Created by German magicians — the 2018 Audi Q2 TFSI Quattro Sport

SOME German magicians have created this car. The 2018 Audi Q2 TFSI Quattro Sport is quick, has great handling, and it is quite frankly scary how much power and torque it produces as a compact SUV.

The 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine produces 140kW of power and 320Nm of torque, which for the trivia buffs, is just 20Nm less than the 2.0-litre diesel variant, and it does it with a better rev range.

That phenomenal torque is driven through a 7-speed S-tronic gearbox that is smooth as silk, and delivered to the road via Audi’s famous Quattro AWD system. Fuel economy is surprisingly low at a combined 7.5-litres/100km, and we even managed 6.3-litres/100km on a few occasions.

It comes with the full arsenal of safety assistance too. With the optional assistance package, present on our test vehicle, there was autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist, high beam assist, hold assist, park assist and even a rollover sensor.

There’s a big load of lag if you come off the power too quick just before the gearbox wants to change, but the suspension is well tuned, and even though it rides high, it doesn’t feel at all top heavy.

It rides on some fine 19-inch twin 5-spoke alloy wheels, which look damn good, but if you’re not a fan, there’s a truck load of wheel options to choose from.

All right, we’ll admit it’s a little odd to get into an Audi that isn’t next level luxury and has manual seats, but the Q2 TFSI Quattro Sport fits itself into the consumer compact SUV market with aplomb, although for some it will feel way too cheap.

It’s a little quirky too. Some things are hard to find, like Sport mode (for the record there’s a little arrow at the base of the gear selector that tells you where it is).

The seats are leather appointed, in a rock grey with matching stitching, there’s black carpet and headlining, and for a small car it didn’t feel like our legs were pushing against the centre console.

There’s not much room in the rear though. Inclusions are good and the technology is great. There’s a 7-inch high resolution infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, that sits in a fixed position in the centre of the dash.

It’s a touchscreen, sort of, and that’s another one of those Audi quirks. You can touch the screen and do things to your heart’s content, until the car senses movement, and then you have to switch to the touch-pad and dial in the console.

The interface takes some getting used to as it doesn’t follow a traditional design, but once you have mastered it, there are lots of cool options to muck around with. Oh, and there’s full auto dual zone climate control, which is a super nice touch.

The vent control design is possibly one of the best things we’ve ever seen, with the outer ring around the vent being the actual control for closing off the air flow. The interior is also nicely trimmed with red accents and LED lighting.

There are USB ports for charging and mobile connectivity, a 12v socket and SD card slots for multimedia goodness, while the standard sound system is fantastic too (it can be optioned up to a 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen if you’re keen).

We had the optional Technik package included in our 2018 Audi Q2 TFSI Quattro Sport, giving us a 12.3-inch high resolution cockpit display that is astoundingly sexy, and also delivers SatNav mapping right there in front of you; but on a whole other level.

We did find a downside though; the indicator lights (on the dash). If you don’t have your seat manually adjusted as low as possible, you can’t see them properly. It’s a shame because the outside indicators are sexy, but the inside experience of them is not.

In case you were wondering, the rear indicators are dynamic (which look so cool), while the front ones are standard, both are LED. You also get LED daytime running lights flanking that unmistakable Audi front grille.

It’s here too that Audi’s design methodology kicks up a level, with harsh angular lines that give the Q2 a serious presence on the road. It won’t make you go “ooh it’s nice” on first impressions though, the two-tone C-pillar puts pave to that.

But like a fine beer, you need to take a second sip to really appreciate the full body flavour of the complete Q2 package.

It comes in a decent array of colours, as you might expect from Audi, including Brilliant Black, Ibis White, Quantum Gray, Vegas Yellow, Coral Orange, Floret Silver Metallic, Glacier White, Mythos Black, Nano Gray Metallic and Tango Red.

Two special colours are also available including the pearl effect Daytona Gray and Ara Blue Crystal (our test car). The 2018 Audi Q2 TFSI Quattro Sport has a list price of $48,500 plus on-roads, but spec it up like ours, and you’ll need to spend nearly $60,000.

That base price puts an un-specced version of the Audi Q2 variant we drove on par with the MINI Countryman Cooper S, while the optioned up cost could get you into a similarly priced and featured BMW X1 or Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 AWD.

Our test vehicle was provided by Audi Australia. To find out more about the 2018 Audi Q2 TFSI Quattro Sport, contact your local Audi dealer.

This article was originally published on Exhaust Notes Australia.