Audi’s new SQ2 blends hot hatch elements with those of a compact high performance SUV. Richard Bosselman tries it for size.
WHAT'S NEW?
Don’t misinterpret the SQ2; it’s not a sign that Audi is giving up on traditional hot hatches.
What you see here is a Plan B. The one enacted if all arguments for buying a pepped-up A3 get stonewalled, perhaps on grounds that kind of car just isn’t practical enough now you have ‘‘responsibilities’’ (translation: more than yourself to think about). Or maybe, with national car buyer tastes having swerved so patently toward taller cars with an air of off-road ability, the SQ2 is perceived to be more on trend.
Either way, this new addition to the Q2 family is intended to provide an alternate route to the same destination as, say, an S3 hatch.
It’s a sports utility yes, but really the classification is simply for convenience and nothing more. What you’re getting is one of the most ‘‘car-like’’ hot crossovers/SUVs around with enough on-road talent to face up to more orthodox GTi cars.
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO LOOK AT?
The Q2 has a clearly defined role. It’s all about winning interest from a young — or young at heart — buyer seeking a fresher, more stylish alternative to larger Audi SUVs.
For all that, it cannot stray too far from the pack. Audi styling ethos demands that the Q2 must pick up all the decorative cues that come with larger models; and because it is in the SUV sub-clan, it also has to affect a similar silhouette to the other Q models, even the big daddy Q7 and Q8.
Still, this ‘‘S’’ treatment delivers quite a different look than you get with the standard Q2. It’s hardly all out malevolent, but it is somewhat less mumsy.
With a suspension that’s 20mm lower than standard, it puts hardly any more air between the ground and chassis than an RS3. Extrovert alloys kitted with low-profile rubber are delivered, it has a performance bodykit with a more pronounced front splitter. Four exhaust pipes is the standard, and red brake calipers are also included.
Additionally, the black exterior detailing of the grille, air intakes, door mirrors and side blades lift the appearance nicely.
WHAT'S IT LIKE INSIDE?
As expected from a premium car maker, the quality of the interior is, save some cheaper plastics in the lower sections, of a very high standard. The standard Q2’s bugbear of dated instrument and infotainment graphics escapes the SQ2, as it takes the Virtual Cockpit treatment that’s a cost extra option on cheaper editions. The usual sporty garnishes lift the dashboard architecture and everything works intuitively.
Q2’s application as a front row family car has never been strong. Packing requirements undermine this more. Having all-wheel drive running gear and an exhaust backbox eats into already modest boot capacity and the sporty driver’s seat probably reduces rear legroom even more than the standard item.
Rear seat passengers do OK for headroom and if you’re only going to put kids in the back of it on occasion, that’d be OK. But three adults across the rear bench would be a squeeze.
WHAT COMES AS STANDARD?
Nappa leather is standard and it has lots of sporty touches — ‘‘S’’ logos embossed into the front seats and a three spoke, flat bottomed steering wheel.
The 12.3 inch Audi virtual cockpit display offers three different views, including a screen that places the tachometer front and centre. The most important information is also visible in a head-up display, available as an option.
The MMI navigation plus has an 8.3-inch display which integrates iOS and Android mobile phones with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto environments into the car’s system.
Driver assistance systems include Audi pre-sense city, which uses radar to recognise hazardous situations that can occur with pedestrians or vehicles in front of the car. The system warns the driver acoustically and visually, and initiates emergency braking if necessary. Park, side and active lane assist also come as standard.
WHAT'S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?
In a word, playful.
The performance imprint begins with how you place behind the wheel. The primary chair and the seating position that can be achieved with it are magnificent, not least because you can set it so low it feels like a true sports car.
This hot hatch imprint maintains with the driving, where the SQ2 feels incredibly lively and involving. As I was reminded, part of this is surely because it is only 95kg heavier than an S3 Sportback — that’s basically one passenger’s worth of ballast, and the fat wodge of torque negates the possible issues that weight gain might have on performance.
It is properly fizzy in any gear, any drive mode and at any engine speed. The zip is accentuated by a beautiful note from those quad exhausts, and though the sound is artificially enhanced, everything else this impressive package delivers in 100 percent real.
The fact that the SQ2 can blast off to 100kmh in 4.8 seconds is remarkable on paper and mind-boggling on the road, but all the more impressive is its torque and how it applies. There’s so much low-down pulling power. And yet it doesn’t mind being wrung out to the redline, too.
And, it handles superbly, with body control especially impressive when you’re hurling it around. The quattro side of things is as emphatically attuned to fast road driving as the drivetrain and the ‘S-specific’ steering.
You feel confident enacting rapid direction changes as it never returns feeling of top-heaviness or wobble.
Grip is, naturally, unflappable — name one quattro car that doesn’t deliver thus — and you can feel the Haldex system metering the power among the wheels under heavy load. If the front wheels lose grip, the multi-plate clutch can transfer up to 100% of the force to the rear within just a few milliseconds.
Sure, the ride quality is firm, almost too unyielding at low speed. It would probably benefit from taking the S3’s Magnetic Ride adaptive dampers. About the only area where it betrays its crossover DNA is on the brakes, but even on this score it betters average.
VERDICT?
The challenges are the size: It’s too small, really, to pass muster as a fully-committed family car. Conversely, it carries a rather large price tag for something so petite. Live with those factors and you’re in for a world of fun. The SQ2 absolutely ticks the box as a spirited, feisty slightly
high-set hot hatch.
- David Thomson
Photos: Audi
