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The Audi Q2 is a premium and stylish small SUV that has been with us since 2016. It has proved to be a roaring success for Audi, and is currently one of the best selling cars of the current Audi range. SUVs are becoming ever more popular, and none more so than the upmarket versions, which means that with its prestigious four rings glued to the front grille, the Audi Q2 is sure to be high on the list.
Hot on the heels of its bigger Q3, Q5, Q7 and Q8 siblings, the Q2 is the baby brother of an established and formidable group of luxury SUVs, but this is not to say that it is any less of a car. It is a little more fun than some of the others in the range, but the material quality is still top-notch and some recent styling tweaks and standard equipment upgrades have kept the Audi Q2 looking fresh and ready to tackle some of its newer rivals.
This Audi Q2 review will look at a range of the features and benefits of this affordable SUV, and see how it measures up against rival cars in the class such as the BMW X2 and Mercedes GLA.
The Audi Q2 departs somewhat from Audi's usual conservative design, which serves to give it a little of its own personality. It has a surprisingly angular and boxy body, with strong lines and edges rather than curves, which give the Q2 a chunky, no-nonsense look. One of the first things you notice about the Q2 are the silver panels on the C-pillars, which draw your eye to the oversized rear lights. The panels are different colours depending on which trim level you choose. The recently redesigned front and rear bumpers have large scoops cut out of them, and when combined with the wheel arch extensions and high shoulder line, the Audi Q2 looks like a much bigger car than it actually is.
Although it pushes the boundaries of contemporary Audi design, the Q2 does carry many of the trademarks you would expect including the prominent front grille, LED headlights, and of course the archetypal Audi interior. The Audi Q2 manages to make a good compromise between function and form, and it arguably achieves the best balance, more successfully than other cars in its class such as the Mercedes GLA or BMW X2.
The interior of the Audi Q2 will be immediately recognisable to seasoned Audi buyers, as much of it has its origins in the Audi A3. This ensures that high quality materials are used and the switches are all well damped and satisfying to operate. By no means does the Q2 feel like a cheap car inside; its interior quality is ahead of many rivals in the small SUV sector and it feels on a par with the MINI Countryman, which comes at a similar price. The Q2 has something of a feel-good factor inside, and its cabin is an enjoyable place to spend time.
The Audi Q2 is stylish inside, if a little sober and dark on standard models. If you go further up the range you can get stylish sports seats and metal pedals which look and feel good, and you can specify different interior trim panels. The top-spec Vorsprung models also come with light inlays which can be set to different colours depending on your mood (or indeed your favourite colour!).
The MMI navigation system is very nice to use, with intuitive and quick controls. The virtual cockpit with its digital display behind the steering wheel is also a delight to behold; once you have seen this you won't want the "old-fashioned" analogue dials any more. You can get both of these things on the Sport trim and above.
It is easy to get pretty comfortable aboard the Audi Q2, with multi-adjustable and supportive seats, which are upgraded to sports seats in the Sport models and above. The driving position is set high as you would expect from this and other small SUVs, and the tall body of the Q2 allows for plenty of headroom as well. The raised driving position helps you have good visibility around the car without having to crane your neck too much, but the attractive C-pillar panels do create a bit of a blind spot at the back of the car.
The Audi Q2 SUV is tall and wide which provides plenty of space inside for the driver and occupants, so you will have no issue carting the family and their luggage around. The boot is accessed via a powered hatchback tailgate, giving excellent access to the practical load area and making it easy to load larger items, particularly when you fold down the standard 60/40 split rear seats. There is a reasonable amount of boot space to swallow luggage or bulky items. The interior is not quite as flexible as in some rival small SUVs, some of which come with sliding benches or removable seats, but there are plenty of useful cupholders and cubbies dotted around the cabin which help mitigate this.
Those occupying the back seats in the car will also find they have plenty of space, with ample legroom and headroom ensuring that they will easily be able to get comfortable inside the Q2. The cabin is generally well-damped and you do not hear much road or tyre noise, but being a tall car with a fairly bluff front end, you can sometimes hear a bit of wind noise at higher speeds.
For driving comfort, look to models with smaller wheels rather than those with big wheels, because there is an impact on the ride stiffness. Sportier models also come with sports suspension, which is slightly stiffer than standard, although the pricier Vorsprung model comes with adaptive suspension, which helps reduce body roll and make the ride more dynamic, especially if you can find a twisty road to enjoy. The Audi Q2 is fairly comfortable on long motorway journeys, and you will find you still feel fairly fresh after a long trip thanks to the comfortable seats.
