If you hadn’t noticed, we’re big fans of the Audi S1 here at EngageSportMode. The combination of the highly regarded Audi A1, combined with a 2.0 litre turbo engine, quattro drivetrain and manual gearbox make it something of a hot hatch hero. But, if you’re lucky enough to be in the market for one, how does ESM suggest you tick the options boxes? Read on…
Thanks to the proliferation of online car configurators, it’s possible to waste spend hours dreaming up the perfect specification for your next ride. Audi’s configurator is particularly good, showing you all the options but not getting bogged down with fancy graphics and animations. There’s also an iOS App should you want to work out just how much that A5 cost whilst on the go. So, anyway, let’s get down to it and spec an S1 quattro.
1. Bodystyle
Three doors of five doors. Style or practicality? There’s no choice, as ESM’s rule is to always pick the three door when offered. So for £24,080 RRP we’re going to go for the S1 with fewest external openings. It’s also £620 cheaper than the Sportback.
2.Exterior
Colour is important. Sepang Blue is nice, and Daytona Grey is a classic Audi S / RS car tone. But really, for a pocket rocket like the S1, it needs to be that signature Vegas Yellow, adding £475 to the bill. It’s also because Audi seems to increasingly shy away from bright colours on its performance cars; this yellow is a rare drop of sunshine (sorry – ed). No contrast roof bits here though, we’re not too fussed by just the pillars being painted.
The next box needing to be ticked is the one for “High-gloss black styling pack” adding another £475 to the list price. Gloss black trim for the grille and air intakes makes the front end much more aggressive. We’d also spec the “quattro exterior styling pack” which adds a bigger rear spoiler, 18″ matt black alloy wheels and red details for the headlights and brake calipers. Pricey at £1,245. We’d then tick the box to deselect the red bits we’ve just added, as they do kind of clash with the yellow paintwork.
3. Interior
The base A1 already has a great interior; but the S1 can make that even better. Predictably we’d go for the “quattro interior styling pack” which, again, isn’t cheap at £1,695. But it does add £600 worth of leather Super Sports Seats, painted backrests for said seats, more leather and a 3-spoke flat bottom steering wheel. Oh, and we’d go for the yellow trim to really make that interior really eye catching!
4. Equipment
Here is where the temptation to go on a riot with the options appears. Whilst already having a decent kit count as standard, the S1 configurator lures you into wanting more. We’ve tried to be sensible, but here’s what we would choose:
- Privacy glass £290; sorry, we get vain at times,
- Heated and folding door mirrors £125; protects those shiny mirrors,
- Luggage pack £95; boot net stops your stuff flying around at speed,
- Audi exclusive suede pack £615; suede covered steering wheel, extravagant we know,
- Alloy gear knob £130: we like shiny things,
- Heated seats £215; nothing worse than cold leather on a winter’s morning,
- Rear parking sensors £345; for no reason other than the fear of smacking that rear diffuser on something,
- BOSE surround sound £690; because bass,
- CD changer £325; refusing to enter the modern age,
Realistically there’s nothing in the above that would make the S1 weaker without it. But if this is our perfect specification, then we’d be wanting things like a suede steering wheel on it. Some of the above should really be standard though; £95 for a cargo net seems tight.
5. The Cost
From a starting price of £24,080 we’ve managed to add on £6,720 worth of options to the baby hot hatch. Oops! But, in our defence, the S1 starts out as a relative bargain, so all we’ve done is make use of that reasonable starting point. Well, that’s the excuse we’d tell our bank manager anyway when trying to justify a supermini which costs £31,735. Should you want to check out the ESM spec in more detail, just enter the Audi Code ACQSKQP7 on the configurator.
In all honesty, if you’re lucky enough to be shopping for an Audi S1, you’re going to enjoy it whatever options you tick. We would suggest trying to be sensible, but you’re buying a 231 bhp Audi A1; forget being reasonable and enjoy it.
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