2018 Audi A1 vs Volkswagen Polo

What's the difference?

The A1 is a good looking, fun-to-drive little German hatch that in many ways betrays its age. 

As one of the oldest cars in Audi’s stable, though, its easy to tell where it lags behind in terms of technology, safety and subsequently, value.

My advice? If you’re going to spend almost $40k on a small hatchback anyway, at least wait to see how far that will go on the next year's new-generation A1.

There would be some people who’d see the Polo GTI as an overly expensive, little hatchback that uses more fuel than car this size should with ride that’s too firm and an exhaust system that’s too loud. Then there are those of us who know that a hatch this talented on the road (or track), with a great interior and now even more space is worth the asking price and the fuel money. You see it’s louder, more uncomfortable, thirstier and costlier for a reason – fun.

Admittedly, the $3850 'Style pack' makes the little city-focussed A1 look fantastic. I’d argue it could look even better, given Audi offers you the ability to two-tone the roof and pick colours other than three different shades of grey, but this little Audi has a slick coolness about it.

That’s saying quite a bit, too. Because the current A1’s design harks as far back as 2015 (really, arguably before then). There’s just a timelessness about that sculpted front three-quarter with all its Germanic restraint, and even a hint of retro about the bubbly roof-line.

Those alloys are especially eye grabbing, looking awesome in the two-tone paint and filling the wheel arches up.

Inside is a different story, however, where the A1 is seriously starting to show its age. You’ll notice the ‘old Audi’ steering wheel front and centre, the old dial-cluster instrumentation, and the smattering of buttons all over the dash.

These are necessary courtesy of the dated multimedia system, which is clumsy and hard to control compared to most of today’s offerings. It’s even a bit slow, and for anti-glare reasons points slightly downwards, so is hardly aesthetic to look at.

Aside from those issues the interior isn’t such a bad place to be. The partial leather seats are comfortable, and all the switchgear is superb in its feedback. Sure, there are about 10 too many buttons, but every single one of them is satisfying to press.

The materials that comprise the dash and doors are mostly soft to the touch and have a nice weight to them. I was a big fan of the soft-moving circular vents. As you’ve probably worked out by now, these kinds of details and finishes are where most of the cost is represented.

As old as that steering wheel is, it’s the right shape and size, and the leather on it is nice. The same goes for the old dot-matrix screen in the dashboard. It feels dated, but has no trouble presenting the info you need.

The Polo GTI’s exterior styling is subtle... apart from all the GTI badges. Distinguishing it from the regular Polo is the red pinstripe running across the grille and through the headlights, there’s the lower grille with its black honeycomb design, the side skirts, the roof-top spoiler with its black extension, and the dual-chrome exhaust integrated into the black mesh diffuser.

Also standard are the 17-inch 'Milton Keynes' style alloy wheels. Have you been to Milton Keynes in the UK? If not, maybe don’t.

This new Polo GTI is bigger than before. End-to-end it’s 84mm longer than the previous model at almost 4.1m and 69mm wider at 1.8m across. The wheelbase has grown by 90mm and now measures 2.5m and that has led to more legroom and boot space (you can read about this below).

The Polo GTI’s cabin styling is exceptional – there isn’t another little hatch at this price point with this level of coolness and quality. The red element that’s inlayed into the dash and matching trim around the console and doors and the display screen, plus the optional virtual instrument cluster is stunning.

I’m a fan of the Clark tartan upholstery because it’s a GTI tradition. The black microfleece looks like tracksuit material to me. Combine all that with great ergonomics and even more room and it looks like Volkswagen is close to nailing it with this new Polo GTI.

I don’t think anyone is buying the A1 for practicality purposes. Up front it’s not so bad. I fit pretty well in my driving position with only minor impairment to my knees. Despite the bubbly roofline I also felt as though I had satisfactory headroom, but if you’re any taller than me (182cm) the low roofline may interfere with your vision.

In the back seat, space is surprising for such a small car. While headroom will again be an issue for taller individuals, there was satisfactory legroom behind my own driving position. The outer seats are comfortable, too with matching materials to the front seats, but the middle seat would be basically useless for an adult.

In terms of stowage, there are four large-ish cupholders in each of the doors and two medium-sized ones in the centre console. There’s also a centre armrest console box between the driver and passenger. Although adjustable in height for the armrest, the little stowage box inside is tiny. It’s okay for keys, a phone and a wallet, perhaps.

Then there’s the boot, which is genuinely tiny. Audi quotes the available space as 270 litres, which on paper, is slightly larger than a Suzuki Swift. 

It’s just nudged out by its primary competitor, the Mini Cooper five-door, which has 278L of cargo capacity. For perspective, it will fit a duffle bag or two easily, but not a respectably-sized luggage case.

