Audi has announced plans to launch its luxury hatchback model, the A1, in India later this year. Given Audi’s track record last year with record growth, the A1 couldn’t hit our shores at a better time to try and create a niche for itself.
The A1 is every bit a luxury hatchback. A uniquely mono-shaded merged A and C pillars gives the car a very unique style, much like the personality-rendering cowling on the exotic R8. This car is aggressively styled with the trademark large tapering grille, attractive contours and the now seemingly-standard-on-Audi LED driving lights. The large wheel-wells accommodate big alloy wheels and the rear is a stylish affair too with LED tail lamps as well; this car looks like a small work of art that your neighbour will surely drool over.
The quality of Audis has always been sublime, and interior pictures only serve to further this. Beautifully crafted, the dual-tone interior looks smashing with amazing fit-and-finish and with space for four adults. The car may be offered with a choice of three or four petrol and diesel engines. Judging by their horsepower, which range from a moderate 86 bhp to a healthy 122 bhp, they do seem more than capable of being fairly rapid mile-munchers.
However, the most important question still remains. How much? The car is rumoured to be priced at `21 lakhs, depending on whether the car is assembled locally or not. The Indian car buyer nowadays has matured to being more than just a fuel efficiency professor, so who knows? This car might just be another bread-winner for Audi, but only if the performance lives up to the price-tag.
The writer is a car enthusiast based out of Kodaikanal