The Audi A1 and A3 are now available with Cylinder-on-Demand (CoD) technology, which Audi claims will allow the petrol models in the range to challenge their diesel counterparts' fuel economy figures.
The technology will be available in the Sport, S Line and Black Edition versions of the A1 and A3 1.4 TFSI petrol models, helping the cars to return as much as 60.1mpg on the combined cycle.
Introduced on the S6, S7 and S8 models last year, and now fitted to the RS 6 Avant and RS 7, Audi's CoD technology improves fuel consumption by shutting down some of the engine's cylinder under low loads. In a four-cylinder engine, two of the cylinders are turned off when cruising and are reactivated when needed (for example, during heavy acceleration).
Audi claims that the transition between two and four cylinders is "near seamless" and takes just 13 milliseconds. To give you an idea of just how fast this is, it takes between 300 and 400 milliseconds for a human eye to blink.
The Audi A1 and A1 Sportback models are available with a seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch gearbox from launch, while A3 models are available with a six-speed manual transmission only. Both transmissions will be available across the board later this year.
The 1.4 TSI CoD engine develops 138bhp and 184lb-ft of torque, giving a 0-62mph of 7.9 seconds for the A1 (8.0 seconds for the A1 Sportback) and 8.3 seconds for the A3 (8.4 for the A1 Sportback).
The A1 and A3 CoD models are available to order now, with prices starting from £16,740 for the A1 and £20,055 for the A3.
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