Audi Q2 Review & Prices

The whole idea of an upmarket small SUV such as the Audi Q2 is that they’re a bit like a Michel Kors clutch bag — great if you want to look and feel chichi on a night out, but utterly useless when what you need is a rain-proof rucksack. In other words, don’t let the chunky styling fool you — this is no off-roader. 

Still, that’s not the point of the Audi Q2— this is about having the right badge and the right styling, and the way the Q2 looks gets it off to a good start when it’s competing with the likes of the BMW X1 and the Mercedes GLA for your attention.

The interior is very Audi — a straightforward layout with very high quality materials, and an infotainment system that’s actually quite easy to find your way around. That said, the Q2’s screens aren’t as impressive as the ones in the BMW X1, but at least the 12.3-inch digital instrument panel now comes as standard, when it used to be an optional extra. 

The Q2’s cabin can also be made to look a little more exciting with optional back-lit dashboard panels, but whichever model you go for you’ll be getting excellent front seats and a good driving position. 

Unfortunately, that doesn’t extend to the back seats, which are too upright for comfort and there’s just not enough room for tall passengers on long journeys. A BMW X1 or Mini Countryman both have much nicer back seats. Equally, the Audi Q2 is short on space, with a narrow middle rear seat and back doors that don’t open very wide — a major pain for parents lugging big car seats. 

The boot is a little bit better, but again it loses out to the new Mini Countryman when it comes to the amount of shopping or luggage you can stuff in.

All of which adds up to an SUV that really isn’t very big. That pays off in town, though, where the Q2 feels right at home. Visibility isn’t the best, thanks to chunky roof pillars, but the light steering makes it easy to nip into spaces and it rides urban bumps and lumps pretty well. A BMW or Mini is more fun on a twisty road, but the Q2 copes well with long motorway runs. 

There’s a choice of two petrol engines — a 1.0-litre three-cylinder with 116hp, and a 1.5-litre four-cylinder with 150hp, and it’s the bigger engine you’ll want if you’re doing lengthy motorway journeys. The smaller engine is just fine though, and ideal around town. There’s a seven-speed automatic option if you spend all your time in town, but actually the standard six-speed manual ‘box is perfectly fine, so you don’t really need to spend the extra. If you need more performance than that, there is the 300hp, all-wheel drive Audi SQ2, which is seriously quick, but also seriously expensive. 

While the Q2 wouldn’t be much cop in the Himalayas, it’s perfectly fine in Hampshire or Hull. It has pleasing styling, a desirable badge, and an expensive-feeling cabin, and all-round it’s a car that’s easy to live with. 

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Being as it’s an older design, the Q2 is actually very good value for money right now. Indeed, it’s actually slightly cheaper than the Volkswagen T-Roc, which is the closest alternative from the more affordable Volkswagen range, and which uses the same mechanical bits as the Q2. A T-Roc is roomier, though. So too is the new Mini Countryman, which is massive inside compared to the Q2, and has a very similar basic price, but which doesn’t feel as handy in town.

The likes of the BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA are both significantly more expensive — indeed, they’re more like alternatives to the pricier Q3 — but the Q2 isn’t much less roomy than either, so it’s certainly worth considering if those two are on your shopping list. There are much more affordable options such as the Peugeot 2008 and Ford Puma, but neither of these have the badge appeal of the Audi. 

The Q2 is great fun on twisty roads and one of the most refined small SUVs at high speeds, though it can feel a little firm on crinkled city streets

In town

Audi has designed the Q2 with an eye on the sporty side of the small SUV market. This means it has suspension that’s firmer than many of the cars in this class, such as the Ford Puma or Peugeot 2008. What that means for you is you’ll notice a lot more of the small lumps and bumps on town and city streets, or as you drive on rural roads with lower speed limits.

The Q2 isn’t uncomfortable at slower speeds, but kids in the back seats will certainly notice they are being jiggled around more than they would in some of the others the Audi has to compete with for your money. On the plus side, however, the interior is quieter than most other small SUVs and the raised driving position gives excellent vision to the front and sides. Reversing isn’t difficult either, and rear parking sensors are fitted to every Q2 as standard.

Around town, performance from the 1.0-litre petrol engine in the 30 TFSI model is perfectly adequate. It has 116hp and feels quick off the mark, and the six-speed manual gearbox is light and easy to use. Best of all, this engine is available even in the top-spec Black Edition trim, which means you can have the poshest Q2 with the most frugal engine. Of course, at that point you might want to upgrade to the 35 TFSI. This 1.5-litre turbo petrol comes with the six-speed manual ’box or you can pay more for a seven-speed S-tronic automatic transmission. We’d stick with the manual but have the more powerful engine for its stronger performance.

