Audi Q2 Review

The Q2 sits in an interesting part of Audi’s range. It's the smallest conventional SUV the brand sells, and it has always felt more like a raised premium hatchback than a scaled-down family off-roader.

That's actually part of the appeal. The Audi Q2 is compact enough to feel unintimidating in town, easy to park and straightforward to manoeuvre on the road, but it still gives buyers the slightly elevated driving position and chunkier styling they want from a small SUV. It looks smart, feels modern enough inside and carries the sort of badge appeal that still matters to plenty of buyers in this part of the market.

The Q2 also benefits from being one of those Audis that makes sense very quickly; you don’t need to spend long with it to understand what it's trying to do. This isn’t a car chasing dramatic design for its own sake, nor is it pretending to be more rugged than it really is. Instead, it aims to offer the tidiness and ease of a premium hatchback with the slightly higher seating position and tougher look buyers still want from an SUV.

That approach means the Audi Q2 often feels more cohesive than some rivals. There's less gimmickry to the design, the cabin is laid out with Audi’s usual logic, and the driving experience suits the car’s size well. If you’re the sort of buyer who values neatness, clarity and a sense that everything has been engineered to work cleanly, the Q2 still has a lot going for it.

The catch is that the Audi Q2 doesn’t use its SUV shape as effectively as some rivals. There's enough space up front and the boot is a decent size, but rear-seat room is tighter than you might hope, especially given the price. So while the Q2 works well as a stylish small SUV for singles, couples or small families, it's not the most convincing choice if rear passenger space is a major priority.

That makes the Q2’s appeal fairly easy to define. If you want one of the most practical small SUVs for the money, there are stronger options elsewhere. But if you’re searching for a compact SUV that feels tidy, premium and easy to own, the Audi Q2 still has a lot going for it.

Audi has now stopped production of the Q2, with no direct replacement planned, so your options will be new from stock or a car from the used market.

For most buyers, we recommend the 150PS TFSI in Sport trim. That engine gives the Q2 enough punch to feel easy and relaxed in everyday driving, while Sport trim keeps the equipment level sensible without pushing too far into style-led territory.

The 116PS TFSI is serviceable enough if most of your driving is around town, but the 150PS TFSI suits the Q2 much better. It feels smoother, stronger and more in keeping with the car’s premium positioning.

Trim matters here as well. Sport gives you the right balance of equipment, wheels and comfort, while S line and Black Edition add extra visual attitude but can chip away at the Q2’s ride quality and value.

The Audi Q2 range currently starts at £30,085 new from stock for the Sport, £32,535 for the S line and £34,235 for the Black Edition, with the SQ2 sitting apart as the high-performance version from £47,200 for the Black Edition and £52,050 for the Vorsprung. 

That positions the Q2 right at the premium end of the small-SUV class. It's a noticeable step up in price from mainstream alternatives such as the Skoda Kamiq, the SEAT Arona and the Ford Puma, so the Audi badge and the more polished cabin need to matter to you.

The good news is that the line-up is now much easier to understand than it used to be. The bad news is that the options list can still push prices up faster than you might expect.

The Audi Q2’s key alternatives include the Volkswagen T-Roc, the Skoda Kamiq and the SEAT Arona, all of which offer a similar compact SUV brief with strong petrol engines and easier value arguments.

If you want a premium-badged small SUV, the MINI Countryman and the Volvo XC40 are obvious alternatives, while the BMW X1 gives you more rear-seat space and a more mature overall feel.

The Ford Puma also deserves to be in the conversation because it's more fun to drive than the Audi and usually better value, even if it doesn’t offer the same badge appeal.

The Audi Q2 is a bit of a mixed bag for practicality. Up front it's easy to get comfortable, there's useful storage for the usual small items and the slightly raised seating position gives the car that SUV feel many buyers are after.

The boot is a decent size at 405 litres in front-wheel-drive models, which is good enough for a weekly shop, a pram or a couple of larger suitcases. The shape is usefully square too, so it's easy to exploit the available space properly rather than just admiring the number on paper.

That gives the Audi Q2 enough outright usefulness to work as an everyday small SUV, and for plenty of buyers, that will be enough. A couple, a small family or someone downsizing from a larger car will probably find that it swallows the usual day-to-day clutter without complaint.

Customers looking at quattro all-wheel-drive models should be aware that the extra mechanical bits reduce the boot space to 355 litres.

The rear-seat experience is less convincing. Two adults can fit in the back, but legroom and the general sense of airiness are only average, and the middle rear seat is best treated as occasional-use space. The Q2’s narrow feel in the back is more noticeable than in some rivals, which can make it feel less family-friendly than its SUV shape initially suggests.

That matters because some alternatives do a better job of combining compact dimensions with genuine rear-seat versatility. A MINI Countryman, a Volvo XC40 or a BMW X1 all feel more accommodating in the back, while some mainstream rivals also make better use of their footprint.

So the Q2 is practical enough for many buyers, but it's not the class benchmark once you move beyond the front seats and boot. It works best if your priority is a compact, easy-to-place SUV with enough space rather than maximum space.

The Audi Q2 measures 4,208mm long, 2,009mm wide and 1,508mm high. That makes it one of the more compact SUVs in this part of the market.

In practice, those dimensions are one of its biggest advantages. The Q2 feels small enough for urban driving and tight parking spaces, which makes it easier to live with than some larger small SUVs that feel as though they have outgrown the class.

The Audi Q2’s infotainment has aged fairly well because Audi kept everything clear and easy to use. Earlier cars typically used a 7.0-inch central display, while higher-spec versions and later updates brought Audi’s larger 8.3-inch screen. At the same time, the 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument display became more widely available higher up the range.

