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Audi A1 City Carver Is a Mini "allroad" Nobody Wants, Spied Winter Testing

The crossover market is booming right now. You don't need to have all-wheel drive on the smaller cars, but a certain look is obligatory. So we think Audi is going about things the wrong way with the A1 City Carver, which will be expensive but has that increasingly unpopular jacked up usual car look.
Audi A1 City Carver Is a Mini "allroad" Nobody Wants, Spied Winter Testing 10 photos
Photo: SB-Medien
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It has its fans in the wagon community, but that's because it's anchored in many years of tradition, which sometimes pre-dates SUVs (from that brand at least). But the A1 City Carver is not a wagon; it's a supermini with a body kit.

It's not entirely out of the ordinary. For example, Ford just did the Fiesta Active, but we bet it's not going to be that popular since Volkswagen stopped having success with the Cross Polo and dropped it about a decade ago.

We know the A1 doesn't have AWD because there are no driveshafts in our latest spyshots. Also, the MQB A0 platform doesn't allow for that. Though a rear electric motor could eventually "fix" the problem, the technology won't be ready for another couple of years.

So what you're left with is a 4-meter 4-door hatchback that's slightly easier to get into and as a bit of protective body cladding, which is great if you're an older buyer who wants to downsize. But do older buyers want an Audi A1? Probably not, and the young ones are probably going to opt for a more rugged urban lifestyle car, like the Countryman or even the VW T-Roc/Audi Q2.

Engine-wise, it's going to have the same things as the standard A1, meaning most folks will either get a 1.0 TFSI or the 1.5 TFSI with outputs going up to 150 HP. Audi says there is no diesel, but we don't believe them when all their other cars offer TDI in Europe.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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