Audi Q2 35 TFSI is a Complete Cutie Here’s Why

Audi Q2 35 zips along happily, feeling tight and sharp, and trendily chic. It fills criteria by being nippy and classy, with enough space for a city trip with friends.

Although Audi Q2 also comes in 40 and RS forms, both of which have Quattro AWD and 2.0L engines, Audi Q2 35 makes do with front-wheel-drive and a demure 110kw/250Nm 1.5 turbo 4. A 0-100 of 8.6 seconds seems leisurely until you plant your foot in the wet, when much scrambling of rubber comes. There’s a rat-a-tat-tat as the traction control tries desperately to prevent Code Brown.

Audi Q2 35’s tasty metalwork is plain yet tasteful. The brawny lines look gym fit in a 5-door hatch-cum-SUV, and in many ways, looks faster than it actually is.

All doors have smart locking/unlocking and the rear hatch is electric, but the mystery of an enormous wheel well with nothing in it is unforgiveable. There is more than enough room for a full-size spare as well as the base speaker for the doof-doof system.

Our $48-grand test car had ten thousand in extras, and much of the tasty stuff was in those optional packs. Matrix headlights, the 180watt Audi sound system, the sunroof, and even the gorgeous Navarra Blue is a tick in a box costing many monies. Does that matter? Not if you can afford it.

There is no head-up display, optional or not. All other driver and safety systems are present

FULL SPECIFICATIONS HERE: Audi_Q2_Specification_Guide_MY24_270923

The seats are part leather, and incredibly comfortable, but when set for a 6’ driver, leaves little space behind. CarPlay/Android Auto is by cable/USB so the driver has to make sure all that is set up before heading up the driveway.

Quality

Where most entry level cabins come unglued is the tacky plakky bits in about the fixtures and fittings. Scratchy plastic is like filling a Louis Vuitton travel trunk with clothes bought from Big W. It does the job but you don’t want your mates seeing it.

Audi Q2 35 has the odd hard surface that feels a bit low-rent, so my advice is to ignore it, hide that low-rent label where friends can’t see it. All other touchy-feely bits are divine.

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On the Road

It might sound slightly cheesy, but the Audi Q2 35 feels frisky. It is a car to be enjoyed because it isn’t fast. It may not be a GT but that doesn’t mean the city car doesn’t make a decent fist of highway travel.

Rough roads need a gentle hand, or more importantly, a gentle foot. The lightweight entry model can get a trifle choppy if pushed hard on a bumpy bend. No matter, it can be a joy anyway, and on smooth roads is very sporty indeed.

Take-offs can get mighty busy if the roads are moist. The front tyres sound like they’re going to fall off, such is the dramatic hullabaloo from the nether regions. As with most front-wheelers, you have to use a bit of common sense.

The cabin was fairly quiet, and although not as ethereal as the dramatic E-Tron GT, was a restful and pleasant space.

Brakes and steering feel “expensive” in a way the cheap-and-cheerful simply cannot duplicate. Cars that cost a lot have brilliant steering and brakes because the manufacturer can be lavish. You just don’t find it on entry level cars, yet here it is, tempting you to press yourself beyond your limits. And, that’s where the fun comes in. Quick corners can be had at the legal limit simply by daring the little SUV to show you what its got. Swinging I, steering in later than you normally would, makes you feel like you’re at le Mans.

Finally, fuel consumption was 9.5L/100k. That’s a bunch above the promised frugality, and a pretty poor showing for a 1.5L power plant. What’s the point of advertising 5.2L/100k if your actual is almost double that?

The Spare tyre

The massive vacant space under the rear floor is a complete mystery. There it is, all round and deep, and what does it have plonked in the middle of it? A bass speaker unit. Most brands can stick that into the spare wheel and have both.

Warranty

5 years is standard these days and most Audi service centres are quite the nice place to be. Popping in at the right time gets a pastry or sandwich, and the coffee machine does a fabulous job of impersonating a barista.

What the Gay Boys Thought.

Max:

Pushing the Audi Q2 35 to its limit is strangely satisfying. I like a rumble filling my every orifice, but the Q2 is more like a buzz. There is a touch 60’s sports car, if you squint real hard.

I liked the Audi Q2 35.

Hunter:

The Audi Q2 35 feels like a try-hard. “I think I can, I think I can,” but-cha can’t Blanche, ya can’t. It left me feeling wanting, with a slightly limp engine, lack-lustre front wheel drive, and it was all crampy-wampy in the back. If I am going to be cramped in the rear, I want to have had fun doing it.

The two-wheel drive rules the SUV out as a camping tool, so the only camping here will be the boys inside.

Nico:

Audi Q2 35 is cute, nippy, comfortable, and for a premium car, reasonably priced. The option packs are going to kill me because I am too cheap to ever order them. I’m the kinda guy who waits for the movie rather than read the book. I’m the same with the Audi Q2 35, I’d wait for a sale.

The MMI screen is not a touch screen, and the dial/toggle on the centre console is impossible to when moving. The menus are easy to use, but CarPlay is meant to have a touch screen.

The sound system was adequate.

Otherwise, full points

Alan:

Please sir, can I have some more?

Audi Q2 35 is a car I’d love to thoroughly thrash on a track such is its fab handling. The engine is a little breathless but who cares when you can keep your foot flat to the floor all day?

The updated sound system was OK but there was something still no quite right about it.

Cruisy comfort goes a long way to assuaging concerns about long distance ability. Audi Q2 35 ticked most of my boxes though I’d have liked those options to be standard. 10 grand is almost 1/5 of the base price. If you have to add that much to tailor you car to your needs, buy a different model in the range, or a different brand altogether. I’d try the Audi Q2 40 on for size.

Either way, I love the looks, the size, the shape, even if the packaging needs work.

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