Five-Door Audi A1 Sportback Spied, More A1s Planned

August 11, 2011 at 11:26am by Jens Meiners

Audi’s latest venture downmarket has not been a smashing success so far. The Volkswagen Polo–based A1 packs all the ingredients of a well-equipped, fun-to-drive subcompact, but its sales figures have been disappointingly low. Perhaps this will change with some of the upcoming variations: Before the end of the year, Audi will launch a five-door A1, which, according to a well-placed company source, will be called the A1 Sportback. Also this fall, there will be a powerful Quattro all-wheel-drive version of the three-door A1 with around 200 hp.

The A1 Sportback, captured here by our spy photographers, will likely be powered by the same engines currently offered in the three-door base model: three gasoline engines with 86, 122 and 185 hp; and a trio of diesels with 90, 105 and 143 hp.

The Audi A1 Sportback will be officially unveiled this fall after the Frankfurt auto show. Will it be offered in the U.S.? Unlikely. The next-generation A3 is almost ready to be launched and Audi USA will focus on this model family here. But in Europe, the Sportback version should enhance the appeal of the A1 model line.

Tags: Audi, Audi A1, Audi A1 Sportback, spy photos |

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2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart – Long-Term Road Test Wrap-Up

May 23, 2011 at 3:30pm by Jon Yanca

Over 40,000 miles, we never grew to love the taste of Evo Lite.

Date: May 2011
Months in Fleet: 16 months
Current Mileage: 40,026 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 20 mpg
Average Range: 290 miles
Service: $1477
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $773

When the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru Impreza WRX first appeared in the U.S. early in the millennium, it wasn’t exactly a fair fight. The 227-hp Subaru started at less than $25,000, the 271-hp Evo nearly $30,000. Subaru countered the pricier, more powerful Evo with its STI, but it took Mitsubishi until 2009 to challenge the playful, middleweight WRX with the Lancer Ralliart sedan—or Evo Lite, as we call it. Subaru offers WRX buyers both four- and five-door configurations, though, and Mitsu needed one more year to correct this imbalance by introducing the five-door Sportback Ralliart. With that army finally fully assembled, we ordered a Sportback for a 40,000-mile romp.

Keep Reading: 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart – Long-Term Road Test Wrap-Up

Tags: hatchback, Japanese, long-term, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Lancer, Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback, Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart, Mitsubishi Ralliart, performance testing |

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