On the motorway

The Audi Q2 feels like a bigger SUV when it’s on the motorway as it’s stable and not bothered by gusts of wind. This lets you relax on a longer drive and the steering adds to that sense of a solid, weighty car. The suspension also smooths out at higher speeds and makes the Q2 a very capable car on these roads. If you choose the optional adaptive suspension, the ride is even more cosseting.

The smaller 1.0-litre engine in the 30 TFSI Q2 models is happy enough on the motorway, and a fraction more economical, but the more powerful 1.5-litre motor in the 35 TFSI is the better bet on these quicker routes. It has more in reserve and feels less strained when overtaking or tackling a steep hill, and it’s also really smooth and refined. 

On a twisty road

It might be an SUV, but there’s no place for sloppy cornering or body lean when driving the Audi Q2. Instead, it feels agile and fun as you turn into and drive through bends, helped by steering with good feel and quick reactions. It’s not as nifty as a Ford Puma, but you’ll still enjoy driving the Q2 when you get the chance of a quiet stretch of country road.

The firm suspension is not upset by bumps in the middle of corners, and there’s more than enough grip for the Q2 to always feel secure. Audi doesn’t offer its Quattro all-wheel drive on the Q2 — you have to upgrade to the expensive, high-performance SQ2 to get that —  but it doesn’t ever feel like it really needs it.

The Audi Q2 is easy to live with on a daily basis and has a good driving position, but rear seat space is not as good as in a Mini Countryman

There’s a lot to like as you slide into the Audi Q2’s front cabin. For starters, the body of the car sits high enough off the ground that you simply glide into the driver’s seat, rather than falling down into it as you do in some other small SUVs. This also means you get that all-important feeling of sitting a bit higher, which is what many people love about SUVs.

The all-round vision from the driver’s chair is mostly good, which makes the Q2 simple to park, and you also have rear parking sensors in every version to make life even easier, and they definitely help when you’re trying to peer around the big rear roof pillars. Adjusting the seat angle and height is easy with the manual levers that are standard, and you also now get electrically adjusted lumbar movement, so you can avoid any lower back aches on longer drives. With a steering wheel that moves for height and how close it’s positioned to you, the Q2 fits drivers of all shapes and sizes.

When it comes to stashing phones, bottles and sunglasses in the Q2, it’s okay but not as good as a Mini Countryman. Large door bins easily swallow bigger water bottles and glass cases, while the centre console has a tray in front of the gear lever with USB chargers and cupholders. There’s another cubby behind the gear stick that is perfect for keeping a phone away from nosey passers-by. This isn’t a big storage bin, but you can have it with the optional Audi Phone Box that helps boost the signal to your phone and comes with wireless charging.

Space in the back seats

Sit in either of the two outer rear seats in the Q2 and you will find it more than good enough for this size and type of car. There’s a decent amount of space for adults’ knees and heads, so long as anyone in the front isn’t taller than six feet. Shoulder room is a bit cramped by the doors, and the doors themselves don’t offer the biggest entry, which is more of a hassle when trying to load babies and toddlers into their seats. At least Audi provides very easy to use ISOFIX mounts on both outer rear chairs.

Anyone sat in the middle seat of the Q2 is going to find it pretty uncomfortable. The raised seat base means there’s very little headroom and your feet end up being squashed by the front seat runners. Not ideal. Audi compensates to a small degree with large door bins.

Boot space

With the rear seats in their usual raised position, the Q2 offers 405 litres of load space, which is less than some other small SUVs, with the BMW X2 boasting 540 litres, and the Mini Countryman getting 450 litres. The boot is well shaped, though, so fitting in a couple of large suitcases or a pram is simple. The load floor sits flush with the bumper to make sliding in heavy boxes easy, and there’s some hidden storage under the boot floor.

As standard, the Q2 comes with a 60-40 split rear seats for folding, though you do have to raise the headrests so the seats fold flat and make the most of the space. Do this and you can liberate up to 1,050 litres of cargo room. Again, not the biggest but the shape makes use of every inch. There are also several tie-down hooks in the boot, but no 12-volt power supply.

