Key Audi rivals BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and even Lexus have flooded the market with every conceivable size and shape of crossover SUV over the past decade or so. Yet the four-ringed brand from Ingolstadt has plugged along with just three such models: the Q3, Q5, and Q7. All three have been success stories, sure, but profit-laden variations and entries in other size classes have been conspicuous by their absence. Enter the Q2, which begins the rapid expansion of Audi’s SUV lineup.
The Q2 will be aimed at a far younger demographic than even the Q3, and it’s expected to appeal to people for whom previous Audi cars and SUVs have seemed a bit stodgy. To this point, at least in Europe, the entry-level Q2 will utilize front-wheel drive—Audi figures the target customers will see sacrificing Quattro all-wheel drive as acceptable in return for a lower price—and pack a 114-hp 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine. There are bigger, stronger four-cylinders that we’re likely to get, however, and all-wheel drive is standard on the upper trims.
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A 148-hp 1.4-liter turbo four will offer cylinder-deactivation technology that shuts off the middle two cylinders when the car’s cruising and power demands are low. (We got a deep dive on this engine a few years ago prior to its launch.) The top-spec engine is a 190-hp 2.0-liter turbo four; it will mate exclusively with all-wheel drive. It remains to be seen if Audi will offer a diesel version in our market given the VW Group’s emissions-cheating scandal, but it has spun up 1.6- and 2.0-liter options for Europe. (For what it’s worth, Audi’s U.S. chief believes diesel power has a future in America.) The 1.6 makes the same 114 horsepower as the gasoline three-cylinder, while the 2.0-liter will be available in 148- and 190-hp strengths. The 2.0-liter gas and diesel models work through a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic as standard.
The visuals represent a big step for Audi. It’s the first production car to emerge under the leadership of current design boss Marc Lichte, who took over in December 2013, although you’d be hard-pressed to find a direct relationship between the Q2 and his team’s first effort at Audi, the Prologue concept coupe. Still, the impact of Audi’s latest stylists is immediately seen in the huge, chamfered cut running down the length of the passenger compartment, where normal Audis would have their incredibly sharp tornado lines. The Q2 still has a traditional single-frame Audi grille, but it’s been tweaked, as well, with the eggshell inserts making it less conservative in design than the usual versions with horizontal chrome trim.
The Q2 will pack 14.2 cubic feet of luggage space, more even than the A3 hatchback, into a body that’s just 164.4 inches long. That’s not the shortest such measurement in Audi’s global portfolio—the three-door A1 stretches just 97.2 inches—but it’s the shortest one with a chance of being sold in the States. The shortest Audi SUV, the Q2 is a meaningful 7.8 inches tidier than the Q3, and it’s also fairly narrow, at 70.8 inches, while standing an even 60 inches tall.
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Spurred by its own research as well as the success of cars like the Mini Countryman,the BMW X1, and the Lexus NX, Audi realized the bottom end of the crossover market was fertile ground for premium entries, and premium is what the company has tried to deliver. Indeed, the small Q2 seemingly has been crammed with every piece of technology the VW Group could gin up. The top-level versions will pack Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, a 12.3-inch high-definition digital display that replaces the analog speedometer and tachometer, and which can be customized to highlight current priorities, like navigation information, trip data, or the audio system. It also offers a head-up display, to replicate the most important data higher up in the driver’s vision, as well as two sizes for the center infotainment screen sitting near the top of the dashboard. The audio system tops out at a 750-watt, 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen unit, and it is controlled, as in other Audis, by a rotary knob on the center tunnel. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as in-car Wi-Fi connectivity, are also on the menu.
The Q2 is based on the VW Group’s MQB architecture, which allowed Audi to dive into the family parts bin for additional technologies like self-parking for both parallel and perpendicular spaces, as well as a radar system capable of warning the driver—and automatically braking—when a potential crash is detected when backing the vehicle out of those same places. The Q2 also offers emergency collision braking and mitigation for cars and pedestrians, and its automatic adaptive cruise control will brake, accelerate, and steer at speeds of up to 40 mph.
Having been remarkably tardy to the crossover party in general with its other three models, Audi is something closer to fashionably late with the Q2 in the subcompact segment. But it is only the beginning for the brand’s Q lineup—Audi’s short-term plans call for a Tesla-fighting Q6 and a replacement for the long-in-the-tooth Q5, and sporty Q4 and Q8 models may also appear in the near future. Indeed, the flood of SUVs shows no signs of abating.
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