out no matter what colour you choose, and that’s enough to get people’s heads turning on the street. And the interior design? Well, it has some good and bad points. See the interior pictures below to make up your own mind. 

The Cupra Formentor sounds like a Transformers name and if it were one, it’d be a Decepticon, for sure. It’s way too sharply styled and sexy to be a good guy. 

The special-edition model sees it paired with black and copper 19-inch alloy wheels and every design aspect doubles down on its sports-car presence from the crisp pleating across the body, to the twin exhausts and shapely grille. And this sporty presence is what its rivals lack.

Head inside and you'll notice the biggest change from the standard VZe model are the sport bucket seats in the front and the blue leather upholstery that has been liberally applied across the cabin.

The dashboard features gorgeous copper accents and contrasting stitching while being headlined with large tech screens that immediately catch your eye.

The interior has a killer design but it's not one you'd call plush as the edges and surfaces are as sharp as they look.

There are elements of the A1’s cabin design that are tremendous. And other bits that are not so tremendous. 

The bad bits include the fact you’re paying about $50,000 on the road for a car that has hard plastic just about everywhere the eye can see.

The good bits are that the textured plastics on the dash are beautiful, and so are the designed elements on the doors. I love the door handles, I love the metallic finish, I love the layout and I love the way it makes you forget that you’re in a luxury-branded car with hard plastic all around you.

The media screen and digital dashboard help, too - it feels technical and premium in the driver’s seat as a result. The graphics are crisp and clear, the menus are mostly easy to navigate, but I had some issues getting Apple CarPlay to work. It has wireless CarPlay, and I had it plugged in, so perhaps that was confusing things.

But the Audi media system also includes Audi Connect in this spec, meaning there are realtime map, traffic and hazard updates, plus a Wi-Fi hotspot, fuel prices, parking, weather and Google maps and services. It’s high-tech, and if that’s what you like, this is definitely going to please you more than a Mini Cooper.

Practicality is good, with bottle holders in all four doors, cup holders between the front seats and a covered centre console and wireless charging bay in front of the shifter. In the back, storage is sparse: aside from the door pockets, there’s nothing - no cup holders, no map pockets. 

There is enough space for four adults in the A1, so if you plan to take your mates to brunch or if you’ve got young kids, you should be comfortable enough in here.

I had the driver’s seat set for my own height (182cm) and I was able to slide in to the rear seat without much fuss at all, with adequate knee and toe room, and decent headroom too. Try and fit three across the back and it’ll be uncomfortable, unless those three are very slim. 

There are dual ISOFIX child-seat anchor points and three top-tether points, and the seat structure is pretty flat, making fitment of these types of seats simple enough.

The boot capacity is good for a car of this size at 335 litres, which is a solid 20 per cent bigger than before. You won’t find a spare under the boot floor, though, as all A1s have an inflator kit. The back seats fold down to allow 1090L of cargo capacity, but there’s a ledge you have to contend with if you’re trying to load larger items in. Maybe skip the IKEA trips in this one, then. 

For something that leans more towards a sports car than SUV in its styling, the cabin is still fairly practical when it comes to space and access.

Front occupants enjoy the best of each, though, and it's easy enough for a taller driver to get into a comfortable position.

The rear row offers excellent headroom but the legroom may be cramped for a tall passenger. It's best to think of the car as a four-seater as the middle armrest won't go down when there is a car seat installed.

In terms of seat comfort, fatigue will set in early on a long trip for front rowers as they are decidedly hard under the butt but the padding is a lot better in the rear row.

Overall, storage options and amenities are great throughout the car with the tri-zone climate control, heated front seats and steering wheel functions giving a premium cabin experience.

The glove box is extra large and can easily fit a small handbag and a manual while the middle console is on the small side. There are four cupholders and drink bottle holders (4/4) but the front cupholders need to be spaced out more to accommodate two cups properly. A few loose coffee lids were had!

In the rear you also get two map pockets and the boot has 345L of capacity available which is on the tiny side for a medium SUV! However, the wide boot aperture tricks you into thinking it’s bigger and the powered tailgate is always a handy feature.

