This was acquired partially for practical reasons (so the Burd can have a useable car whilst I fettle her Clio back to health), and partially to satisfy my econogeek.
So to that end, this thread will be a mix of an ownership thread, and a bit of a discussion about this weird little car...
Back in the mists of time, prior to Wester Civilisation suffering the thrill* of sub- prime mortgage CDOs, a CEO at a well respected automobile finance house had an idea.
This idea was simple : develop an entry level model to the marque that bristled with the technology and forward thinking of larger models.
Striving to alter conventions of small car design, it would be formed from the same lightweight material as the flagship large saloon.
With an eye to retention of a "Corporate design" identity, designers were challenged with provision of big car comfort in an aerodynamic yet small footprint. To pack it in, they had to think tall.
The result was the Audi A2.
A car Audi lost money on, and that was outsold almost 6:1 by the Mercedes A Class (yes, the car that could not remain upright).
Due to the Aluminium construction, the car weighed in at 990kg (2190lbs)
So, having had one on fleet (1.4Tdi 3cyl (75bhp) manual, 185K) for a couple of weeks, what did they get right? And where could it be improved?
Styling
The A2 Is a radical departure from the 3 box saloons and sleek estates Audi is known for. To try and draw through the corporate design cues, the face and arches are reminiscent of an A4 that has shrunk in the wash.
The side body mouldings are also eerily similar to those found on the A3/4/6.
It's here the similarities end.
From the front, it looks like an A3 modified for Lincoln to fit in Avec stovepipe hat.
At the side, it's like someone has sat half a water drop atop a Jenga Block. A stylised "quarterlight" serves to break up what would otherwise be an unfeasibly wide A pillar.
From the back, it's clear where Citroen stole the design for the C4 hatchback.
Overall, it is no Pontiac Aztek, but it's not a million miles away..
Aerodynamics
With a Cd of between 0.25-0.29 (dependant on specific model, the lowest being the 3L model designed to do 94mpg), the A2 certainly lead the field in small car aerodynamics.
For comparison, my Clio 172 (same age 2001) is both lower and shorter, yet has a Cd of 0.35. A Citroen CX is in the order of 0.36.
For good fuel economy, minimising the effort required to shove the car through the air is key.
The A2 proves to be a study in both best and worst practice in this area.
First, the good:
A 'Service hatch' that opens to allow easy oil/screenwash topups also doubles as an effective grille block - reducing the mess potential as the air initially contacts the car.
The windscreen and roofline follow a profile that closely follows the angles considered most appropriate for drag reduction.
Additionally, there are some shapes on the roof to help order airflow.
You can also see how the rear window has been designed to maximise the roof length and kammback effect.
The back of the car has recieved particular attention to ensure air detachment is as clean as possible.
Notice again the rear window shape, and the wing to provide a clean, sharp surface. Just imagine a line between the end of the rear window, down onto the edge of the lip.
Such attention to detail continued into the rear lights :
if these design features seem familiar, it's likely you've seen similar on a 2nd Gen Toyota Prius - which didn't come out until 2003, a full 4 years after the A2.
With such attention to detail (not to mention incurring the additional cost of aluminium construction), you'd think they'd make sure the low hanging fruit was picked too, eh?
Not so.
After the effort expended on the "grille block/service hatch" and the windscreen angle, they decided to not bother tucking away the frankly gargantuan 26" pantograph window wiper..
They also missed a trick with the door mirrors - it couldn't have been difficult to enclose them fully!
Lastly, the wheels could have been solid (like my 1980 Citroen GSA)
Thats enough for one post - I'll do more later.