Mat Watson reviews the new Audi A2 e-tron: is it as groundbreaking as the original?
Car changing is a big deal
This is the new Audi A2 e-tron, and it’s an electric car which replaces both the A1 and the Q2. Mat Watson has been to look around the car to see how it stacks up to its competitors.
Audi has just revived the A2 as a new, entry-level electric car. I’m old enough to remember when the original A2 came out in 1999, and it was revolutionary thanks to the super-lightweight aluminium spaceframe chassis.
The question is: is this new Audi A2 e-tron just as groundbreaking? Well, I spent a day with the car to find out.
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You can see the resemblance to the original A2 straight away thanks to the stubby nose and smooth, sloped roofline, but I can also see a bit of the old Citroen C4 Picasso in the front end. I think it’s the way you have the LED daytime running lights above the hidden main beams.
It looks smart though, and I especially love the rear end of this car. The LED tail lights look great, and I like the spoiler which cuts across the rear window – another callback to the original A2. There are no fake vents here either, just some breathers to aid airflow around the car.
Moving inside, the A2 e-tron is pretty high-quality for an entry-level Audi. You get some funky fabric on the dashboard which feels good, and it’s only the lower half of the door cards where things start to get scratchy. I like the shape of the dashboard as well. The way it’s sort of scooped out makes it feel roomy, and there are some handy shortcut buttons to do things such as turning off the speed limit warning.
One thing I’m not so keen on is the shape of the screens, but this is an issue I have with all modern Audis. There’s just too much bezel around the twin displays, but at least the infotainment system itself is bright and easy to use.
Practicality is decent as well. You get something called Fidlock, which is similar to Dacia’s YouClip system where you have a variety of mounting points throughout the car to put accessories. In the front you get a cupholder which can be moved from the lower centre console into the armrest, and underneath the armrest is a massive cubby which can fit a laptop.
There’s another Fidlock mount in the rear which you can use for another cupholder, and space back there is really impressive. The A2 e-tron’s wheelbase is 20cm longer than the old Q2, and as a result you get loads of legroom. Headroom is decent as well, although I do feel as though I’m sitting a bit too low to the floor.
One thing I can’t complain about though is the quality in the back, because Audi has used the same plush-feeling materials as you get in the front seats.
You also get 396 litres of boot space, which is around 16 litres more than you get in an Audi A3 Sportback. It’s a nice square shape, although the boot lip is a bit high, and there are more Fidlock mounts which you can use for a special bag to hold the charging cables. You need to use that bag as well, because the tiny front boot isn’t big enough to fit them in. At least you get a front boot though, unlike the Volkswagen ID3.
The new Audi A2 e-tron will be available with 52, 61 and 84kWh battery packs, and the range is up to 401 miles. That’s 25 miles more than a Kia EV3, and it can charge quicker than that car as well. It’ll top up at 183kW at a DC fast charger, whereas the Kia can charge at 128kW. A 10-80% charge takes between 24 and 29 minutes depending on the model, compared to 31 minutes in the Kia EV3.
You might think comparing a Kia to an Audi is unfair, but the new A2 e-tron is actually very keenly priced. It starts from £32,200, rising to £45,000 for a top-spec model. That’s around £800 less than a Kia EV3 or Volvo EX30, and it’s almost £3,000 less than a Cupra Born.
And that leads me back to my original question: is the new Audi A2 e-tron as groundbreaking as the old A2? Well I don’t think it is. However, while journalists loved the first A2, it was a sales flop thanks to a high starting price.
The new Audi A2 e-tron costs less than most of its competitors, and on first impressions it’s a posh-feeling and spacious electric car with impressive range. I reckon it’ll sell really well.
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