The interface is logically laid out, smartphone connectivity is standard, and the overall experience still feels neatly integrated. It doesn't have the flashiest system in the class, but it's intuitive enough and avoids the sort of frustrating menu diving that can make some rivals harder to live with.

That said, Audi has never been especially generous with equipment, so it's still worth checking exactly what is included on the trim level you are considering. A well-specced Q2 feels much richer inside than one built to a lower brief.

Material quality is one of the reasons the Q2 continues to make sense. The upper dashboard, key switchgear and steering wheel all feel nicely finished, and the cabin has the sort of neat, robust feel buyers expect from Audi.

It's not perfect. Lower down, some harder plastics remind you that this is still Audi’s entry-level SUV rather than a mini Q5. Even so, the overall impression is still more premium than most mainstream alternatives manage.

The current Q2 line-up is simpler than it used to be, but there are still three standard powertrain choices before you get to the SQ2: a 116PS TFSI manual, a 150PS TFSI manual and a 150PS TFSI S tronic automatic.

That makes the 116PS car the entry point to the range, and it's perfectly serviceable if most of your driving is urban or fairly light-duty. Even so, it feels like the minimum rather than the sweet spot, especially if you regularly carry passengers or spend much time on faster roads.

The 150PS TFSI is the one most buyers should focus on, because it gives the Q2 the stronger mid-range shove and more relaxed performance the car really wants. The manual version will suit drivers who still prefer to shift for themselves, but the S tronic automatic feels the more natural match in a premium small SUV like this.

The SQ2 remains separate as the high-performance outlier, but for the standard Q2 range, the 150PS TFSI is the engine that best suits the car’s character.

The Audi Q2 is very easy to drive, and that's one of its biggest strengths. Around town, it feels compact, the steering is light enough to make parking stress-free, and the controls are simple and predictable.

It also has the sort of proportions that make a small SUV feel genuinely useful rather than merely fashionable. You sit that little bit higher than in a hatchback, visibility out is generally good, and the whole car feels manageable in a way that larger SUVs often don’t. For buyers moving out of a small hatch but not wanting something bulky, that matters.

On a faster road, the Q2 feels stable and tidy, with good body control and enough grip to inspire confidence. It turns in neatly and feels more hatchback-like than some small SUVs, which helps it avoid the top-heavy feel that can affect taller rivals.

That hatchback-like character is one of the Q2’s main dynamic strengths. It doesn’t loll about through corners, and it never feels cumbersome, which is why it comes across as a tidier driver’s car than plenty of rivals. There's enough precision in the steering and enough composure in the chassis to make it feel polished rather than merely competent.

The downside is ride comfort. The Q2’s suspension has a firmer edge than some alternatives, and that can make it feel a bit restless on poor urban roads. Bigger wheels make that more obvious, which is why the more modestly specified versions usually make the most sense.

That doesn’t ruin the car, but it does slightly blunt the premium feel. A classy small Audi SUV should really deal with broken town surfaces with a bit more softness than this, and rivals such as the Peugeot 2008 or the Renault Captur feel more forgiving at low speeds.

Refinement is respectable. Wind noise is generally well contained, and the petrol engines are smooth enough, but there can be a bit more tyre roar than you might want on rougher surfaces. It's polished enough, though, and that tidy, grown-up character is still a major part of the Q2’s appeal.

Taken as a whole, the Q2 is best understood as a neat and confidence-inspiring small SUV rather than a cushy one. If you prioritise tidy road manners and compact dimensions over soft-edged comfort, it still makes a persuasive case.

The Audi Q2 achieved a maximum five-star rating from independent safety organisation Euro NCAP in 2016. Just bear in mind that this rating is now expired, because they only last for six years to reflect the safety body's ever-evolving testing criteria. In any case, the Q2 comes with a strong core safety package, including emergency braking and lane-related assistance features depending on year and trim.

As ever, it's worth checking the exact specification of the version you are considering, because some of the more desirable assistance systems were bundled into options or packs rather than fitted as standard across the board.

Officially, the current petrol Audi Q2 range returns between 47.7mpg and 48.8mpg combined, which is respectable enough for a premium small SUV.

Perhaps surprisingly, the more powerful engine is actually the most efficient, although there’s not much in it.

Audi covers the Q2 with its standard three-year, 60,000-mile warranty when new. For used examples, Audi Approved Used currently includes a minimum of one year of an Audi Warranty and one year of roadside assistance, plus other benefits such as MOT cover and a 30-day exchange plan.

Audi servicing is straightforward enough, but as with any small turbo petrol SUV, it's worth sticking closely to maintenance schedules and checking the history carefully on used examples. Servicing is due annually or every 9300 miles, whichever comes first.

Insurance varies by engine and trim, but mainstream Audi Q2 models sit in the middle of the class rather than the bargain basement, ranging from insurance groups 12 to 30 of 50.

The 116PS TFSI is the cheapest point of entry, while the 150PS TFSI and higher trims climb upwards. That's part of the price of the premium badge and something younger buyers in particular will want to factor in.

Audi Q2 owners will be charged the flat rate of £200 in road tax (VED) every year when the car hits its first birthday. The only exceptions are older versions registered before 1 April 2017, which pay a fee based on their CO2 outputs.

From year two to six, you will also have to pay the £440 additional luxury car tax for the SQ2, which is applied to new cars costing more than £40,000. This will also be charged for any other Q2 that tips over that price point when optional extras are added on, so beware of how you spec a car.