The price of the Audi A1 citycarver: closer to the Q2 than to the A1

Audi is putting the Audi A1 citycarver on sale, an A1 dressed as an SUV that is closer in price to the Q2 than to the city car it derives from.

You can now buy the new member of the Audi A1 family, the A1 citycarver. As we previewed some time ago, it is a version derived from the Audi A1 Sportback, with aesthetic differences to give it an SUV look and suspension adjustments that raise the ground clearance.

Here you can take a deeper look at the features of the Audi A1 citycarver. And here you can read the road test of the Audi A1 Sportback range.

Now that the prices, the range configuration and the technical specifications of the A1 citycarver are known in detail, it is time to analyse where it is positioned and whether it is worth buying over the Audi A1 Sportback… or over the Audi Q2. And I’ll give you a hint: you may be in for a surprise.

Differences between the Audi A1 Sportback and the A1 citycarver

To start, let’s recall the main differences between the Audi A1 Sportback and the A1 citycarver:

• Dimensions: The citycarver is about 5 cm taller than the Sportback, which can improve visibility and access to the cabin.
• Exterior design: The frameless grille finished in matt black on the citycarver recalls the Q models. It includes a lower bumper protector and diffuser painted in stainless steel colour, wheel arches and sills in contrasting colours, and other distinctive details.
• Greater ground clearance: With larger wheels and suspension with more travel, the A1 citycarver has 144 mm of ground clearance, about 4 cm more than the A1 Sportback. Together with the body and underbody protections, this allows it to travel on tracks or dirt roads with greater confidence.
• Interior: New colours and upholstery for the citycarver, which can combine cloth and leather or Alcantara and leather with contrast stitching.

As for the engine range, the A1 citycarver is offered from launch in 25 TFSI and 30 TFSI versions, with the 1.0 three-cylinder engine in 95 and 116 CV variants, and the 35 TFSI, with the 1.5 four-cylinder and 150 CV. These are the same engines as in the Audi A1 Sportback, although for now Audi has not disclosed the price of the citycarver with the 35 TFSI engine.

If we compare the performance figures with the same engine, the Audi A1 citycarver homologates a slightly higher consumption and performs marginally worse. This is due to its greater height, which worsens the frontal area and the drag coefficient.

For example, the A1 citycarver 25 TFSI homologates an average consumption from 5.9 l/100 km, one tenth more than the A1 Sportback. Its top speed is 187 km/h and it needs 11.2 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h, versus 191 km/h and 10.8 s, respectively, for the A1 Sportback.

A1 Sportback and A1 citycarver prices compared

It seems clear that the small difference in performance or consumption is no obstacle to choosing an A1 citycarver, if you are drawn to its styling, or to the greater possibilities offered by its ground clearance and body protections when driving off-road or facing the rigours of the city. You know: kerbs, speed bumps, and so on.

But… at what price? Look at the following table, where we compare the prices of the base versions with the 25 TFSI and 30 TFSI engines.

A1 Sportback A1 citycarver Audi Q2
25 TFSI 21,140 € 24,230 € –
30 TFSI 22,340 € 25,410 € 27,360 €

A first calculation tells us that the A1 citycarver costs, with the same engine, about 3,000 euros more than the A1 Sportback. This is the figure you will need to weigh if the A1 citycarver is on your radar.

If you are looking for a Audi with a crossover look at the lowest possible price, the citycarver may be an alternative to the Audi Q2, the smallest SUV in the Audi Q family, which is not offered with the 25 TFSI engine.

But if you are not going to settle for the basic engine—and here comes the surprise—you should know that the Q2 costs “only” 2,000 euros more than the A1 citycarver. That is, with the same engine, the A1 citycarver is closer in price to the Q2 than to the A1 Sportback, the difference as a product between the Q2 and the A1 citycarver being far greater than that between the A1 citycarver and the A1 Sportback.

Technical specifications of this car

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