Audi Q2 on sale in UK priced from £22,380

Audi is offering the Q2 with its variable damper technology, helping to broaden the car’s breadth of on-road abilities. Sports suspension that lowers ride height by 10mm is available, while variable-ratio steering comes as standard.

The Q2 can be cycled through four drive modes: Auto, Comfort, Dynamic and Efficiency. Cars equipped with Audi’s latest MMI infotainment system have an additional Individual mode that allows drivers to customise settings to their preferences.

Video analysis

Audi says the Q2 has the ability to venture off-road. When the electronic stability control (ESC) is set to off-road mode, the car’s drivetrain adjusts to work in slippery conditions and ground clearance is increased to 200mm. Nevertheless, the Q2's Pirelli P Zero road tyres confirm its true purpose.

A long list of safety and driver assistance features are fitted to the Q2, many of which are new to this class. Heading the list is a pedestrian and collision prevention automatic braking function, with traffic jam assist and adaptive cruise control making use of the same hardware.

Additionally, the Q2 gets camera-based active lane assist and traffic sign recognition technology, with parking assist systems also available.

Inside, Audi’s optional virtual cockpit and head-up display will allow drivers to customise displays to show things such as sat-nav and media information. Additionally, cars equipped with MMI infotainment will be able to stream online media and connect with smartphones via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Design

The rugged-looking small SUV is smaller than an A3 Sportback and weighs just 1205kg.

Audi says the new model has been built to cater for the demands of young, urban drivers, and hopes it will draw new buyers to the brand. As such, it gets a distinctive exterior that introduces several new design traits.

At the front, there’s a new single-frame grille with polygon details, and the headlights are slightly more squared off than those of recent Audi models. Further back, there’s an Audi R8-style contrastingly coloured blade on the C-pillar, and the tail-lights premiere a new design, with Audi’s latest 'swooping' indicators.

The car’s overall shape is distinctive in Audi’s line-up, largely due to its taut proportions, but also thanks to a hunched shoulder-line that features a unique sliced section.

Function follows form; the new Q2 benefits from a raft of practicality-boosting features. Audi claims that the car’s small SUV roofline means interior headroom is more generous than the A3’s, and clever packaging enables the boot to swallow 405 litres of luggage. Optional 40/20/40 folding rear seats increase flexibility for storage, while also enabling that maximum volume to grow to 1050 litres.

The bootlid has a deliberately wide opening for easy access, and the tailgate can be powered.

The car comes as a five-door five-seater only, with front-wheel drive the default set-up.

Rivals

The Q2 is a unique offering in the compact crossover segment, because its cabin and engine line-up are more comparable with larger models. As a result, similarly sized models such as the Skoda Yeti start at significantly less - the entry-level Yeti retails for £17,210, which is £3020 less than the base Q2 - and even the larger Nissan Qashqai starts at a comparably cheap £18,545.