AUDI has put its big car knowhow into a smaller one with the A1.

Forget what you thought you knew about superminis. The supermini is a fresh, urban style statement, cooler than cars twice and three times its price. It's all the car that young, carefree professionals will ever need; at least until they get old and worried about stuff. The supermini is being re-branded and we have cars like the Audi A1 to thank for it.

Fashionable small cars are a boom industry at the moment. The A1 goes head-to-head with the Mini, Alfa Romeo's MiTo, Citroen's DS3 and plusher versions of supermini stalwarts like the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa. Of course, Audi had a major headstart: it simply borrowed the platform and engines from its VW Group partners. Think of the A1 as a Volkswagen Polo with extra Audi flavour.

Sportiness has been top of the agenda in setting-up the A1 and iIt has got the combination of neat proportions and engaging detailing.

The hope within Audi is that the A1 can stand out from the pack with its prestige badge and premium cabin quality while holding its own with solid mechanicals borrowed from the Volkswagen Polo. It sounds like a plan that will have the rest of the contenders at the fashionable end of the supermini sector worried.