Top Gear On Ice: Audi A1 quattro

Explanation is probably necessary. There's nothing exactly wrong with the standard A1. But it's a Thing. It does a job. It feels hewn from a block of solid cynicism and polished by a committee of algorithms whose only reason for existence in a messy universe is to manage expectation so that you'll never be disappointed. But the lack of risk-taking means that the car is a bit like emotional local anaesthetic; you are aware of experiencing it, but unlikely to have felt anything.

The A1 quattro isn't like that. Turn your back on it, and it'll have its pants on outside its trousers and doing Superhero-type feats before you realise what's going on. That said, visually, it could slip by relatively unnoticed. If you sit one next to a Lamborghini, or a Ferrari FF, it's the slinky outrage of the supercar that's going to naturally draw your attention. But look closer.