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Bigger is always better, right? Well, that probably depends on who you ask so let’s keep our minds out of the gutter and firmly pinned on automobiles. With global trends of dwindling resources and heavier traffic, rising taxes and fuel bills, it’s no wonder Audi decided to shove its Q7 flagship SUV into the gym.
Did you know that Audi makes more than 30 different cars? Quite a few of them are bigger or topless versions of existing models but if you’re in the market for, say, a four-door sedan, you can pick between six basic configurations, excluding sporty iterations like the S3 sedan I tested last week.
Germans. They don’t just rule on the football pitch but also enjoy picking a good fight on the Autobahn. Often accused of having started the horsepower wars, all three major brands have become experts at building very, very naughty cars. And showing that they’ve also got a sense of humour is the RS Q3.
Do you remember Gerhard Schröder? The ex-Chancellor of Germany may be best known for his various policies and four wives but to me he’ll always be the guy who swapped the obligatory black Merc for an Audi A8. My family was equally impressed and to this day we still refer to any A8 as a “Schröder Auto”.
Good news. If you’re in the market for a premium hatchback, your extremely tasty choices have just been supplemented with a rejuvenated version of an old favourite – the Audi A3 Sportback. Ingolstadt’s regular 3-door A3 arrived late last year, the Sportback 5-door version took a little longer to gestate.
I’ve bought quite a few cars over the years and my shortlists usually included some or other derivative of a car which I believe to be a sensible and beautifully engineered hatchback. It’s never been the most affordable and I’m yet to own one so my admiration of the Audi A3 lives on.
Are we alone in the universe? Who shot JR? Can a man do the dishes without complaining? What’s the meaning of life? These may be questions of grave importance but they pale in comparison to the following: should you buy a diesel or petrol car?
Recently I was accused of being biased towards certain genres and brands of cars but easily defended my preferences with the fact that a car must ultimately serve its purpose. Some brands do it better than others and my love for two-door coupés is simply because they should be beautiful and sophisticated.
Today I’d like you to meet a small car with a gigantic name, the teeny-tiny Audi A1 1.4T FSi 136kW S-Line S-Tronic. As I don’t intend retyping that novel of a name in every second paragraph, the small German with its big heart will henceforth be referred to as the A1 136kW.