More haute than hot

What we like:

Audi: Stylish looks inside and out

best built cabin of any small car on sale

refinement

desirability

lively performance. Citroen: Unmistakable Gallic style and charm

spacious cabin

well-finished cabin for a French car

evocative DS moniker

impressive ride comfort

What we dislike:

Audi: Not as sharp as the Mini’s handling

doesn’t ride as well as the DS3

short of character next to the DS3

expensive options. Citroen: Numb steering

doesn’t feel as agile or lively as the Audi

slurring gearbox only has four speeds

average performance

The A1’s and DS3’s stylish looks and funky character continues inside their cabins. The A1’s dashboard is supposed to mimic an aircraft’s wing with the four circular air vents acting as the turbofan engine pods. Audi offers plenty of options and customization as well for the A1’s interior. The ‘competition’ styling pack for example, includes floor mats, door handles, air vent surrounds and centre console panel that match the exterior colour scheme and graphics. Admittedly, the DS3’s Gallic cabin doesn’t feel as special as the A1’s as the former actually shares most of its architecture with its more conventional C3 sibling. Like the A1, Citroen offers customization for the DS3’s interior to match its exterior color scheme. Notable styling features include the cowled instruments and the chunky steering wheel but most of the other switchgear and parts are shared with other regular Citroen models – no bespoke toggle switches like in a Mini here.

In terms of perceived luxury and high quality finishing, the A1 is unparalleled among its class peers despite Citroen’s best efforts with the DS3. There’s no other similarly sized car out there that offers a higher quality and sophisticated interior ambience than the A1 - every surface feels soft to the touch while the switchgear and controls all speak of tactile quality and class.

The DS3’s overall cabin quality and finishing is not bad for a French car but where the DS3 surpasses the A1 is in the interior space department. Passengers in the rear will have little to complain about any lack of head or legroom while the large rear windows give passengers in the rear a feeling of airiness and space. For added convenience, the rear grab handles are mounted on the B-pillars so rear passengers who have less flexible physiques can use it to manhandle and pull themselves out of the rear compartment. The A1 is not exactly cramped in the rear, especially when compared to the Mini but the Citroen somehow manages to offer more space for rear passengers in the DS3. The A1’s boot though, is deeper and has a longer load area than the DS3’s. The rear seat backs on both cars split/fold 60/40 should you require more boot space for larger shopping items.

The A1 demonstrator pictured here came with many optional luxuries on the inside but the retractable LCD screen on the dash for the MMI display is standard while the infotainment system can be specified with iPod connectivity as well as SD card readers, Bluetooth, voice activation, navigation and so on.

The Audi A1’s overall more sophisticated and premium feel is reflected by the price premium the base model commands over the entry-level DS3 here, so much so that the Audi even costs more than the more powerful but manual gearbox only turbocharged 156 THP DS3. The Mini Cooper though, has an even more expensive list price than the very much complete Audi, which makes the DS3 a bargain really when you consider that it offers as much style as the Audi while possessing a very likeable charm about it. Gallic charm aside though, we’d still prefer to take home the Audi as the A1 has the ability to outclass all other small cars on sale out there.

Credits: Story by Raymond Lai Photos by Joe Yeo