Audi Q2 1,4T FSI Sports Tronic

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 hash tagged 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 sheet metal 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 braklamps 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.