AUDI is making its trendy little hatchback more family friendly by launching a five door version.

The Sportback derivative of the popular A1 pushes the premium car maker into new territory.

Since its launch late in 2010 the A1 has already become the brand's third best seller behind the larger A3 hatch and A4 saloon.

Last year alone it notched up 19,000 sales as Audi hit an all time high in the UK shifting some 114,000 models.

Now with some extra practicality the A1 will be pushing against the likes of the MINI Countryman and the top selling Ford Fiesta.

Priced from £13,980 to £21,270 the new Sportback is very much at the quality end of the market - and when it comes to technology it is class leading.

It's the only car in the supermini zone to be fitted with LED running lights, has a colour display screen and with Audi's optional online communications suite fitted it's the only one to offer an integrated Internet hook up.

Combined with a hard disc sat nav system it is going to add the best part of £1,400 to the price - but for those who cannot keep away from being in touch at all times it is going to be a must.

Not only does it enable the car to access the likes of Google Earth and Google Maps it also turns the vehicle into a WiFi hotspot allowing up to eight devices to be connected simultaneously.

There is also a high end BOSE surround sound system available and that will stick a further £690 on the bill.

In fact one A1 Sportback we tried out - a diesel engined 1.6 TDI in mid-range Sport trim - had a list price of £15,675 but was decked out with extras taking it up to £22,360.

But for those in the market for a small car with big car features the A1 is a great buy.

It is on sale now with four engine choices, three petrol and one diesel.

Later in the year a highly economical 1.4-litre petrol will be added featuring what Audi calls cylinder on demand technology. In a nutshell that means two of the four cylinders are cut out when the engine is not running at full chat, significantly saving fuel.

For the time being the most economical version is the 1.6-litre diesel, priced from £15,040 in base level SE trim.

Cheap it is not but it is economical. Emissions are rated at 99g/km meaning it escapes road tax and Audi is claiming an average fuel consumption of 74.3mpg. That's optimistic but we did manage to achieve almost 61 to the gallon without having to try too hard.

For business users it falls into the 13 per cent tax bracket and that makes the car very competitive.

On the road the car is nicely balanced. The Sport model was fitted with the optional, but no cost, Dynamic suspension which produces a slightly softer and more compliant ride.

Steering is smack on and the A1 feels sturdy, well built and responsive. As small cars go it is certainly impressive. Top speed for the 105ps diesel is 118mph with a 0 to 60 time of around 10.7 seconds, which is lively enough.

Luggage capacity is no different from the three door model at 270 litres which is not exceptionally plentiful, although dropping the rear seats gives you 920 litres of space.

The tailgate is slightly more upright on the Sportback and the angle of the rear pillar has been changed but apart from that it is very similar to the three door in looks.

Head and legroom in the back is adequate - even with a six footer in one of the front seats - and the car will sit five at a pinch. With four on board it is acceptably comfortable.

Compared to the three door the Sportback carries a premium of £560 in each of the three trim levels and Audi expects the new version to become the bigger seller of the two, accounting for almost two thirds of anticipated A1 sales.