Top Gear On Ice: Audi A1 quattro

It's always the quiet ones. The mousy one from the IT department whom you accidentally discover to be a concert pianist, the nice man from three doors down who turns out to be a serial killer with a basement full of disturbingly realistic model trains. They all have one thing in common: you think you've got them pegged, right up until they do something that leaves your jaw on the floor and your preconceptions as confused goo lingering by the exit. Which is what just happened to me with this A1 quattro. To the point where I can say, while still retaining some dignity: I've been driving a Lambo all day, but I want to take the A1 home.

Words: Tom Ford

Photos: Justin Leighton 

This feature first appeared in the March 2012 issue of Top Gear magazine