Audi A1 Quattro Is A Powerful Beast Wrapped In Small Body-shell

By Author: Emily Robson
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Audi A1 Quattro Is A Powerful Beast Wrapped In Small Body-Shell

The Audi A1 is an appealing car and has many fans. The New hardcore limited Quattro edition is nothing like the standard A1 apart from the body-shell and boasts hundreds of modified or new parts. It has aggressive ‘in your face’ looks and is powered by the A113 engine that have turned the Quattro into something of a beast. The 2.0litre turbocharged is 252bhp (the most powerful standard A1 is 180bhp) and returns 0-62mph value of 5.7seconds. As the name suggests, the Quattro is a permanent four wheel driven car so all that power is kept in check. There is no surprise, the Quattro is very fast. A light pressing of the accelerator paddle will unleash a fierce surge of throttle that sure will have you smiling. To get the best out of the Quattro, the engine needs to be revved at more than 3500rpm, but that doesn’t mean that it is slow at low revs. The Quattro doesn’t return an appealing sound.

The snarly engine note, produced under hard acceleration, is overtaken by the tense and unappealing sound of the turbocharger. Driving an Audi Quattro is without ...
... a doubt great fun. It has great grip on bends and the four-wheel-drive allows to transfer the engine’s power to the road without any hassle. Its tall body and tiny foot print combine to make it stable on the twisty roads and you never worry about the Quattro topple over. However, you can feel the body weight shifting as the directions are changed very quickly. On road, Audi Quattro tends to follow the curves and that can swirl you away off your desired path through corners. The steering is also an issue as it has a slow reaction at the start, but reacts very quickly thereafter. So you have to adjust the amount of input. Another area where it scores less is ride comfort due to firm suspension. But being a hardcore car, the Quattro is not expected to return a comfortable ride anyway.

Though it takes a bit of hard work and concentration, but there is no denying that driving Audi Quattro is immense pleasure. Inside the dashboard is same as standard A1 and controls are easy to access. It boasts the same high quality materials and classy assembly as all A1’s. At the front there is plenty of room but the rear space is limited. It is equipped with sports-seats, flat bottomed steering wheel, white needles ad red rev counter. All of these combine to give Quattro’s interior a sporty character. If you are thinking of buying one it is nearly impossible. Only 333 units have been made worldwide and out of these only 19 were shipped to the UK market that are already snapped up despite of having a £41,030 price tag attached to it. There are many other alternatives like Renault Sport Megane or BMW M135i that cost considerably less to buy and are easily available.

Emily Robson is an expert in Audi Engines. For latest news and views on Audi A1 Quattro Engine please visit our blog @ Audi Engines.