March 29, 2024

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Audi Q2 2020 review, first drive

The Audi Q2 is the latest, and smallest, addition to the brand’s Q household of SUVs and crossovers in India. Audi has relished sizeable results with its luxurious SUVs in India. Initial arrived the significant, gen-just one Q7, adopted by the ‘right-sized’ Q5, and then the compact, but beautifully packaged Q3. Whilst all a few have done alternatively effectively in this article, and the Q7 and Q5 are effectively into their next technology, the Q2 is unique kettle of fish.

Audi Q2 Exterior Style

Indeed, it is an SUV, and evidently an Audi much too, but not like the relaxation of the household, it does not fairly follow the same laws of arithmetic, or for that matter, geometric progression. So, whilst the Q7, Q5 and Q3 use the same standard components, adapted for dimensions and spec, the Q2 is intended to charm to a unique kind of purchaser. One who is young in tactic, much more appreciative of an edgy design and, importantly, another person who sees genuine merit in compactness.

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It’s fairly a forward-hunting design by Audi’s conservative standards, but it is not genuinely loud or in your experience possibly.

Whilst the Q2 is intended to be unique, it is however an Audi, and as a result is not a design that shouts out loud or attracts attention to by itself. That ice-cool, understated Audi demeanour is there in spades and the much more you glance at the Q2, the much more you recognize its chiselled attributes. Whilst the Q2 may only be 4.two metres extended, it has a powerful shoulder line, gently bulging wheel arches and quick roofline. And then there is the vast rectangular nose with its numerous trapezoidal information.

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‘T’ shaped motif in headlight also seen in the tail-gentle.

Audi designers have also delivered a good deal of interplay in between gentle and shade. The flanks of the Q2 glance like they’ve been labored on with a big chisel, and these scooped out sections glance fantastic, specially with their sharp cuts and ridges catching the gentle. The ‘T’ shaped sample in the headlights and tail-lights also function effectively, and even though the Q2 is neither an SUV nor a hatch, it is comfortable in its own pores and skin and not uncomfortable hunting a malady suffered by a very good lots of crossovers.

Audi Q2 Interior and Capabilities

The Q2 may be small on the outside and only has as a lot place on the within as your normal mid-dimensions household SUV, but offered the shadow it casts on the ground, packaging is however very good. There is much more than enough location for those sat up entrance, equally entrance seats are very supportive and comfortable, and getting the appropriate driving situation is also simple. The India-spec automobile, nonetheless, has no powered seats – a stunning omission, and there is no touchscreen possibly almost certainly in an work to maintain the cost in examine.

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Visibility out is excellent seat is put at a peak, and the A pillar is slender.

The a bit elevated driving situation, nonetheless, feels just appropriate. Visibility up entrance is exceptional and the sprint does not feel to be much too in your experience possibly. It’s aesthetically satisfying on the within much too. Good quality degrees are virtually as very good as they are in an A4, and the sprint even has some of the TT’s vibe, with its rotary simply click-to-shut vents. The good quality of the delicate-leading sprint and the in shape and end of the numerous chrome things make this a cabin you want to contact and really feel all the time, and this is specifically legitimate of the nicely set-jointly flat-bottom steering wheel that feels fantastic to keep. The knurled metallic knobs and dials on the centre console are also a delight to use, and however the LED inlay in the sprint feels a little bit gimmicky, the snakeskin-like outcome is fairly intriguing.

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Medium-dimensions sunroof brightens up the or else dingy and dim all-black cabin.

In addition, you get Audi’s Virtual Cockpit – the configurable, fully electronic instrument panel, a wi-fi charging tray in the elbow box and, however it is not fairly panoramic, there is a large sunroof much too. Rear visibility, with those significant C pillars and the slot-like rear windscreen is weak, however.

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Legroom is decent but backrest is upright and the seat is not much too comfortable.

Now evidently, you would not invest in a Q2 to be chauffeur driven in. That claimed, there is enough place in the rear to be reasonably comfortable. Headroom is decent, there is some surplus knee place, and considering that you can set your feet less than the entrance seats, you can even stretch out a little bit. The seat base is small, nonetheless, and the backrest is a little bit upright, so no extended drives with people sat in the rear. And it also feels a little bit a little bit dim and dingy in the again. Also, whilst there are USB sockets in the rear, equally are Form C units, so you will want adapters.

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405-litre boot is nicely shaped and you get a place-saver spare tyre much too.

Whilst the boot is effectively shaped and simple to load, and you get a decent 405 litres, it is only significant adequate to have a pair of large baggage in the again. Must you want much more place, you can fold the seatback down. So that you never get stranded with a puncture, there is also a place-saver spare tyre put down below the boot ground.