The Audi Q2 has a good choice of peppy petrol engines and economical diesel engines, which should suit the needs of most drivers and achieve a good balance of performance and fuel economy. Slightly confusingly, Audi has chosen to refer to their different engines with numbers that don't correspond to the actual engine size, so we will break them down here.
The entry-level petrol engine is a 1.0-litre TFSI turbocharged engine, known as the 30. This offers 108bhp, and gets you to 62mph in 11.2 seconds. This unit is available on all trims except the Vorsprung, and is only available with a manual gearbox.
The 35 is a 1.5-litre TFSI turbocharged engine with 148bhp, which is well used across the Audi range and elsewhere in the VW Group. It has a 0-62mph time of 8.6 seconds, making it quicker and more flexible than the 1.0 litre. It is available with either a six-speed manual gearbox or Audi's S-Tronic DSG automatic gearbox.
The Diesel engines are based around one 2.0 litre turbocharged unit with a choice of two power options. The 30 TDi has 114bhp and achieves 62mph from standing in just over 10 seconds. The 35 has 148bhp and takes a brisker 8.6 seconds to reach 62mph.
The renowned Audi Quattro all-wheel-drive system is available with the 35 TDi units, if you need a little more traction than on the front-wheel-drive versions.
The trim levels in the Audi Q2 are consistent with those across the rest of the Audi range, so if you know your Audis then you'll have no issue choosing the right Q2 for your needs. Each model is fairly well specified as standard, but as always with Audi, you get what you pay for, and if you want all the gadgets and goodies then you either need to look higher up the range or have a pencil handy for the liberal ticking of options boxes.
The entry-level Technik trim comes as standard with 16" alloy wheels, LED headlights, auto-dimming interior and exterior mirrors, a powered tailgate, cruise control and electric lumbar support on the front seats. It also has silver panels on the C-pillars.
Upgrading to Sport trim gets you 17" alloy wheels, Audi's excellent MMI Navigation Plus system, the virtual cockpit which replaces the analogue dials with a fully digital dash display, front sports seats and the Audi Connect remote and control system.
Next up is the coveted S-Line trim, with 18" alloy wheels, a black interior headlining and lots of S-Line extras including a bodykit and S-Line leather steering wheel.
The suave Black Edition adds a Black styling pack, 19" black alloy wheels, rear privacy glass and a sporty flat-bottomed leather steering wheel.
Topping the range is the luxurious Vorsprung trim, which comes with a panoramic glass sunroof, LED matrix headlights which give excellent nighttime visibility and can be left on full beam without dazzling other drivers, extra driver assistance systems including adaptive cruise control and park assist, adaptive suspension with damping control, and Audi's immense Bang & Olufsen premium sound system. You get lots of extra kit, but the Vorsprung models definitely come at a price, which some buyers will be unprepared for.
The Audi Q2 SUV achieved the top five-star grade on its Euro NCAP crash test back in 2016, with good scores for occupant protection and pedestrian safety. Its score wasn't quite as high for safety assist technology, but the recent update to the Q2 has seen some extra assistance kit added.
The Q2 comes as standard with six airbags, three ISOFIX child seat mounting points, and safety assistance kit including Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) to prevent collisions. Unfortunately, a lot of the other assistance systems for this car such as blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control are only available on higher-spec models or as a cost option, which is a pity.
All the parts of the Audi Q2 are used across the Audi range and more widely across the VW Group. There are no glaring reliability issues as long as they are serviced on time and to the correct specification, the Diesel Particulate Filters are kept nice and clear by taking long journeys now and then, and wearable items such as cambelts are replaced when they should be.
The Audi Q2 starts at £25,445 on the road for an entry-level 30 TFSI Technik model. The Sport is available from £27, 945 on the road, and the sporty S-Line starts from £30,095. The Black Edition starts at £32,090 and the top Vorsprung model comes in at £42,255, no doubt taking it above the comfort zone of many buyers. Switching engines and adding extras will increase the total price further.
Over the past few years the Audi Q2 has established itself as a high-quality compact SUV. It has a flexible engine choice, decent fuel economy and the option of Audi's excellent Quattro four wheel drive system. There is plenty of front and rear space for adults, lots of boot space for big items and luggage thanks to its large load area and convenient hatchback tailgate, and it also looks a bit more characterful than the standard Audi offering.
All this quality comes at a price, however; while the Q2 starts at a reasonable £25,500, the price of a higher spec car increases rapidly to an eye-watering £42,255 for a top-spec Vorsprung, almost double the price before you even consult the options list. However, as an overall package the Audi Q2 SUV is an excellent car and presents a better all-round package than rival cars such as the MINI Countryman.
