Humans are incredibly complex. Thanks to natural selection our genes have mutated and evolved enough to give us a conscience, self-awareness, and the brains to invent the computers you’re reading my stupid stories on. We might look down on other species because they aren’t as smart as us, but that’s just nonsense. People like to tell themselves that so that they don’t have to face the truth that we aren’t so different from apes. Because even though we are different from one another, the genetic differences between us and everything around us aren’t as great as you think. First of all, you and the person right next to you share 99.9% of the same genetic code. To further my point, there is 80% of genetic similarity between a human and a cow. So when you insult the lady who cut you off at the intersection of being a stupid cow, you’re actually implying that she’s only 20% different from you. What I’m trying to say with this is, that life comes in many different kinds of ways, and even though the difference between a banana and a human might look massive, the real difference, at the atomic level, isn’t actually that big. A difference of only 40% to be exact. In short, you were lucky, you could have been a banana.

Two weeks ago, I tried the Volkswagen T-Roc, which I didn’t like. The T-Roc is built on a chassis called the MQB, it’s a modular chassis, meaning that it can be used for many different cars of all different shapes and sizes, for example, the Audi Q2 shares the same platform. It doesn’t take an IQ in the three digits to deduce that the Audi Q2 will be a rotten banana, like the T-Roc, unless Audi manages to modify enough of its DNA and turn it into a good car. 

From the start, I wasn’t very enthusiastic because the Q2 is an SUV and I don’t believe in SUVs. But I was pleasantly surprised. 
To begin with, the ride wasn’t as backbreaking as the T-Stone. The suspension was very good at absorbing the bumps and the holes in the road, but it was also relatively stiff, overlapping on sporty. 
Staying on the topic of sporty things, the chassis was well balanced and performed very well on twisty roads. All that paired with the Dynamic driving mode made for some impressive performance, especially coming from a car that, in the VW family tree, is right next to the T-Pebble.
The previously mentioned Dynamic mode is one of the two options given to the driver. It stiffens the steering, but doesn’t make it more communicative, and makes the automatic transmission do some sportier stuff. The other option is Comfort mode, and that’s for everyday driving. It gives the car a much lighter steering, and shifts in a more fuel-efficient manner. I’d personally prefer having no Driving modes at all, I find it weird to change the personality of the car with the click of a button. But it’s trendy now, I understand that, so I’ll accept it.

The interior is not bad, but it isn’t great either. It is the lower end of Audi’s fleet after all so don’t expect luxury. You sit upright and have a good amount of space in the cabin. The sterling wheel is fully adjustable and so are the two front seats. The Q2 I drove didn’t have all the options so I had a lot of empty spaces in the dashboard that would be filled in if you were to buy a Q2 with a higher price tag. But, starting at 29000€, the materials don’t feel expensive enough.

It isn’t pretty, but it isn’t bad looking either. It’s just an SUV with an Audi logo that vaguely resembles the VW T-Stone. So that’s a shame. But what else could they do, really? Underneath It’s basically the same car as VW’s, the possibilities weren’t endless, they did a good job with what they had.

I took it on a twisty mountain road to see how seriously it took the S from SUV. And it didn’t disappoint. It’s stable, grips well, and doesn’t feel as big as it is. I didn’t like the engine because it’s a diesel and they shouldn’t exist, but objectively, it wasn’t bad at all. Good enough power and torque, didn’t sound like a tractor, and it didn’t vibrate much. The stiff suspensions were great, really handled the weight of the car well without too much body roll. That also means that they are a little too stiff for everyday city driving, in my opinion. The ones buying this car aren’t going to use it the way I did. A mother buying a new practical car because she just got her first kid, isn’t going to hit 70Km/h mid-chicane because she thinks it’s fun. So, stiff suspensions on a utility car like this one are useless. But I digress.

All in all, it was a good car. Surprisingly good considering how deeply rooted its identity is to the absolutely terrible T-Roc. Audi took the DNA of the VW and did what science, or God, did to the banana to make a Human. They made something considerably better, while still sharing the genetic code of a failure.

Max,