Tested: Audi A1 vs Mini Hatch vs Volkswagen Polo

These three-cylinder superminis are apparently similar – but when you go looking, there are plenty of differences in the areas that matter
Audi A1 vs Mini Hatch vs Volkswagen Polo - which will come out on top?
What Car14 October 2015

Three of a kind. Well, sort of.

This is a trio of superminis with three-pot petrol engines. But two are VW Group products with the same 1.0-litre unit – and they’re up against a Mini with a 1.5 turbo.

Not fair? Let’s see.

The Mini, first. A 5-door Hatch in 1.5T Cooper form with the Pepper option pack, it lists at £17,289.

The Mini lists at £17,289

The Audi A1 Sportback 1.0 TFSI 95 Sport is hot on its heels in terms of price at £16,950.

And that leaves the Volkswagen Polo 1.0 TSI 95 Bluemotion 5dr as the bargain of the group at £15,410.

VW Polo is the bargain of the group

It’s the least money, but the Polo has the roomiest interior and the most spacious rear seats. All three have well made, tidily designed cabins: the Audi’s feels the most premium, the Mini’s the most avant-garde.

In practical terms, the Mini has the most usable cargo space – but the least accommodating driving position. Rear-seat passengers get the poorest deal in the A1, while the Polo provides the best view of the world around you.

Out on the road, it’s no real contest in terms of power – with the Mini’s engine being 50% bigger than the others’, anything else would be a shock.

Even so, the 1.0-litre engine shared between the other two is no mug. It needs more revs, of course, but it doesn’t object to being spun up, giving the A1 and Polo a zesty turn of pace around town and even on the open road.

The Audi A1's cabin feels the most premium

The Mini is the driver’s car of the trio when you come to a set of corners. It’s an eager, positive car to steer, with nimble suspension and taut body control that responds well to being thrown around but also retains an impressive degree of composure when you hit bumps.

Again, though, the surprise is how close a contest it becomes when you ask the same questions of the others. In this case, it’s the Audi that’ll cling resolutely to the Mini’s back bumper like a cat chasing a squirrel.

The Polo, on the other hand, is fitted with skinny tyres (a consequence of being a Bluemotion model) and can’t match the others for grip. It beats them both for ride comfort and refinement, though, and with less rubber sticking to the ground it’s a breeze to steer at low speeds.

It’s also the most economical vehicle here, according to What Car? magazine’s True MPG results. These put it at 56.5mpg, with the Audi at 53.4 and the Mini is 42.6.

So you pays your money and you takes your choice. Talking of which, the Mini is the most expensive car here to buy and own. The Polo is the cheapest if you’re paying cash, but if you’re using finance the A1 works out cheapest over three years.

That’s enough to give it the nod in this contest, but it’s mighty close. The Polo’s Bluemotion trim doesn’t make a strong enough case for itself – but the 1.2 SE has a lower list price, and things might have been different if that was the version on test here.

As for the Mini, it’s a fine and well equipped car. But with the biggest engine and highest price, it needs to be very obviously better then the others – and they’re just too good to let it do that.

Audi A1 Sportback

Engine size: 1.0-litre petrol

Price from: £16,950 (list)

Power: 94bhp

Torque: 118lb ft

0-62mph: 10.9 seconds

Top speed: 116mph

Fuel economy: 53.4mpg

CO2: 97g/km

Mini Hatch 5dr

Engine size: 1.5-litre petrol

Price from: £17,289 (list)

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 162lb ft

0-62mph: 8.9 seconds

Top speed: 129mph

Fuel economy: 42.6mpg

CO2: 109g/km

Volkswagen Polo

Engine size: 1.0-litre petrol

Price from: £15,410 (list)

Power: 94bhp

Torque: 118lb ft

0-62mph: 10.5 seconds

Top speed: 119mph

Fuel economy: 56.5mpg

CO2: 94g/km

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in