Audi has moved into the small crossover segment with its new Q2. The good news is that it's coming to South Africa.

The Q2 – an all-new offering from the Ingolstadt-based brand – has just been revealed at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. If the A3-based Q3 is either too grown up for young trendy urbanites' tastes orlarger than what their lifestyles require, the Q2 may suit them down to a tee. Expect the latest technological features in terms of infotainment, connectivity and safety assistance systems from Audi's arsenal.The styling is unmistakably Audi and the trademark LED lights are present, both at the front and at the rear. As an option,Audi can also supply dynamic turn signals at the rear that pulse (as opposed to flash).

Despiteits(presumably light hatchback) underpinnings, the Q2 is said to offerreasonable space. Theluggage compartment can accommodate up to 405L in cargo and when you fold the rear bench down, there's 1 050 litres of utility space. Your options include an electrically-operatedtailgate and a three-way split of the second row of seats.

Technology

In terms of driver assistance, you get Pre-sense that automatically applies the brakes when the Q2 detects there are pedestrians inits path. There's also adaptive cruise control with Stop and Go functionality and the Traffic Jam Assist is quite novel: it takes over steering duties in bumper-to-bumper traffic at speeds of up to 65 kph. There's also traffic sign recognition technology and the latest version of auto parking that will take the challenge out of parallel parking.

In terms of infotainment and driver assistance systems, you can opt for the 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit digital interface as well as an all-new head-up display that provides info such as navigation, speed and warnings. MMI navigation Plus with the MMI touch function is the flagship infotainment setup, which includes a wi-fi hotspot that will allow passengers in the Audi Q2 to surf the web with their mobile devices. The online services of Audi Connect can also be accessed via the MMI touch –the functions range from traffic and parking-space information to navigation with Google Earth.

Powerplant and transmission options

In terms of engines, there will be six powerplants available from launch. There will be three TFSI turbopetrols and three TDI turbodiesel motors with outputs ranging from 81 kW to 140 kW. The petrol range starts with the three cylinder 1.0-litre turbo and goes up to a 2.0-litre, which has a 140-kW peak power output. The entry-level turbodiesel is a 85-kW 1.6-litre unit, followed bya 2.0-litre engine that comes in two states of tune: 110 kW and 140 kW. There are two gearboxes available: a six-speed manual and a seven-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission.

Availability in South Africa

The new Audi Q2 is assembled at the home of Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany and will come to South Africa in the first quarter of 2017.

More Content

See how the Audi Q2 fits into the brand's Five Year plan here.

Read a review of the Audi Q3 here.

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