Why so few Audi A2s?

[TTwiggy]

I'm really keen to pick up an early, cheap (circa £2Kish) A2 to run alongside my Boxster, to save on fuel/tax/insurance etc.

But can I find any?

There's 98 R8s for sale on here, but just 21 A2s. Were not many made? Or are people just hanging on to them?

When I had my TT (in around 2003), they were the default courtesy cars for all the Audi dealerships.

[Mr Gear]

They were expensive when new, so no-one bought them, and they went for Polos or other such crap instead. Audi got burnt, and they will think twice about making an innovate small car ever again, realising the car-buying public have a total lack of imagination.

Good luck finding one. They are great cars.

[CampDavid]

They were a bit early. Very expesive to build and buy and never really found large levels of interest. Only seat 4 as well, while the A class seated 5 - therefor my folks bought the A-class.

Now they're economy and low tax have really caught on.

Personally I think it's a shame - it's exactly the car Audi should build, clever, inovative and a little off the wall. Instead we get the Skoda in a suit stbox that is the A1. Go figure

[kambites]

I think it was a car before its time - fuel prices were too low at the time for it to be worth the high purchase cost. If it was released now with a modern small diesel engine, I suspect it'd sell pretty well.

[TTwiggy]

I believe the (rare) 1.2 Tdi could get close to 100mpg? Put that in your Prius and smoke it!

For my budget I'm looking at 1.4 petrols (which is a bit of a shame, as I love the 3 pot sound of the diesel), but that still gets over 40mpg combined.

Any issues to be aware of? I had a similar era TT, and baring the dashpod issue, it was a very well built car.

[Mr Gear]

TTwiggy said:

I believe the (rare) 1.2 Tdi could get close to 100mpg? Put that in your Prius and smoke it!

Indeed! And Audi, in thier wisdom, never made it available in the UK! It was the engine the car was designed for, and we got the stupid 1.6 petrol instead! Own goal!

[kambites]

I think the official figure was 94mpg, so similar to the Insight (which of course had less seats). No idea what they do in practice, though.

[vescaegg]

Because they look like this

[thinfourth2]

Mr Gear said:

They were expensive when new, so no-one bought them, and they went for Polos or other such crap instead. Audi got burnt, and they will think twice about making an innovate small car ever again, realising the car-buying public have a total lack of imagination.

Good luck finding one. They are great cars.

You could be right

vescaegg said:

Because they look like this

[kambites]

[clonmult]

vescaegg said:

Because they look like this

They don't look great, but then the new A1 doesn't exactly stir any thoughts, the Merc A class is bland, heck - virtually everything in the class is lacking in any design flair.

The A2 dared to be slightly different, its well packaged, economical, handles and rides well (colleague has one). As others have said, it was effectively a car before its time.

[TTwiggy]

vescaegg said:

Because they look like this

I'm not buying it to look at.

Although I actually think they've got a certain charm. Much better than the current crop of Audis (IMHO) with their huge grills and aggressive 'considerably richer than you' styling.

[stewjohnst]

iirc didn't they also require you to lift the body off for major servicing too?

Not one for the home mechanic unless all that's in your tool box is an oil rag and a bottle of anti-freeze.

[Mr Gear]

stewjohnst said:

iirc didn't they also require you to lift the body off for major servicing too?

Not one for the home mechanic unless all that's in your tool box is an oil rag and a bottle of anti-freeze.

Considering it was an "aluminium spaceframe" chassis, that would have been difficult. It is true however, that there is very little to see under the bonnet.

[TTwiggy]

stewjohnst said:

iirc didn't they also require you to lift the body off for major servicing too?

Not one for the home mechanic unless all that's in your tool box is an oil rag and a bottle of anti-freeze.

Nope. There's a service hatch for oil and water, but the whole bonnet comes off with just a couple of latches being turned.

Compared to my Boxster it's a very accessible engine!

[vescaegg]

TTwiggy said:

I'm not buying it to look at.

Although I actually think they've got a certain charm. Much better than the current crop of Audis (IMHO) with their huge grills and aggressive 'considerably richer than you' styling.

I don't disagree. But the looks are definitely 'challenging'.

[Deerfoot]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

My A2 1.6 FSI had plenty of electrical problems, including the CCU packing up which controls the central locking, electric windows and other stuff.

I also had ABS problems due to the 17 inch wheels rubbing through the loom for the wheel sensors. I had a Sport spec car and the ride was absolutely awful on anything other than smooth tarmac. Round Wiltshire on the less than well maintained A and B roads it was very tiresome.

However, it went quite well, I never saw less than 38 mpg average and it was quite space efficient inside considering the car`s footprint.

I`d not have another given the electrical problems it suffered while I had it.

[Mermaid]

One of Audi's best offerings, I've enjoyed mine for 7 years. Timeless classic. Would have been a hit if they had offered auto.

[kambites]

Why do you think an auto would have sold? People don't normally buy small automatic cars in very large numbers and it would have ruined the fuel economy figures.

[Mermaid]

kambites said:

Why do you think an auto would have sold? People don't normally buy small automatic cars in very large numbers and it would have ruined the fuel economy figures.

It was a direct competitor to the A Class. Consumption would have been better than the equivalent A Class Auto because it was lighter, though not the 1.7 CDi that did become a hit - especially with women for it offered better visibility because of its height.