Audi A1 2011 Award Tally Grows to Four

Audi's A1 has just won two more awards, this time from CarBuyer and Parkers' New Car, bringing its 2011 first quarter total to four.

CarBuyer named it 'Best Small Luxury Car 2011', with the award presented at the Geneva Motor show. The judges remarked on the A1's "peppy" engines, "well-weighted" driving controls, "rewarding" driving experience and general impression of being "incredibly well made". The judges also noted that the A1 consistently performs well in customer surveys and holds Euro NCAP five star rating.

Summing up, they said it was "unlike any other rival" because it offers "big-car luxury in a pint-sized package".

The Parkers' New Car Awards are given on the strength of performance according to their 'Cost of Motoring Tool'. This takes a range of different factors (including showroom tax, fuel consumption and servicing, and depreciation) into account to arrive at the cost of buying and running either a new or used car.

It was Audi's A1 diesel TDI SE that won the award in the Small Hatchback category. This particular model enjoys a road tax of just £20/year due to its fuel economy and low CO2 emissions and is inexpensive to insure and service.

As Parkers Editor Kieren Puffett pointed out, it is "the small hatchback that makes the car buyer's cash go the furthest." Despite that it is still "extremely well made" and has an air of "classy sophistication" - in all, it delivers "premium brand values at a price many car buyers can afford".