Audi: This is how the A1 City Carver drives 🎥

On request, Audi A1 City Carver offers almost everything the four rings have to offer in the construction kit.

What the smallest changes in appearance can do is shown by Audi's Benjamin with the design and body of the A1 City Carver, which AutoSprintCH was allowed to drive through Hamburg. The A1 City Carver is only 0.017 meters longer than the A1 Sportback, so the new model is the smallest Audi in the range. But because four centimeters more ground clearance and larger (16-inch) wheels have been added, the A1 City Carver looks much more compact.

Striking appearance due to adapted design
The lines also help to create the impression that you are dealing with a very big car: the striking air vents at the bottom left and right, two inlets under the radiator hood, and an extremely large radiator grille make the optical illusion perfect.

Perhaps the proximity to one of the brand's greats also had an influence, because the A1 City Carver was originally produced in Brussels, where it was put on wheels for launch. Today it rolls off the production line in Spain.

Even tall people have enough space in the back
You sit high in the City Carver, which is also the idea of the higher trim level. That gives you a good feeling in a congested city, and you have a better overview. Inside, you notice that you're sitting in a small car, but everything you need is there. Even the passenger in the rear, in our case a photographer about 1.80 meters tall, had enough room to move and headroom.

Only with three-cylinder power at the start
There are currently three variants, all with 3-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engines, of which primarily the middle priced, the Audi A1 City Carver 30 TFSI with manual 6-speed transmission and 116 hp.
The smaller version, the A1 City Carver 25 TFSI with a manual 5-speed transmission and 95 hp is on the list, but is only delivered to order. Optionally, the 30 TFSI is also available with Audis S tronic 7-speed automatic. A second edition will add a four-cylinder engine.

More fun with the manual transmission
AutoSprintCH drove the automatic because we know from experience that constant shifting is no fun during stop-and-go in a city. However, if we had the choice, at least the test driver would prefer the manual transmission purely for the fun of driving. Especially when it comes to driving in curvy areas, mountains, or off-road. The AS1 City Carver is suitable for everything, which you can feel after the first kilometers.

Sporty, very trendy and safe
Audi boasts of having "a million variants" for the configuration of the A1 City Carver. We did not try this out online and did the math. If you have a choice, you are spoiled for choice, too many options confuse you.

Conclusion after a day of driving through the city: A successful small car, sporty, trendy, certainly a dream car for the Mini generation, which Audi admits to being close to, but does not see as a competitor.

Prices start from 28 300 francs
When it goes on sale at the end of the year, the A1 City Carver 35 TFSI will come to Switzerland with both transmission variants and 150 hp, but we found that 110 hp is quite sufficient for what the car is supposed to represent. Less is more, if it can be a new car in this segment.

The prices of the City Carver: A1 25 TFSI from 28 300 francs, A1 30 TFSI manual from 30 200 francs, with automatic from 32 550 francs. The A1 35 TFSI costs from 32 600 francs with a manual 6-speed transmission, and from 34 950 francs with a 7-speed automatic.

Options according to desire and need
When you configure the car and choose all the nice little things like the premium Bang & Olufsen sound system, a rearview camera, Audi Connect navigation & infotainment, and more, you're quickly looking at a 4 at the top of the final price...

PS: The A1 City Xarver is one of the innovations currently on show at Auto Zürich (until November 3). In the video, you can learn all about the assistance systems of the little four-ringed car.

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