Driving into and across the city in the Audi Q2 compact SUV, the sun was rising over Glasgow.
The pink morning sun lit it up splendidly. Its towers and spires glittered and windows in the high buildings sparkled. Glasgow’s beautiful sandstone architecture burned in the soft early light.
All was well with the world – and with this lovely car I was driving – one of the few on the road at this unearthly hour, just me and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds on the radio.
There is something quite magical about a drive like this when the world around you seems so at peace and the car you are driving matches the moment. You feel you could drive on forever.
The Audi Q2 slips along silently and efficiently. It may have been a latecomer to the Audi SUV stable but it is now the best seller – and it’s easy to see why.
It sits neatly on the road with a smallish footprint for such a capable car. There is lots of chrome front and rear in this S Line trim which sports the signature Q2 silver blade insert on the side and the whole lot sits on rather fetching 19ins matt titanium alloys.
It has a neat and elegant look with Audi’s expected stylish finish. Inside, the Q2 is a delight – very driver focused with plenty of soft touch areas.
There are S, for S Line, design cues on the sills and the black Alcantara leather seats have grey stitching with further S logos. A brushed matt aluminium finish sweeps across the dash which houses the 8.3ins colour infotainment screen.
Easy to access via a rotary dial at your fingertips, it offers DAB, FM and a wide variety of radio stations plus sat nav, online weather, traffic information and smartphone connectivity.
You can also customise the instrument binnacle behind the leather clad steering wheel so that sat nav information is right in front of you.
The S Line I was driving featured a rearview camera and parking sensors, an excellent system for supermarket car parks and great for drivers who cringe at reversing.
The interior is spacious and in this particular car, the feeling was enhanced by a panoramic roof – an option at £810 – which added to the airiness.
Boot space comes in at 405 litres but jumps to 1050 with the back seats down. The rear hatch can be opened automatically from the key fob, a very handy piece of kit for people regularly lugging shopping or sports gear around.
Indeed there is very little Audi have not thought of in this car.
Unsurprisingly the Q2 is a great little mover whether it is in normal mode or sport which really ramps up the power and there are piles of safety features and driver aids available.
It responds incredibly well to all you ask of it whether it be motorway or hairpin driving and it is particularly soothing in the early morning when you just want to get in and get going.
Maggie Barry
Journalist
Maggie Barry is an Award winning journalist, she regularly travels in Europe and beyond to test drive cars. A former lecturer in journalism and motoring editor of Media Scotland she has written for and contributed to the Daily Record and Sunday Mail among others. She is on the panel judging the Scottish Car of the Year and Women’s World Car of the Year. She lives near Glasgow with her husband and several cars.
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