One look at the small-for-a-hatch-sized BMW 118i’s boot reveals that for not much more cash you’ll be getting a much bigger (360L) boot.

Expect the upcoming A1 to have a bit more room, too, given its expanded dimensions. Yet another reason to wait a little longer.

The new Polo GTI is more practical than the previous one. At 191cm tall I could not sit behind my driving position in the old car, and I mean I physically could not get my legs in the car because of the front seat. I had to sit side-saddle with my legs, splayed… okay, you get the idea.

But due to the increase in wheelbase rear legroom has grown so I can sit back there with about 20mm of space between my knees and the seatback. That’s excellent, even in a car the next size class up.

Headroom back there is also generous – even with the optional sunroof. The same goes for the front, I’m tall and pretty wide, and that extra shoulder room is welcome. My co-driver was the same height and width as me and not once did our elbows meet – which happened in the old car constantly with two up front.

Seats fold 60/40 and with them both in place boot capacity has increased, too – by 101 litres for 305 litres of luggage space. With those seats down that increases to 1079 litres.

Storage throughout the cabin could be better. There are just two cupholders, both in the front and small, while door pockets throughout are also little. The bin under the front centre armrest is deep and narrow, but it’s good to see a hidey hole in front of the shifter for wallets and keys.

For devices you’ll find two USB ports in the storage area under the dash and a 12-volt power outlet on the centre console.

The Polo GTI lists for $30,990 (before on-road costs) which is about than $10,000 more than the cheapest normal Polo and $800 more than the previous Polo GTI with the automatic transmission.

That’s another thing you should know: this new Polo GTI isn’t available with a manual gearbox. That’s not just a let down for stick shift fans, it also means that without the more affordable manual on offer the entry-point into the auto-only Polo GTI is now $3300 more than the old car.

Standard features in the Polo GTI include an 8.0-inch display, reversing camera, six-speaker stereo, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, proximity key, leather GTI flat-bottomed steering wheel, 17-inch alloy wheels and the traditional GTI 'Clark' tartan cloth upholstery.

What’s missing? LED headlights (the standard ones are halogen), parking sensors and sat nav. Which is disappointing considering the price. The lack of sat nav is no biggie because you have Apple CarPlay and Android auto which I’ve found work superbly.

If you do want built-in sat nav you have some options. There’s the $1900 'Sound and Vision package' which adds sat nav along with a stunning, 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and 300w Beats sound system. Yup, Beats as in Dr Dre Beats. Word.

The pack which would interest me the most is the 'Driver Assistance' one for $1400 because it adds adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, parking sensors and auto parking.

The 'Luxury pack' is a whopping $3900 and takes out the traditional Clark tartan cloth (why would you?) and replaces it with microfleece upholstery, heated seats, LED headlights, 18-inch wheels, a panoramic sunroof and rear privacy glass.

As a model comparison the Polo GTI is up against the Ford Fiesta ST which undercuts it at $27,490. The Renault Clio RS (Cup and Sport) is a worthy rival, too, ranging from $30,990 to $32,490. Also, take a look at the Peugeot 208 GTI for $29,990.

So, while the Polo GTI costs more than most people would probably pay for a small car there are still those (like me) who’d see its decent standard features list and performance hardware as worth the extra money. And then there’s the styling and build quality, which we’re just about to get to.

Our mid-spec A1 has a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. It produces a modest 92kW/200Nm. The similarly-priced Mini-Cooper has a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo producing 100kW/220Nm, so about on par for the segment.

The A1 is front-wheel drive via a seven-speed 'S tronic' dual-clutch auto. There’s also a stop-start system which proved to be quite annoying. More on that in the driving part of this review.

Yes, the new Polo GTI is larger, but it's also been given a bigger engine producing more grunt with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four cylinder replacing the old car's 1.8-litre.

Power output is up by 6kW to 147kW but it’s the amount of torque which is most impressive - 320Nm from 1450rpm, so right down low in the rev range for great acceleration.

The previous Polo GTI produced 320Nm, too, but not from such low revs, and only when combined with the manual gearbox. The automatic transmission in the old car only produced 280Nm. This new Polo GTI is only available with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

As with the old Polo GTI, this one is front-wheel drive.

Audi claims the 1.4-litre A1 on 17-inch alloys (like our test car) will consume an ambitious sounding 4.9L/100km on the combined cycle. 

Despite my drive taking place on pretty much the definition of ‘the combined cycle’, with a mix of freeway and city driving, I scored 7.0L/100km which is closer to Audi’s ‘city’ estimate of 6.2L/100km.

I was turning the stop-start system off almost every time I drove it, however, and I did drive it hard and up a lot of hills. I don’t doubt if you were to drive this car in a more conservative manner, you could easily score under that 6.2 number.

The A1 has a 45-litre fuel tank and demands mid-range RON95 unleaded fuel.

