The smallest member of Audi’s Q family makes a big statement…
Car advertisements are often a demonstrative stretch. You can’t help but chuckle when a humdrum sedan is likened to a fighter jet, or when the climbing gear-clad lifestylers rappel down a cliff to the compact SUV that will inevitably remain town-bound and more likely packed with mewling offspring than mountain-climbing kit.
So, when the Audi Q2’s ad campaign, complete with such hashtagged Generation Y-isms as #hipster and #thuglife, saw Audi’s newcomer to the compact, premium-crossover fold labelled #untaggable, there was bound to be a spot of eye-rolling. But there is a kernel of truth behind the marketing tagline; this distinctive little car is rather difficult to pigeonhole.
At a glance, the Q2, although neat, looks like standard premium-crossover fare, but it’s actually one of those cars that you have to encounter in the metal to really appreciate the details. The amalgam of crystalline, sharp creases and sheetmetal that billows on the bonnet and cinches neatly on the flanks combine with a pseudo-SUV stance to give the Q2 the requisite purposeful chunkiness that appeals to the crossover crowd. But it is those neat touches, such as the ridged brakelamp lenses and metallic-finished C-pillars, which doff a cap to the R8, that really add to the Q2’s sense of occasion.
There’s also that typical Audi sense of solidity and high perceived quality in the Q2’s cabin, but small elements such as door cards of hard, scratchy plastic and the omission of metallised finish on the air-vent rings – probably one of the highlights of the related A3’s dash – in favour of less remarkable black items are disappointing. Ultimately, they’re not deal-breakers, just surprising compromises and exclusions given the car’s characterful – and premium-priced – bearing.
Variations of Volkswagen’s MQB modular platform often form the foundations for practical cars that are pleasingly involving to drive – think A3 Sportback and VW Golf – and the Q2 is the latest recipient of those versatile underpinnings. Owing to a boot that’s only reasonably proportioned and meagre rear legroom, the practicality base is merely partially covered. But, when it comes to driver engagement, the Q2 ably delivers.
Hustling along twisting stretches of road, the Q2’s high levels of front-end grip and an electrically assisted, variable-ratio steering rack that, although not the last word in feedback, adapts its weighting well to both town and open-road driving, makes it a properly fun little car. Ground clearance is pegged at a modest 150 mm, which eliminates off-tar adventuring over anything more than slightly rutted dirt roads. While this may limit the Q2’s off-road ability, the vehicle more than compensates with body control rivalling that of most sporty hatchbacks.
The Q2’s brakes, although progressive in operation, provide plenty of bite, with an average stopping time of 2,84 seconds earning it an “excellent” rating in our braking tests. Shod with optional 19-inch rims and 40-profile rubber, our test unit had all the right ingredients for a jolting ride, but Audi has recently developed a knack for endowing even its stiffly sprung models with damping that does an admirable job of blotting out harshness. That’s not to say it’s perfect, though.
The adoption of a torsion-beam rear-suspension setup, something that’s surprising for a vehicle in this bracket, means there is some abrupt rebound when encountering moderate road imperfections or negotiating speed bumps at anything more than a snail’s pace. The Sport model’s standard 17-inch footwear with plumper tyres will no doubt alleviate much of that.
The 1,4-litre turbopetrol’s 110 kW may look modest, but with only 1 385 kg to propel and a useful 250 N.m of torque chiming in at 1 500 r/min, the Q2 feels punchier than figures suggest; it turned in a respectable 9,09-second 0-100 km/h sprint time. It’s a reasonably refined unit, only becoming growly when pushed, and there is more than a hint of tyre hiss intruding into the otherwise quiet cabin. The engine is also impressively frugal thanks in part to a cylinder-deactivation system that shuts down the second and third cylinders under light engine loads. In terms of mechanical feedback, the switch from two to four cylinders is barely perceptible and that helped the Q2 return 6,6 L/100 km in our mixed-use fuel-consumption test.
The seven-speed dual-clutch transmission meshes well with this unit, proving adept at hooking the right ratios, and willingly hanging onto the revs when pressed. The only negative is a hint of off-the-line hesitancy when the optional Drive Select management system is in any mode other than sport.
Which brings us to our main criticism of the Q2: the price, which sits above that of most larger rivals in its segment. Standard specification is rather sparse, and even the additions as part of this model’s “Sport” designation are predominantly cosmetic. Our test unit’s spec, which includes sat-nav, the Virtual Cockpit digital-instrument binnacle, LED headlamps, leather upholstery, PDC and dual-zone climate control, sees the price leap to more than R680 000.
