Audi A1 vs Toyota Yaris

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 Toyota Yaris is as much car as many people should really need, and it's a refreshing antidote to the largely unnecessary shift towards SUVs as the ‘default vehicle’.

In the case of the ZR grade, the pricing could understandably be a reason you might consider an SUV instead. There are plenty of options for a similar price.

The problem with an SUV though is it will likely be less efficient and, due to physics, less agile and fun to drive.

Given the price and the fact that a couple of features are missing, the ZR probably isn't the variant to go for, but the Yaris is an overall solid foundation for a very convincing hatchback.

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 Yaris’ best selling point could very well be its looks. While there are a lot of differences between the ZR and the bespoke GR Yaris hot hatch, they do look similar, especially from the rear.

Any small car like this is going to have an element of ‘cutesy’ about it, but the Yaris does well to look like a more sporting car than its rivals.

The grille is the only big design change Toyota made as part of its most recent update in early 2024. It's a new design that’s finished in partial dark chrome for the ZR.

At the rear, the ZR gets a spoiler above the rear window, helping it look a little more like its Gazoo Racing cousin, as does the block of black trim flanked by the tail-lights and the ‘Yaris’ and ‘ZR’ badges.

Even its front lower bumper would look reasonably at home on a more powerful car if the plastic trim at the sides had actual air vents rather than being closed off.

Inside, things are less exciting. The ZR’s interior seems plasticky and its grey cloth seats do nothing to make the space feel premium.

The ‘two-level’ look on the dash and the arrangement of the multimedia screen and climate controls below it feel outdated, but the cabin is (perhaps more importantly) clear and functional.

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 all its grey trim, the Yaris actually proves a very usable space for its size. The two front ‘sports’ seats are quite comfortable with decent bolstering.

The steering wheel is nicely shaped, and big clear buttons (like most of the cabin) mean controls for all the car’s functions are obvious.

The digital driver display is customisable in terms of its style, but the information you might need is easy to find and not distracting while you’re trying to concentrate on the road. The head-up display also helps there.

The physical climate control panel isn’t exactly ‘pretty’ but it’s infinitely better than needing to navigate through the screen above. 

That screen itself is also easy to use. Toyota’s multimedia systems can feel outdated but the upside is there aren't loads of submenus to get lost in.

Storage is well covered: two cupholders are out of the way of elbows, plus a little storage space behind that between the front seats. There’s a small space behind the gear shifter for a phone, a couple of small 'shelf' spaces above and in front of the passenger, and there are decently spacious door card places for water bottles and the like. 

In the second row, behind my own (178cm) seating position, ‘spacious’ is less applicable. It’s not surprising that the second row in a light hatch would be a little tight for an adult, but it’s not restrictive and some kindness from the front passengers could see the back seats become a comfy place for a sub-60-minute trip. 

There’s no centre armrest, but each door has a water bottle holder and the aforementioned storage spot between the front seats is accessible from the second row.

Behind the rear seats, there’s a 270-litre boot which is decent for its class. The non-hybrid Mazda2, for example, has 250L.

The boot floor can be lifted to sit flush with the seats when folded down, and underneath there is a space-saver spare tyre, which is a huge plus.

In the grand scheme of new-car pricing, $34,530 before on-road costs doesn’t sound like a lot of money. That’s how much the Yaris ZR is new.

But compared to other top-spec trims in rival models, it’s one of the most expensive in its class.

It battles the Mazda2 ($28,190 for the top-spec GT), Suzuki Swift ($29,490 for the Hybrid GLX), MG3 ($32,819 for the Essence Hybrid+) and VW Polo ($34,790 for the Style). Only the Polo is more expensive as its top-level variant.

Regardless of the size of the car, the Yaris ZR is missing a couple of extra things that could make it feel properly top-of-the-range. 

It’s not missing the essentials though. After an update in early 2024 it comes with a decent 8.0-inch multimedia display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus an adequate six-speaker sound system.

On top of those Yaris standards, the ZR gets a 7.0-inch digital driver display, keyless entry, a head-up display, 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic air-conditioning with an air purifier and ‘premium cloth fabric’ for the sports-style seats.

