[McNaughtonIRT]

Audi A1 Sportback 1ltr or Mini One or Cooper 5 door? I'm about to change my Seat Ibiza CR TDI 5 door and wonder what the forum would recommend? Spec wise I'm after at least a pepper pack, TLC pack, chrome exterior and sports steering wheel with 16" alloys and a (very) low mileage demonstrator rather than new. Since I drive mostly short journeys I'm not sure a Cooper is going to be worth it with the increased insurance a marginal increase in the road fund duty. A1 residuals seem far higher than a Minis but the tech spec seems relatively poor. What about running costs between the One and Cooper? Over to you?

 

[Davyboy]

Do you mean petrol or derv?

A Cooper petrol is £20 a year road tax, hardly bank breaking, not sure of a ONE but it will be either £0 or £20! 3 door this is.

I'd say if derv then both will be £0.

Shop around for insurance but Can't see a Audi being much less than a Cooper if any!

Not to well up on Audi prices or kit or deprecated but MINI seem to drop a lot in the first year...

 

[McNaughtonIRT]

I'm after a petrol model - done with the diesel thing now with the Ibiza thanks to VAG's dieselgate! Not sure about fuel consumption between the ONE's 1200cc engine or the Coopers 1500cc - the larger engine is reported to be more efficient?

 

[paulramon]

Wrong place to as this sort of question! However I test drove an A1 a few years ago and found it to be bland to drive and extremely sparse on extras. Most of all I felt it lacked any personality. Each to their own though, good luck with the search.

 

[jeremybingham]

I'm with Paul. Wrong forum. Mini obsessed. Weve found our minis via e sure to be the cheapest cars to run we've ever had. £150 fully comp protected no claims 5 years service for £299 and our cooper does 47 mpg all day.

Now do you want a stylish delightfully designed inside and out pretty quick car (0-60 in 8.2 s for the five door )or a vw polo in expensive clothes. Never driven the one but it's supposed to be great. The Cooper is a total hoot but also very very refined .test drive them all but buy a mini.

 

[Davyboy]

Never tried a ONE but wouldn't think mpg would be much different as basically the same engine

I would also thing a 5 door is a bit heavier than a 3 door so the extra power of the Cooper would help on a run

 

[Davyboy]

Just looked on MINI UK and surprised that there a lot for sale in the ONE, some less than 100 miles.

If you want the sports steering wheel you might need to buy separately as not standard on the Pepper pack..

 

[Saurabhdutt]

I have driven One (loan car while my cooper was in for some warranty work). Fuel consumption is better on the Cooper (52MPG) and One gave me around 45. One is a good car however in front of Cooper its a tad bit slow. Road tax is same on both cars and Cooper will hold its value better than One.

A1 is a glorified POLO or further glorified Fabia.. I would go for a Cooper any day..

 

[bjblyth]

Cooper will be a better choice than the One as has been said, will hold its value better. If you can stretch the Chilli pack that will also help and give you more toys.

The 1.5 engine is awesome, you'll never struggle for power if you need it and as for MPG, I also do very few miles and I'm getting 40mpg (UK).

 

[mjc]

I would drive both (if you haven't already). I was smitten with the Petrol Cooper within about 30 seconds of driving off from the Dealership on my initial test drive (coming from a 2013 2.0 TDI Audi A3 150 PS).

I have driven a couple of Audi A1 models (2.0 TDI 140 PS and 1.4 150 PS), they are 'nice' cars and look smart, but from a 'driving' point of view the MINI Cooper is way, way ahead in my opinion.

I've had my Petrol Cooper for almost six months, and I still smile every single time I press the start button and that magical 1.5 engine fires up!

 

[jeremybingham]

Likewise mjc; i came from an r56 cooper s and still couldnt wait to get my cooper!

 

[MiniMpi]

Likewise mjc; i came from an r56 cooper s and still couldnt wait to get my cooper!

Snap.

 

[Davyboy]

I came from this to the Cooper and not disappointed...

 

[jeremybingham]

That's a lovely looking r series Dave black and red look great together!

 

[coo22]

a1s dont handle well unlike minis, both are competent cars in different ways, a1s lack character but do have a degree of class as far as the masses are concerned, depending on spec a1 will probably depreciate less

 

[Sunbar]

I buy a car to drive it, not to please whoever I sell it to eventually. Better to spec it to your needs at the best price, keeping options to the minimum I think, to reduce depreciation.

I certainly would have bought a One, no problem, I was very impressed with it but had to buy the Cooper in the end (both tested as 3-door UK hatches). The One would most definitely meet my needs, performance and cost-wise but the Cooper was more desirable.

Test both and compare the deals on offer!