► Yes, Audi still makes the Q2
► Stylish and well-made but pricey
► Still popular in its old age
Few carmakers can keep their ageing models on sale as successfully as Audi. Its smallest SUV, the Q2, is now nine years old and it’ll soon be five years since it even had its last facelift. Pretty wild numbers considering Chinese companies can launch two generations of the same car in that time.
But despite its age, buyers don’t seem to care as Audi is still churning the Q2 out at an impressive rate – it sold more than 10,500 of them in the UK in 2024 alone. Do buyers know something we don’t?
At a glance
Pros: Great interior quality, good to drive, big boot
Cons: Its interior looks as old as it is, tight on rear space, rubbish ride on the biggest wheels
What’s new?
Audi has now confirmed it will kill off the Q2 in 2026 alongside its A1, but you can see the logic in wanting to keep them on sale for as long as physically possible – they were still the German firm’s fifth and third best-sellers respectively in Britain last year.
It was only a pretty incremental update update back in 2020, too. Put the original Q2 and facelift next to each other and you’ll see all that really happened was a refinement of the Q2’s styling features. The Audi family grille is now bigger and sharper, and it leads into headlights that are now full LED across the range. Larger, pentagonal air intakes sit on either side of the grille, and a new crease has been pressed into the side panel.
Audi also bolstered equipment levels with standard electric lumbar support, a powered tailgate and a 12.3-inch instrument cluster as standard. The Q2 has also been adapted to meet GSR2 safety and security regulations, with mandatory speed assistance bonging and lane assist now included.
What are the specs?
The Q2 has been available with a good range of engines over the years, but Audi has settled on two petrol engines in its latter years unless you want the 300bhp SQ2 that is.
Choice consists of the 30 TFSI and 35 TFSI, or – in plain English – a 114bhp 1.0-litre or 148bhp 1.5-litre. Both use a six-speed manual as standard, with a seven-speed S tronic automatic available on the more powerful option. All regular Q2s these days are front-wheel-drive, you’ll have to go back a few years if you want one that’s a quattro. Showing the Q2’s age, there’s no hybrid technology here, even of the mildest kind.
A 1.0-litre engine is a bit small in something like the Q2, taking 10.5-seconds to reach 62mph, so we’d recommend the 1.5-litre for its extra punch, dropping the 0-62mph time to 8.6 seconds. Running costs are similar for both, too, with claimed fuel economy in the high 40s. You’ll get that on a run but expect around 45mpg in day-to-day driving.
How does it drive?
It’s better to drive than a lot of its small SUV rivals, and it could show plenty of them a thing or two. It doesn’t drive all that differently from an Audi A3, which isn’t a bad thing at all – feeling a lot like a hatchback through the corners despite its slightly raised suspension.
The steering has a surprising amount of heft to it, which probably isn’t great if you exclusively potter around town, but out on the open road it’s actually quite entertaining. There’s plenty of feel through the wheel and lots of grip in the wet. Plenty of ticks for the Q2 in this respect.
Though the ride on the largest 19-inch alloy wheels is pretty dire, the ride on our our S line-spec test car on 18s and sports suspension wasn’t bad at all. It feels well resolved and strays the fine line between being firm and overly floaty well. Pity the front seats are so shallow, lacking leg support for taller drivers.
The engines aren’t exactly a high point, either, with the standard 1.0-litre feeling a bit slow and the 1.5-litre quite boomy. The S tronic automatic gearbox is also quite hesitant. We suspect a manual 1.5-litre is the way to go, though haven’t been able to try it out yet.
What’s the interior like?
If you resent modern cars for their lack of buttons and enormous screens, the Q2 could be the car for you. Feeling practically archaic compared to similarly-sized rivals such as a Hyundai Kona and Peugeot 2008, it feels like a relic of a bygone era with its tiny touchscreen, though the digital instrument cluster remains pin sharp and still among the best dial display.
We mourn the lack of a physical click wheel controller for the screen, though, which survived the Q2’s facelift but was quietly ripped out of it last year and a small storage space put in its place. Not progress.
But there are lots of physical buttons for changing drive modes and climate control. The quality remains excellent, too, as it’s from a time when cost-cutting wasn’t of such paramount importance – meaning lots of soft-touch materials and smart silver detailing. I’m still not sure any small SUV has such an upmarket-feeling interior. It feels like an old-school Audi – nicer than a new A3, in fact – and that’s a damn good thing.
Rear space is quite tight and only really suitable for smaller adults and children – making this an SUV best for younger families before it’ll soon be outgrown. The boot is also a useful size, seeming larger than its 405 litres suggests because of its flexible boot floor.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
Posh small rivals (especially those with engines) are still surprisingly few and far between. BMW and Mercedes’ smallest SUVs, the X1 and GLA respectively are now far larger cars than the Audi Q2 while the new Mini Countryman has grown to a point where it can’t really be considered a rival.
The Volkswagen T-Roc and Lexus LBX hybrid are the two closest things to the Q2, with prices higher than both at £30,070 – rather a lot of money for something of this size, though this Audi’s residuals have always been – and remain – exceptional even as it gets on in age.
Trim levels consist of Sport, S line and Black Edition. Sport comes equipped with 17-unch alloy wheels, a full digital instrument cluster and 8.3-inch touchscreen and an electric boot. S line trim brings the usual sportier touches such as a bodykit, larger 19-inch alloy wheels and sports suspension for a £32,520 starting price.
The top-spec Black Edition is mainly all about style with its big 19-inch alloy wheels, black styling package and flat-bottomed steering wheel for £34,220. In terms of option packs, it’s worth speccing the £1,295 Technology Pack for its Sonos sound system, reversing camera and heated front seats, though it means if you’re not careful it’s very easy to spend £40,000 on a Q2, and you can get a well-specced Audi Q3.
Verdict
Time has been kind to the Audi Q2, as it must be said it usually is for this German firm’s ageing models. Even at nine years old this Audi still has a higher-quality interior than any other small SUV rivals and it’s better to drive than most.
But there’s no denying the tech and the general interface feel quite old now, but equally that makes it quite attractive to the many car buyers that aren’t as au fait with technology – or just don’t want it. For those, the Q2 could be an appealing antidote.
It’s just a shame Audi neglected to update it regularly as it should, or even launch a second-generation. Given its successful sales anyway – and buyers’ general love for premium small cars – it feels like Audi signed its death warrant on a car that it failed to give the time it deserved.
*Specs are for Audi Q2 S line 35 TFSI S tronic*