Audi A1 Sportback vs MINI One 5dr - pics

The Audi A1 has been given a little freshen up for 2015, so here we put it up against its main rival - the MINI.

The A1 is powered by a 1.0-litre 3cyl turbo petrol, producing 94bhp. As standard, the A1 costs £14,975 but our test car came in at an eye-watering £22,915!

Straight line performance is an even match for the MINI in this test, despite the Audi being down on power and having only five gears.

Inside, build quality is high and plastics are top-grade, but infotainment controls are now getting dated.

Pop-up infotainment screen is carried over from the pre-facelift A1.

Dash layout, including the smart vents are also carried over.

Bose sound system is a £690 optional extra, and adds illuminated speaker housings.

The A1 is shorter but wider than the MINI, and the cabin feels smaller overall. There are three rear seats, but the middle one is narrow and room for your feet is limited by the high transmission tunnel.

Boot weighs in at 270 litres which is the same as the three-door A1.

Head for a twisty road and you'll find that, while the A1 is a keen performer, it has to give second best to the MINI.

Redesigned front lights are a subtle change from the pre-facelift model.

Large grille and angular headlights make the A1 look more handsome than the MINI. 

Sportback's two rear doors integrate smoothly into the body. Clamshell boot features slightly reworked tail-lights, but overall the revisions are subtle.

Contrasting roof colours are now available on the A1, like the MINI has always had.

The third-gen MINI was voted our Car of the Year in 2014, and here we test the entry-level One model.

It's powered by a 1.2-litre 3cyl engine and produces 101bhp.

The interior is unmistakably MINI with a large circular display in the middle of the dash and toggle switches lower down the centre console.

Optional circular dash display has colour-changing LED lights.

MINI is one of the roomiest superminis on the market.

There's 278 litres of boot space available with the seats up, and this increases to 941 litres with them down.

There's also underfloor storage to boost practicality.

MINI has always produced cars that are fun to drive, yet this entry level model is arguably more fun to drive than some sportier and more powerful cars further up the range. It's easy to control and the skinny tyres deliver enough grip

There aren't as many personalisation options on the MINI One, but you can still blow an exceedingly large amount of cash on extras. Using the MINI configurator, we managed to spec one up to £29,700!

You can add alloy wheels to the MINI One, but not a contrast roof. The rounded bootlid looks awkward and the rear doors are on the small side, too.