Buying advice for 2018 A1 1.4TFSI S-tronic

[Daniel43CR]

Hello all. I have left this a bit late but is there anything I need to know about the A1 1.4TFSI s-tronic 125hp sport. I am looking to get one tomorrow as I have sold my A3 saloon. Are there any weak points/recalls I need to be aware of ? Does the car have a timing chain or belt (change every x years) ? It is on 16 inch alloys so hoping it rides better than a previous A1 (13 plate sport, I think it was on 17s) I once had. How often should the gearbox oil and filter be changed ? Is it safe to tune the 1.4 (to 150hp/270nm from 125hp/200nm) and the gearbox - thinking avon tuning ? Are there poly bush kits available to help the steering/suspension or was this improved from the 13 plater (found the steering in the 13 plater a bit lacking) ? Any thoughts greatly appreciated. Cheers, Dan.

 

[Daniel43CR]

Well, I have had the new car for a week now and can report that the steering is better than previous generation A1. Braking is nice (better than the A3 2020 I had recently). Suspension is pretty much the same as the older A1 I once had, perhaps slightly more comfortable but still rock hard. Cam belt is to be changed every 5 years and same period for the gearbox service. Car was expensive at £15750 68 plate 16K miles. I chose this over a manual 115 Ibiza FR 20 plate 20miles at £14900. Ibiza had far better ride quality and handled very well. It was quiet with very precise steering and brakes. The 115PS however (and 200nm torque) did feel very feeble in comparison to the audi's 125ps (same torque). Not sure why there was so much difference in performance feel between the two cars as their figures are pretty similar. Audi build quality far better than Ibiza and comes with rear parking sensors, sat nav and front lumbar adjustment as standard. The ibiza is actually quite a large car now and beyond what I need. Cheers, Dan.