Anyway, getting these stereotypes out the way early on I must admit confronting with the S1 I couldn’t really contain my smile. There was a natural draw to it - it looked raring to go - with subtle design enhancements like a roof spoiler, red brake calipers, chrome mirrors and fantastic looking quad exhausts. This car looks sharp.
Inside is not much different. A sharp, precise and elegant design, with few buttons and no real need for clutter. It’s stripped down, and actually feels welcomingly traditional and old fashioned, despite all the modern attributes you’d expect and an excellent sat-nav and entertainment system. Great seats, little stitch detailing and a small perfectly formed steering wheel add to the sense of being in something a little more racy than you’d expect. Quattro styling options inside are nearly £2000 extra, but if you’ve got the money to spend, Audi’s interior offering is truly world beating.
With the START button depressed the engine crackles into life. It’s noticeably different from the A1, but very refined in the cabin, and not as noticeably loud as the VW Golf R. Setting off feels smooth and comfortable, and at first I wasn’t entirely sure if the S1 was going to have the slightly ragged edge I was expecting.
But boy, was I wrong. A little dab of the throttle in 1st and I already was shooting forward like a missile - and through the gears the sensation of not only acceleration but grip was fantastic. It wouldn’t just go fast, it accelerated like it was on rails. No torque steer, no loss of grip, just full, straight line speed.
I knew the Quattro system was going to be good, but of course it wasn’t until I started throwing it around the track at Millbrook did I realise just how safe it could make you feel. The S1 feels infinitely chuckable, and even in the damp conditions it was the most firmly planted I felt in any of the cars I drove during the day. You don’t feel any sensation that would indicate loss of grip, and the only skittishness the car showed was fully dealt with by the all wheel drive system. I don’t think I have felt this safe in a car, at these speeds, for a very long time.
My only bone of contention with the car is its price. In the version I quickly put together on the Audi Config (pictured below) the price came out at more than £28,000. Admittedly, this was after adding Quattro detailing, an S bodykit, cruise control and some good speakers, but these are some things I think should come more or less as standard in a car of this quality and prestige.
Still, fundamentally though this didn’t detract from what is a cracking car. If driven at speed on a twisty B-road you’ll feel you’re in something a lot faster, and on the motorway sitting at 80mph you’ll feel amazingly comfortable and secure. If I had the rather substantial amount of money I’d need to buy one, this would be my must-have hot hatch.