It could do with a wireless phone charger and perhaps even leather seats - the latter available in the more affordable Mazda2 GT. Cloth seats and a cable to charge your phone don’t feel very ‘top-spec’. There are, however, two USB-C charging ports for doing so.

Premium paint colours (anything that’s not Glacier White) are $575, while the two-tone look with the black roof (available with Coral Rose, Bronx Bronze and Massive Grey) is $775. Our test car is Massive Grey with the two-tone black roof.

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 Toyota Yaris is a hybrid-only offering, with all variants powered by a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that makes 67kW/120Nm and a 59kW/141Nm front motor-generator.

Toyota quotes a combined output of 85kW and doesn’t specify a total torque figure.

The electric motor draws power from a 4.3Ahr lithium-ion battery and is able to drive under electric-only power at low speeds.

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.

Toyota claims a 3.3L/100km fuel economy figure under the combined WLTP cycle, and says it produces 76g of CO2 per kilometre.

With its 36-litre fuel tank, theoretically the Yaris should be able to travel almost 1100km on a single tank, though even Toyota admits the 3.3L/100km fuel economy figure was obtained in a lab (as is usually the case) and doesn’t reflect real-world driving.

For reference, on test the Yaris ZR didn’t display a fuel economy figure of more than 5.0L/100km during reasonable standard driving conditions.

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.

A series of factors that make the Yaris an excellent car for the inner-city also happen to make it engaging from behind the wheel.

Its small footprint and relatively low kerb weight are key to this, but it's also built on Toyota’s excellent TNGA platform which, in one form or another, underpins most of the brand's line-up.

It means the Yaris has characteristics that align with other Toyotas - it feels related to a Camry or a RAV4, even if it doesn't behave in the same way physically. 

The Yaris is understated in how it behaves on the road during regular driving, quietly switching between hybrid and electric mode, rarely letting the engine get coarse unless you put your foot down for more power.

And while the Yaris isn't quick by any means, there's just enough urgency to get you out of trouble should you need it. It's not a drivetrain that encourages spirited driving, but if you should choose to do so you'll find some surprising capability in the way the Yaris is set up.

Steering that feels light and accurate day-to-day is handy when it comes to steering the Yaris quickly on twisting roads, and the platform underneath does well to keep the light hatch and its short wheelbase in check.

It doesn't feel like it's ready to 'bounce’ off bumps and uneven road surfaces like some similarly sized hatches did even a generation or two ago, and while one wouldn't imagine the Yaris hybrid is choice number one for a weekend driver, there's still fun to be had.

But in urban environments the Yaris is in its element, and its efficient engine and small footprint make it ideal for inner-city traffic and parking.

The Yaris ZR is pretty well stocked when it comes to safety features, more so than the lower variants in the range. Great for the ZR, a bit of a let-down for the others.

It comes with all the necessary kit including auto emergency braking (AEB) with a pre-collision safety system that “recognizes motorcycles and oncoming vehicles in addition to cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles ahead”.

It also has daytime intersection collision avoidance, daytime emergency steering assist, active radar cruise control and lane trace assist, auto high beam, road sign recognition, blind spot monitor, parking support, safe exit assist and a rear parking camera with parking sensors at the front and rear.

The Yaris also has eight airbags, which is a decent count for a light hatch. There are also ISOFIX points on the rear outboard seats.

In 2020 ANCAP tested the Yaris for a five-star result, though that result expires in December 2026 and the testing criteria has since changed to become stricter.

If you’re a driver who prefers minimal technological intervention (read: beeps and bings or the steering nudging you around) the Yaris’ safety kit does a very good job of remaining in the background unless it’s really needed.

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. 

Toyota offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty which covers the Yaris, as well as capped-price servicing for the first five years/75,000km - whichever comes first.

Intervals are 12 months/15,000km for servicing and each costs $250.

If servicing is undertaken at Toyota dealerships, Toyota extends the engine and driveline warranty from five to seven years. It also increases the hybrid battery warranty to ten years “as long as you undertake your annual inspection as part of routine maintenance according to the vehicle logbook”.

There’s also seven years of conditional emergency assistance related to car hire or towing expenses while Toyota is maintaining the car.