2019 Audi A1 vs Volkswagen Polo

What's the difference?

Update:

We first published this story on 21 November 2018, but the Audi A1 2019 model has still not launched in Australia. 

The good news is that the Audi A1 2020 model is due to launch in Australia in October 2019. At the time we’re publishing this update, the company still hasn’t confirmed its plan for the new-generation A1 here.

Stay tuned for our detailed review coverage and all the pricing and specifications information you need to know. 

As originally published, 21 November 2018:

Like a scrawny kid that reappeared after the school summer holidays with stubble, a deeper voice and newly bulging biceps, the second-generation Audi A1 isn’t how you remember it.

Sure, it’s still based on the same underpinnings as a Volkswagen Polo, but it has been designed to appeal to a different market to that car, and also to its predecessor.

This time around, almost 10 years after the original Audi A1 launched, it’s no longer a cute little city car - instead, it’s a compact muscle man, a far more angular and menacing looking little tyke. Still city-sized, but with a far more aggressive stance than the car it replaces.

But is it any good? I travelled to Spain as a guest of Audi Australia to find out.

For a big-name brand crossover, you have to appreciate this car’s restraint.

I mean, have you seen a pair of Beats headphones? I see them all the time, on the bus, at the gym, jogging past me as I sit in traffic…

Point is, the always overly-colourful Dr. Dre-branded creations are themselves wearable marketing beacons, nearly impossible to miss, and that’s how the fans like it.

So, the fact that a few small logos and a pinstripe sticker are the only overtly identifiable ‘Beats’ features on this Polo’s exterior is almost impressive. I think it speaks more to Volkswagen’s restraint.

Will it be enough to convince serial Beats fans, though? Oh, and more importantly, what’s the audio system actually like?

Read on to find out.