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RPM TV Website | March 25, 2024

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One-day Test: Audi S1 Sportback Quattro

2015 Audi S1 Sportback Interior Audi Quattro S1 2015 Audi S1 Sportback Interior 2015 Audi S1 Interior
Adam Schoeman

I can only imagine what happened when Audi was designing the S1. I wasn’t there of course, but I like to believe that it went something like this.

You see, Audi knew that the demand for small but premium fast cars was increasing, and the decision was made to add a S-model to the A1 range. Pretty easy right? The Polo GTI was one of Volkswagen’s top sellers, so it would make sense that the A1, with a slightly hotter version of the same turbocharged 1,4-litre four-cylinder engine, would also be a hit.

But then, somewhere in the planning stages, someone must have stood up, cleared their throat and said: “S-cars have quattro. That’s the way it is, and the way is has always been. How are we going to fit an all-wheel drive system into a car designed to be small, compact – and front wheel-driven?”

In my version of these events the room falls silent, the gentleman who we will refer to as Fritz sits down, and everyone looks to the head of the table to either dispel the idea or to embrace it.

Fortunately everyone stuck to their guns, and while it did cause considerable delays to the S1, a bespoke solution utilising a unique four-link rear suspension and quattro was developed for it. But the S1 saga doesn’t end there.

You see, and I once again imagine this coming up at one of those strategy meetings, the S1 moniker isn’t new.

Back in the 1980s, Audi was demolishing the World Rally Championship with a car that effectively made quattro what it is today. That car was the Audi Quattro Sport S1. It had a turbocharged 2,1-litre five-cylinder engine that produced 373 kW, weighed 1090 kg and could accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 3,1 seconds. And this was in 1985.

 

Audi Quattro S1

Audi Quattro S1

It was unbeatable. Literally the only thing that managed to defeat it was a regulation change which banned the of Group B banzai rally class, breaking an Audi winning streak that lasted from 1981 to 1986.

So you see there is a lot of heritage in the S1 name, which needed something a little more special than just an engine upgrade. Again, we are luckily that everyone came to their senses and dropped the 1,4-litre engine for the S1, replacing it with the EA888 turbocharged 2,0-litre engine.

The result is an Audi the size of a Polo, with all-wheel drive, 170 kW f power, 370 Nm of torque, a manual six-speed gearbox, and a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 5,9 seconds.

As far as small cars go, it would seem that it has everything beat on paper. The Fiesta ST, which is the benchmark in this segment, has 140-something kW, and can barely break the a 7 sec mark for the 0-100 km/h sprint.

Even the Volkswagen Golf VII GTI, the gold standard of the class above the S1 Sportback, can’t keep up, coming in with less power and front-wheel drive.

 

2015 Audi S1 Interior

2015 Audi S1 Interior

But there is a problem with the S1 Sportback; it costs R449 000. That’s a lot more than the R275 900 price tag a Fiesta ST commands, or the R407 800 for a  manual-gearbox Golf VII GTI. It’s also only R50 000 less than the insane Golf VII R.

For many that would be enough. Why would you spend more money on something that is smaller and less practical than a Golf GTI, albeit a little quicker?

The answer is very apparent when you get behind the S1’s steering wheel and prod away at its abilities, because the S1 is not just a hot A1, but a salute to the Quattro Sport.

Off the line, the pace is gut-slamming, loud and immersive, requiring you to execute pin-point accurate gear changes as you gain speed. The engine has lots of torque and power, and will pull the small body along as if it was being chased by a T-Rex.

Straight lines are great, but it’s when you arrive at a corner that the S1 Sportback is at its happiest – and its most impressive. Hard on the brakes, two quick gear changes down to second, turn in tight so that the nose is over corrected, apply power and marvel at how easily the S1 four-wheel drifts through anything with a curve.

It’s effortless, and easy to control. More importantly you feel like Walter Röhrl behind the wheel of a car that has the mechanical prowess to single-handedly defeat evil.

2015 Audi S1 Sportback Interior

2015 Audi S1 Sportback Interior

Once you’ve experienced this, all the on-paper comparisons mean nothing, because while you could spend less and get a GTI, or a little more and buy a 200 kW all-wheel drive Golf R, you will never have more fun than in an S1 Sportback.

Things that normally require speeds of 150 km/h or more in the R can be savoured at  80 km/h in the S1, and while you might be able to put a bit more luggage in the back of the R, the Sportback part of the S1 ensures that it can carry four adults with ease.

The bottom line is that they could have fitted the S1 with a fish tank instead of rear seats and filled it with everything that could kill you and fit in your shoe, and I would still want one. As long as it drives the way it drives …

 

Review Overview

Most fun for the money
10

Sublime

There are few cars that can live up to their heritages but the S1 Sportback is one of them. Not because it is 373 kW strong and can tackle Pike's Peak, but rather because it makes you feel like a rally driver from that era. Without the immediate threat of death...

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