Technology looks great but the multimedia system is finicky to use and one that takes a while to get used to. At first it's difficult to recognise what you have to touch to access the different menus available but the screen is responsive and the graphics are clear.

The built-in satellite navigation is easy to use, and the Tribe Edition also has wired/wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four USB-C ports, a wireless charging pad and a 12-volt socket.

There are usually three variants available for the Formentor; the base V petrol model, the mid-spec VZe plug-in hybrid and the range-topping VZx petrol.

The Tribe Edition pairs the plug-in hybrid powertrain with some of the features you get in the VZx, making it technically sit right below the top model, despite being $2200 more expensive at $67,990 MSRP.

Yet still it offers great value compared to its luxury rivals, the Lexus NX350h Luxury Hybrid which sits at $71,600 MSRP and the Peugeot 3008 GT Sport Plug-in hybrid which starts at $82,915 MSRP, without feeling like the poor cousin.

For a $3K price hike over the standard VZe model, you enjoy heated front seats, sport bucket front seats, 'Petrol Blue' leather upholstery throughout the cabin, black and copper 19-inch alloy wheels, a black headliner, a 360-degree view camera and a powered drivers seat with memory and lumbar function.

Other standard equipment includes keyless entry and start, powered tailgate, heated steering wheel, dusk-sensing LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, auto-start/stop function and a tyre repair kit and inflator.

Technology looks top-tier with the 12-inch touchscreen multimedia system with built-in satellite navigation, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, tri-zone climate control, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, four USB-C ports, Bluetooth, AM/FM radio, digital radio and a nine-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.

This 40 TFSI model is the big humdinger in the range. It has the donk, right?

Yeah, it’s a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, which is a full litre bigger in capacity than the base model car. And it’s the same engine fitted to the Polo GTI - a proper hot hatch!

It doesn’t quite have double the power and torque of the entry-level 30 TFSI model, but it does have solid outputs of 147kW (at 4400-6000rpm) and 320Nm (from 1500-4400rpm). That’s enough to slingshot this A1 from 0-100km/h in a hot-hatch-rivalling 6.5 seconds, according to Audi.

Unlike the lower grades, it runs a six-speed dual-clutch automatic, which it needs because it has so much torque. The 30 and 35 TFSI variants have a seven-speeder. All of them, including this one, are front-wheel drive.

There is no quattro/all-wheel drive A1 this time around, and there won’t be an S1, either. So this is it if you want your kicks in a compact car from the Ingolstadt-based brand.  

The VZe Tribe Edition is a plug-in hybrid that has an electric motor that produces up to 85kW/330Nm. This is paired with a 1.4L four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. Together, they produce outputs of up to 180kW and 400Nm.

However, once the lithium-ion battery is depleted, those figures drop to 110kW/250Nm and you notice the difference on the open road. 

The Tribe has a smooth six-speed automatic transmission and can do a 0-100km/h sprint in 7.0-seconds. Not crazy fast but still fun.

Claimed fuel consumption is rated at 6.4 litres per 100 kilometres. You might see close to that on a highway drive, but if you’re primarily city-dwelling like me, then expect higher.

I saw an average of 10.1L/100km during my urban review of the A1 40 TFSI. That was with stop-start engaged the whole time, and the occasional squeeze of the accelerator to test out the claimed acceleration.

Fuel tank size for the A1 is just 40 litres, so if you’re doing what I did with this grade of A1, you can expect to visit the servo every 400km or so.

Like all plug-in hybrids, you get the best efficiency if you recharge the Tribe often. If you want to get close to the official combined (urban/extra-urban) fuel cycle figure of 1.9L/100km you need to charge it every single time you use it.

Following this procedure over 347km of a mix of open and city driving, saw the real-world usage pop out at 2.3L/100km, which is outstanding.

However, the second half of the week saw 336km travelled and no recharge and the real-world usage stepped up considerably to 6.0L.

With its 40L fuel tank, you have a theoretical driving range of up to 2105km but expect less in real-world conditions. Worth noting Cupra recommends a minimum 95 RON unleaded petrol for this model.

The Tribe has a lithium-ion battery with a usable 10.9kWh capacity and the claimed pure EV range is up to 58km, as well as, a claimed 14.1kWh energy consumption figure.