Audi Q2 Engine and Overall performance

With all its energy and the taut chassis, the Q2 conjures up a good deal of thrills for the driver. A great deal of this is down to its 192hp energy output –strong adequate for an SUV that guidelines the scales at just 1,430kg. The two.-litre engine is a common just one. Powering all manner of Audi, VW and Skoda products and solutions, from the A6 to the Tiguan AllSpace to the Octavia RS and every thing in in between, this is just one of the very best 4-cylinder engines all around.

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The Q2 is a pleasure to travel.

Idle is vibration absolutely free and refined, there is virtually no lag, and responses are so fast, it does not really feel turbocharged. There is no sudden spike in energy when the raise arrives in, almost certainly down to the BS6 tune, but there is however is a obvious ramp up just after two,000rpm, and then effectiveness rises steeply all the way to the conservative six,200rpm redline. What adds in to the practical experience is that the engine just loves to rev. There is an enthusiasm in this article, as it winds up the powerband, that you’d normally uncover only in a the natural way aspirated engine, and however the acceleration does not fairly toss you again in your seat, effectiveness is however extremely urgent.

A quick test we carried out disclosed a -100kph time of eight.08 seconds, but with a much better launch, the Q2 has the potential to be a lot closer to its claimed time of six.five seconds. The Q2 also, expectedly, arrives with a dual-clutch gearbox, which is quick on the attract throughout normal driving, and enables you to snap through the gears neatly. What takes away from the driving practical experience, nonetheless, is that at occasions it can be unwilling to change down. This happens just when you want it most when you want to brake, downshift and get into a corner, and this can be fairly frustrating.

Audi Q2 effectiveness (as analyzed)*
-20kph 1.04s
-40kph two.23s
-60kph 3.66s
-80kph five.60s
-100kph eight.08s
-120kph eleven.79s
twenty-80kph (in kickdown) five.00s
forty-100kph (in kickdown) six.79s

*Overall performance figures not to Autocar India test standards

Audi Q2 Comfort and Handling

What impresses is that the suspension rides silently about various of the lousy patches we experience. Whilst it’s rather absorbent, there is some total of stiffness in this article, and this reveals up about some of the sharper-edged bumps. Also, whilst there is a little bit of roll in corners, overall body handle in standard is extremely very good. In simple fact, the moment you get caught in, it feels much more like a sporting hatch than an SUV. The extended-vacation suspension is kept on a restricted leash and the Q2 settles down immediately just after that original little bit of roll. And considering that there is a good deal of grip, you can set the energy down fairly nicely much too.

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Overall body handle in standard is extremely very good but there is some stiffness felt.

The steering could do with a little bit much more opinions however, and the Q2 starts to understeer if you push more challenging. Still, the driving practical experience in standard is so satisfying, this is a automobile you just like to travel immediately, be it in a straight line or all around a series of nicely meandering corners.

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The Q2 will have a niche charm for those hunting for a little bit of entertaining.

It’s critical to take note, nonetheless, that whilst the badge on the grille states Quattro, this is not just one of Audi’s common, whole-time all-wheel-travel units. As opposed to the arrangement applied on its larger cars, which use a longitudinally mounted engine and a Torsen-centered Quattro process, the Q2 is centered on the VW Group’s MQB platform, and so arrives with a transverse engine, a entrance-biased setup, and an on-desire AWD process centered on a multi-plate clutch.

Audi Q2 Value and Verdict

At an envisioned starting off cost of Rs 35 lakh, ex-showroom, Audi’s imported Q2 is not for those hunting for value for cash. Unlikely to be a rational choice, it is focused much more at self-driven entrepreneurs who want a compact luxurious crossover with very good effectiveness, simple every day usability and a high-good quality cabin. For your cash, you get a high-driving automobile, an added dose of pleasure many thanks to the peppy petrol and comparatively gentle fat (which, frankly, is central to its charm), and it feels agile from at the rear of the wheel much too.

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It ought to have been far better geared up at this cost, and there will be a delicate facelift out internationally at all around the same time the Q2 goes on sale in India, which clients are unlikely to be happy about. But if compactness is a virtue, and at occasions it certainly is, the Q2 could be the compact luxurious crossover you are hunting for.

Also see:

Audi Q2 India video clip evaluate

Audi Q2 India launch on Oct 16, 2020

Audi Q2 bookings open up booking total established at Rs two lakh

2020 Audi Q2 facelift receives delicate design updates