2017 Audi Q2 TDi: A Private Fleet Car Review
With SUVs being so popular, it’s no surprise that the next chapter in the SUV story is the lifestyle SUV. Think the original SUV, the Toyota RAV4, bring it into the latter half of the second decade of the 21st century, and that’s the market.
Not surprisingly, Audi, known for their quick response to market change, have done so and enter, stage left, the Audi Q2, with a choice of 1.4L TFSI petrol or 2.0L diesel quattro.
Audi says that their designers have: “created a unique polygonal design for the Q2 using sculpted geometric shapes for a stunning interplay of lines. The octagonal Singleframe grille, the three-dimensional taillights, and the polygonal side profile work in harmony to define its powerful character. With a higher-ground clearance, the Q2 is undeniably an SUV, from the elevated driving position to everyday versatility.”
Ok. That means it’s a funky new design for an SUV. But what does that mean for passengers? Well, let’s take a step back and consider the exterior. The test car came clad in a “won’t lose me in the car park” yellow. Vegas Yellow, to be precise. If there’s a colour other than silver that will highlight those edges, it’s yellow. There’s a solid plastic C panel in a light gunmetal grey which can be be swapped for other colours, with that choice dependent on engine spec. With eleven exterior colours to pick from the Q2 allows the savvy buyer some choice, to say the least.
In fact, the Q2 offers a list of optionable equipment that will give any indecisive person the jitters. There’s the punchy B&O audio system, wireless mobile phone charging, Head Up Display, a storage and luggage compartment package, and a cool looking LED interior light system in the console and dash. 
You can also include the Technik Package, which has an 8.3 inch touchscreen, two card readers and 10 GB hard drive storage plus more. The driver gets the “Virtual Cockpit” LCD screen, at just over 12 inches in width.
It’s a surprisingly compact unit, with an overall length under 4.2 metres, at 4191 mm, yet rides on a 2601 mm wheelbase, meaning there’s a reasonable, if cozy, amount of interior space. That also means that front and rear overhang is minimal, with 828 mm and 762 mm respectively. It’s almost square in a front/rear look, with 1509 mm in height, 1794 mm total with, and with front and rear track just millimetres apart at 1547 mm and 1541 mm respectively. Rubber was Michelin 215/50, on the optionable 18 inch alloys fitted.
Interior space has 1091 mm from the front seat squab to the roof and just 966 mm in the rear, meaning taller passengers may find themselves getting intimate with the upholstery, both above and to the back of the seats ahead. The interior itself is a mix of flat charcoal plastic; textured, almost carbon fibre along the dash and hides the LED mood lighting; to the flat bottomed steerer and the screen in the upper dash standing monolithically, almost like The Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Cargo space is smallish at 450 litres, plus it’s a highish boot floor, making both loading height and outright useability a compromise.
It’ll motorvate along nicely, however, with the 2.0L diesel (in the test vehicle) providing a linear deliver of torques, 340 of them, between 1750 and 3000 rpm, rolling off nicely into the peak power figure of 110 kilowatts from 3500 to 4000 revs. The TSFI delivers the same power albeit at 5000 to 6000 rpm, with peak torque a not indecent 250 Nm across a slightly broader rev range, being 1500 to 3500. The diesel’s quattro system has drive predominantly at the front, as is common in these sorts of vehicles, sending torque rearward as the sensor system dictates. It’s seamless and invisible to the senses.
Both will roll along quietly with the merest flex of the right ankle, and with both having such a linear delivery of torque, will see each of the seven ratios nicely used, especially when at speed and needing a good overtaking move. The diesel is muted but will transmit a warm thrum through to the cabin when under load. Stopping power is confident, with the brakes providing instant information, rather than feeling as if there’s travel before bite. The steering weights well in the hand, with it feeling as if there’s a variable ratio the further left or right you turn.
At The End Of The Drive.
The Audi Q2 starts at $41100 plus on roads for the 1.4 TSFI, with the diesel quattro a whopping $6800 more, with a driveaway price of a gnat’s nasty under $53500. However you will get the standard three year or unlimited kilometre warranty and twelve year warranty for body perforation protection. The diesel is a good enough drive but the Q2 suffers from a lack of interior room overall. At that, one would suspect that it would be bought by singles or couples and would rarely see a need to employ the rear seat for anything other than extra space for shopping, or a small dog.
2017 Audi Q2 is the place to go for more info.
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