IT MAY be a surprise to learn that premium carmaker Audi has a small one-litre engine, but it should be even more surprising to discover that it packs a punch. The Audi A1 1.0 TFSI S tronic ultra uses a one-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine to drive the front wheels of the five-door Sportback, making it the first one-litre unit from Audi, as well as its first three-pot power plant.

In the Audi lexicon, ultra denotes the most efficient engine variant for a particular model, so in the A1 lineup, the A1 1.0 ultra is it.

With just 999cc to produce 95hp though, you would probably think the A1 1.0 is a lethargic little car but no. Its 160 Newton-metres of torque are available early from 1,500rpm all the way to 3,500rpm, thus allowing this 1,090kg hatchback not only credible acceleration at the lights, but also good elasticity on the go.