Over my week with it, the consumption hovered around 22.8kWh/100km when cruising on the highway going 100km/h.

You shouldn’t be surprised to know that the A1 40 TFSI feels a lot like a Polo GTI to drive. It’s quick, it’s entertaining, it’s refined… it’s just about 50 per cent more expensive.

That mightn’t matter to you or factor into your considerations. I just want to point out that you can get a car that’s just as good to drive as this one, and still with a premium German brand attached to it, for a lot less.

The A1 does have it’s own spunk, though. It has a more masculine character, more aggressive styling, and more delightful interior design.

But it also has steering that is predictable and easy to judge, helping it feel nimble and grippy. From tight twisty roads to roundabouts, you’re going to be having fun in the A1 if you’re tooling around town. 

It feels planted and grippy - aside from some front-wheel spin during take-offs if the tyres are cold - and you might notice the suspension can be a touch noisy as it pitter-patters over inconsistencies in the road surface, but the ride is firm yet controlled, offering enough comfort over potholed city roads and speed humps for this tester. And there are several of each of those obstacles on my daily drive to work.

The engine is a sweetheart, offering brilliant linearity to its power delivery. It pulls hard from low in the rev range, meaning you’ll be able to zip through traffic without much hassle at all. The powertrain is super responsive to inputs at speed, especially if you put it in Dynamic mode, which also allows you to hear some pops and crackles from the exhaust system. 

That said, there is some vibration, shuddering and hesitation at low speeds, which is a combination of the stop-start system kicking in and out, a small amount of turbo-lag from the engine and some shuffling behind the scenes from the dual-clutch transmission. You might find the lurchy nature of the first-gear take-offs to be a bit hard to get used to, especially if you spend a lot of time in bumper-to-bumper traffic. 

While this is an Urban Guide review focused on city driving, I thoroughly recommend you find a quiet stretch of twisty road outside the city limits. You won't be disappointed.

The VZe Tribe Edition is happiest in the city and when you have a full battery. This is when it feels the most responsive with its power delivery. In the city, it’s quick and sure-footed. 

However, once that battery hits empty and you’re on the open road, the power is there but it stops feeling as fun.

The firm steering keeps it nimble and the driver's cockpit makes you feel well connected with what the car is doing but the ride comfort is like the design, not what you'd call plush.

The suspension is firm and you feel every bump in the road. Road and wind noise are also pretty high and in general, you feel a bit weary at the end of longer trips.

The visibility is good despite having narrow windows but a car seat or passenger in the back seat compromises the rear view vision. 

The Formentor shines in a tight car park with its 10.7m turning circle and compact proportions. The 360-degree view camera system is also most welcome but the quality of the feed is reflective of the grade level.

The Formentor has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2021 and now features 10 airbags including side chest bags for the rear row and a front centre airbag as standard.

Other standard equipment includes blind-spot monitoring, driver monitoring, tyre-pressure monitoring, LED DRLs, front and rear fog lights, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, side exit assist, adaptive cruise control, park assist, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree view camera system.

The Formentor has AEB with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection and is operational from 5.0-250km/h. The Formentor also has two ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top tethers but the rear seat is only wide enough for two child seats.

While the VW Polo GTI that this spec of A1 shares plenty with is backed by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty plan, the Audi-badged compact hatch still has a lesser three-year/unlimited kay cover. 

The A1 requires servicing every 12 months or 15,000km (just like a Polo), and there’s a pre-pay service pack you can roll into your finance if you so choose.

That service plan covers either three years/45,000km of driving ($1480) or five years/75,000km ($1990). In the case of the five-year plan, Audi is actually better value than the Polo GTI (which costs $2200 for pre-pay). 

Where is the Audi A1 built? You might be surprised to learn the answer is Spain.

Concerned about reliability? Got questions over resale, problems, issues, faults, recalls or something else? Check out our Audi A1 problems page. 

The Formentor has a five-year/unlimited km warranty but it’s becoming more common to see longer warranty periods being offered now.

You can pre-purchase a three- or five-year servicing program. The three-year program costs a flat $990, averaging $330 per service. The five-year option averages costs $1990, averaging $398 per service which is reasonable for the class.

Servicing intervals are good at every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.