An electrically powered tailgate is standard across the Q2 range. However, three separate folding rear seats cost extra and, if you choose this, it means no drop-down armrest for rear seat passengers.

Audi mixes practicality with clear, stylish design inside the Q2, but the touchscreen is quite small by current standards

There’s a great mix of the practical and high tech inside the Q2. An example of this is the very simple rotary controls that manage the heating and ventilation. It makes it easy to adjust the temperature or fan speed of the air conditioning, and you don’t have to look away from the road or fiddle with the infotainment screen to do it.

As for the high tech, Audi fits every Q2 with its brilliant Virtual Cockpit dash. This allows you to choose what sort of information you see in the dash screen and how it’s displayed. Best of all, you can have a large sat nav map on show, so you only need to glance down to know where you’re heading. With steering wheel controls to work this, it’s another area where the Q2 is a step ahead of many others in this class of car.

Now, while the dash might look a little too sensible and similar to the A3 Sportback hatch’s compared to, say, a Mini Countryman or Honda HR-V, Audi has updated the Q2 recently to give it a new 8.8-inch touchscreen, which replaces the old MMI system.

This means that the old click-wheel controller for the system has now been done away with — which is a shame, as that made it much easier to access functions when driving — but the upside is that the screen does get some new tricks, such as handwriting recognition when you’re entering sat-nav destinations.

Equally, all models now get the 12.3-inch ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital instrument panel, on which you can pick which info you want to read, and which layout you want to look at. It used to be an option on all but the most expensive Q2s, so it’s good to see that it’s now standard-fit.

There’s also the Audi Drive Select system, which lets you pick from Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Individual settings for how the engine, air conditioning and cruise control affect the way the car drives or its efficiency. It also changes how the automatic gearbox, if fitted, responds.

If that’s not enough tech for you, Audi offers an integrated dash cam as an option to record what’s going on around the car as you drive. 

There are two engine and transmission options with the Audi Q2. The first is the 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine that has 110hp and is used in the 30 TFSI models. It is only offered with a six-speed manual gearbox. It can manage the 0-60mph sprint in 11.2 seconds, which is at the more sluggish end of the scale in this class. However, in town it feels perfectly nippy. This engine is also the most economical of the Q2 line-up, delivering a best of 49.6mpg with CO2 emissions of up to 131g/km.

A better all-round bet is the 35 TFSI model with its 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine making 150hp. It covers off 0-60mph in a much brisker 8.6 seconds whether you stick with the six-speed manual gearbox or choose the optional seven-speed S tronic auto ’box. With the manual transmission, you’ll see a best average fuel consumption of 47.1mpg and up to 146g/km of CO2, while the auto offers 47.9mpg and 143g/km.

Those emissions figures mean that whichever model you choose, you won't have to pay too much in first-year road tax, though the lack of a hybrid version or a fully electric model — as offered by the likes of the Countryman, the X1, and the GLA — makes the Q2 less appealing for company car buyers.

Audi covers all of the essential bases with the Q2 when it comes to safety. You get six airbags in every model, as well as ISOFIX mounting points on the two outer rear seats and the front passenger chair. There’s also cruise control with speed limiter, autonomous emergency braking, and reverse parking sensors for every version.

In Euro NCAP crash tests, the Q2 scored a very respectable 93% for adult occupant safety and 86% for child safety. Pedestrian safety worked out at 70%, which is on a par with other small SUVs. However, a 60% result for safety systems is due to Audi charging extra for the optional lane keep assist function for the Q2 when it’s standard on cars from many other manufacturers such as Volvo and Volkswagen. Equally, that Euro NCAP test was last carried out in 2016, so technically the rating has expired and the Q2 would likely not perform as well were it re-tested using the tougher new safety criteria.

The Audi Q2 comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty as standard when you buy new. This can be extended to five years and 90,000 miles for an additional fee, and this warranty passes on to the next owner when you sell the car.

Audi’s reputation for reliability is bolstered by the Q2, which is less likely to have problems than others in this class, such as the Mini Countryman or Volkswagen T-Roc. This makes the Q2 a sound bet for a hassle-free experience.

There have been five safety recalls for the Audi Q2, covering incorrect electrical connections, faulty head restraints, problems with the electric parking brake, and faulty rear wheel hubs.

The Q2 didn’t appear in the Top 50 cars according to the latest Driver Power owner satisfaction survey results, and Audi as a brand finished poorly in the most reliable charts, coming in 27th, only just ahead of Renault and behind Vauxhall.