New face and engines for A1

Audi’s A1 Sportback range gets a fresh face for 2015, bringing the standard five-door line-up into step with its high-performance S1 counterpart. But the facelift is just part of the midlife update of Ingolstadt’s smallest vehicle.

Set to arrive Down Under in May [2015], the refreshed A1 line-up may have been nipped and tucked inside and out, but it has undergone significant surgery in the engine room.

The visible changes include new more aggressive headlights and wider “more masculine” grille. At the rear new LED tail-lights attempt to emphasis the car’s width.

Under the skin, however, the changes are material; a new electrically-assisted power steering system is fitted and adaptive dampers are offered in an A1 for the first time.

It’s also now confirmed the Aussie line-up will kick-off with a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol model and that the TDI diesel offerings will be dropped from the local range.

The headline act of the front-drive only A1 range, meanwhile, is a new 141kW 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol four that, combined (exclusively) with Audi’s S-tronic dual-clutch auto, can sprint the light-size five-door to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds.

That the seven-speed S-tronic is now available in the new base model 1.0-litre triple is also a change for the line-up. Previously the entry-level $26,500 1.2-litre A1 Ambition was available as a manual-only proposition.

The new smaller-capacity triple which now kicks off the range is not only more powerful than the 1.2-litre four it replaces (70kW/160Nm versus 63kW/160Nm), but it is also 0.4L/100km more economical at 4.7L/100km on the ADR Combined cycle.

It will still be offered with the choice of a manual gearbox (a five-speeder) but expect to see the lion’s share of the model to be S-tronic equipped.

Just one other engine option will be offered Down Under, an updated 92kW/200Nm version of the existing1.4-litre turbocharged petrol four. This engine will be paired with six-speed manual or optional seven-speed S-tronic.

Combined with the latter, Audi claims 0-100km/h time of 8.8 seconds and combined fuel consumption of 4.9L/100km. These are 0.2-second and 0.4L/100km improvements respectively.

All four-cylinder Sport grade A1s will feature Audi’s Drive Select system which offers the driver the choice of Efficiency, Dynamic and Auto modes which in turn adapt the behaviour of the throttle mapping, steering assistance, gearbox shift strategies and variable dampers. As noted above, this is the first time the A1 has been offered with this technology.

The update will also see Audi retire its Ambition and Attraction model designations, instead offering A1, Sport and Design trim levels. Sport grade vehicles can be further enhanced with an optional S-line package while buyers can up-spec their Design with a Design Selection pack.

In Europe, Audi is emphasising personalisation options offered by the new range. More colour choices have been added along with the choice of alternate roof colours, plus body kits and other accessories. By way of example, a total of 17 different alloy wheel choices are available.

Ingolstadt claims with the choice of wheels, colours, body styles (three- and five-door), and wider engine line-up available in Audi’s home markets, there are more than a million different A1 combinations available for order.

Locally, Audi Australia is expected to simplify the option offering on the new A1 rollout. Popular options will be packaged as is the case with models further up the Audi range.

Although the A1 will offer WiFi hotspot and comprehensive Audi Connect functionality in Europe, the connectivity features will not make the trip Down Under.

Audi Australia is still to finalise pricing and final specification for the local 2015 A1 line-up. Interim specs will be detailed in our launch review tomorrow morning.

Currently, the A1 range kicks off at $26,500 (as detailed above) and runs thought to $39,990 for the S-tronic equipped 1.4TFSI Sport. The manual-only all-wheel drive 2.0-litre turbo S1 is priced from $49,990.

Spokesperson Anna Burgdorf told motoring.com.au Audi Australia was keen to keep A1 pricing “competitive”. She said that ideally the new range’s pricing would be consistent with the current line-up, but added the caveat that “any price increases would be accompanied by an increase in specification”.