Volkswagen says the Polo GTI should use 6.1L/100km over a combination of urban and open roads. I tested that using the trip computer and saw 7.7L/100km after 100km on country roads.

I gave the little A1 a thorough test, including a weekend drive through NSW’s Blue Mountains and down into the Megalong Valley. Again, all that extra money you pay for a premium German product starts to show once you get the little car up to speed.

It’s a lot of fun. The stiff suspension, comprised of McPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam at the rear sounds pretty average, but is fantastically tuned. The little car chewed up corners and bumps at surprising speeds with little in the way of body-roll. 

This sportiness was bolstered by the direct, smooth steering input. It always felt flat and confident, but you’d hope so given the price point.

The engine is so-so. Once spooled up and ready-to-go just below 2000rpm it’s great, it’s getting it there that presents a problem. 

There’s a frustrating second of turbo lag in most scenarios, be it coming out of a corner or accelerating off-the line, and sometimes you can catch the transmission off-guard and it's reluctant to shift down, putting a dampener on the fun.

Sure, the 1.4 A1 is no S1, which comes equipped with a far more potent 2.0-litre and is much better equipped for a track day, but it still feels like it falls just short of a truly ‘premium’ drive experience.

Noise isn’t great either. All those stiff suspension bits and large alloys for a car this size adds up to a lot of road noise in the cabin. At freeway speeds there was quite a bit of tyre roar as well, but around the city the engine is near silent.

The stereo provides a nice rich sound in the cabin, if you’re so inclined you can easily use it to drown out some of the road noise.

City driving was a mixed-bag as well, with the car being smooth most of the time, except when in dense traffic. I found myself turning off the overly-keen start-stop system which was keen to get the engine off as soon as possible (it almost felt as though I hadn’t even come to a full-stop sometimes) and was slow to start up again once the light went green. 

The day or two I spent with the system on, I started to build up an early reaction time to let off the brake (and re-start the engine) so I had time to accelerate promptly. Mazda’s 'i-Stop' system is vastly superior.

The previous Polo GTI was one of the best ‘fun-and-fast-for-your-money’ cars you could buy and that remains true for this new model. Seriously, you could easily throw a lot more cash at something else sporty and prestigious in the search for the same experience and still not find it as fun and engaging as this little Polo GTI.

How is the Polo GTI mechanically different from a normal Polo? Lowered by 15mm, the GTI has sports suspension with a thicker torsion bar at the back (no multi-link rear here), and Volkswagen says there’s different axle geometry and lower roll centres, too.

Add a turbo 2.0-litre that pulls with all 320Nm from just above idle and the Polo GTI can rip from 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds – less than half a second behind its Golf GTI big brother. And there are good brakes to hose off the speed.

Also different from a regular Polo is the GTI’s six-speed dual-clutch auto, and an extended electronic differential lock, while engine response, steering and suspension can be set in 'Normal' or 'Sport' using the Polo GTI’s drive mode selector.

On curly roads through NSW’s Northern Rivers region the Polo GTI proved quick, agile, and fun. Body control is excellent and pushing the little hatch probably way too hard into some corners didn’t unsettle it, as the thing held on tight with good grip from pretty narrow, but low-profile tyres (215/45 R17 front and rear), helped no doubt by the extended diff lock.

Steering in the Normal setting feels too light and a bit artificial, but Sport mode gives you a much better feeling of connection with a perfect weight to it. Turn-in is good, and then that torque is always under your foot to power you out of corners, even offering up a smidge of oversteer.

Seating position is spot on – I could get low and feel part of the car, while visibility is good, too.

The roads we were treated too had some great corners but the surface was patchy and potholed for the most part, so unless I was giving it a red-hot go the suspension was set in Normal. Sport was just to firm for times when it wasn’t needed.

The Volkswagen Polo was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2017 – that same score goes for the Polo GTI, too. Along with the extended electronic differential which is a form of traction and stability control, there’s AEB which operates at highway and city speeds. At lower speed the AEB system has pedestrian detection, too.

It would be good to see blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert with AEB made standard on the Polo GTI, but as I mentioned earlier these are available in a package along with adaptive cruise control and auto parking.

For child seats you’ll find two ISOFIX points and three top tethers across the back row.

Under the boot floor lives a space saver spare tyre.

The A1 is offered from Audi with a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. It’s definitely not alone among premium automakers with such an offering, but it could certainly be better with most non-premium cars now being covered by five-year-plus plans.

You’ll need to service an A1 once a year or every 15,000km. Audi offers a scheduled service plan for three years or 45,000km at a cost of $1580.

The Polo GTI is covered by Volkswagen’s three year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Servicing is recommended every 15,000km/12 months. Volkswagen’s website has a price guide which says you can expect to pay $408 for the first service, $631 for the second, then $408, and $1374 for the four-year 60,000km service.