Audi Q2 review

The Q2 range starts at £24,635 and tops out at £34,640. There are four trim levels on the Q2 – Technik, Sport, S Line and Black Edition models. Each adds around £2k over the previous trim on a like-for-like basis. All are front-wheel drive, and you get 16in alloys, a seven-inch media screen, aircon, rear parking sensors, cruise control and a powered tailgate (what you’ll need that for we don’t know, it only makes getting stuff in and out of the boot a lot slower).

The Sport trim adds 17in wheels, the digital instrument panel, rear parking sensors and sport seats along with some styling tweaks, while S Line gets you 18in wheels, sportier suspension, LED rear lights and ambient interior lighting. The Black Edition adds further styling tweaks, 19in alloys and a flat-bottomed sporty steering wheel.

There is also the 296bhp SQ2 performance version that we’ve reviewed separately, that car starts at a punchy £41,775.

Which one should I go for?

We like the 1.0-litre 3cyl engine just because it’s a bit more characterful. Of course, if you rev it too much that 48mpg WLTP rating will suffer greatly. Around 40mpg should be possible, and we got 35mpg out of the 1.5-litre car in Efficiency mode with its cylinder deactivation and coasting tricks. Sport trim offers the best balance of value and kit, keeping you away from the larger wheel sizes that wreck the ride quality.

Having said all that, we’d strongly urge you to have a look at the A3 hatchback while you’re in the Audi showroom, or have a good old think about the Ford Puma, Mazda CX-3 or the BMW X1, which all fulfil the same sort of remit as the Q2 but simply do it better.