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An owners long term review of the 1999 – 2005 Audi A2.
Car on review: ‘Rufus’ 2003 Audi A2 1.4 Petrol
#audi #audia2
Get a tdi 90
I am on my second A2 1.2 TDI. Amazing piece of engineering.
I also now drive an A2 and CLK350 convertible. Both are great cars and I keep smiling in both.
Had a Storm Blue since new just 65k love it just changed 18” RS rims for 15” pepper pots
Just seen you on the motorway
It looks like the Polish prototype of the "Beskid" car.
In what region have you record this? (So beautiful I want visit it!)
Proud to have owned one for 21 years….
Mi consuma la batteria anche da spenta,cosa può essere?
I must admit I have always liked the A2. When they were a current model my wife and myself had a test drive in one at our local Audi dealer. We were looking at a A3 they had for sale which had been sold. The salesman tried to sell us another car my wife took a fancy to a A2 they had. We were impressed but to be honest we couldn’t afford one at the time as our eldest son had just started university if things had been different we would have probably bought it.
Doing the headliner material is time consuming and tricky, but i fyou choose a good material and quality adhesives then it's actually worth doing. My 2012 Volvo S60 with all its wiring glued to the back of the lining board, was not easy (bad design) but it looks and works fine now, plus my liner matches the blue of the exterior paint. My 2003 BMW E46 has a perfect original lining and never needed looking at twice.
My Dad has a diesel 1.4 75 bhp model from 2002, with 230.000 kms (that's alotofplenty miles, if you're from across the Channel).
I disagree with you on one point: the interior is really bad compared to my own 2000 Honda Accord : the "soft touch" plastics end up all gunky, scratched and peeled, unlike in the Honda. There is mildew on the doors, the roof and the back of the seats. The panoramic roof failed 2 years after purchase and was so expensive to repair that my Dad gave up. The trunk latch has broken down two times… and the list goes on and on.
It's not a bad car, but it's definitely not a reliable car -at least the (only) A2 I know. Compared (again) to my Honda, even my Dad had to concede that it has been more reliable and hassle-free than his car even tho they both have the same mileage and are use in the same way.
Well done for keeping Rufus on the road , what the Audi A2 community needs , right now is a trusty person whom can carry our a proper long term , high quality fix on the head liner ….. !
Der A2 war und ist ein tolles und ungewöhnliches Auto. Ich fahre ihn sehr gerne.
Hi JJ. I'll be honest, I love them. Before retirement I was an Engineer (nowt fancy, just a good old mechanical, process and production Engineer) so anything which is interestingly and well engineered and put together really ticks my boxes.
I think these little A2s just ooze character and if I wasn't such a fan of my present car, I'd definitely give the A2 a good coat of looking at.
Great review of Rufus. Something that’s bothered me about Rufus and my Mavis. Mavis is a Sport. She has the sport interior, but every time I’ve seen the interior of Rufus, it’s bothered me, that’s its SE interior. Legally registered, Rufus is a Sport also, but the lack of foglamps, which Sport and base models had, suggests it’s a sport, but whether it’s because they have been removed or something….its interesting. I’d absolutely love Mavis and Rufus to meet for a video. Mavis is a 1.4 sport and looks identical to Rufus. It would be interesting to see how they compare.
May I suggest polishing the headlights, mate 🤙🏼
I had a A2 for a while, but it had been neglected and then simply needed way too many repairs at once just a bit like yours. Sure, the chassis won't rust, but the brake lines did in mine and a lot of electrical problems (even the instrument panel broke and the immobilizer prevented starting the car). This is the era when Audi experimented with environmentally friendly lead free solder and it's why the electric systems don't last 20 years. Also the comfort module changed from analog to digital in 2003 which has way less faults, so if you buy one, go for model years 2003 ->.
Great video, I hope they bring the A2 back. Even as an ev
It was such an interesting car, back when car makers tried different things (other than how many weird SUV style cars they could make I suppose.)
I’ve long since had an interest in the A2. A cheap one came up locally for sale – cheap because it isn’t the greatest example – SE model, no toys, and quite rough around the edges. I bought it and I love it though. Bags of character, entertaining to steer. Very cheap road fund and insurance. It’s an ideal “modern classic.” I’ve done a few running improves to it, service replaced some trim etc as it needs some love. Bought it scratch an itch but I think it’s a keeper.
It’s a great durable and future-proofed car as all the A2 needs is regular maintenance to keep going – especially the diesels, which have been known to do north of 400k miles on the same engine! By investing in yours it’s almost guaranteed to give you many more years of good service, unlike most other makes and models when they age.
The owners club forum is a huge boon to ownership too.
Its actually a very tidy engine, they're definitely getting rarer these days! Could be a quirky collectable in the future. 🙂
Refreshing to hear somebody say 0-60 in 11s is fine. Nowadays everyone acts like anything above 7s is unusable
A very good overview of the A2. Couple of points:
1. The headlining problem is apparently very common on VW cars of this age. It's straight forward to remove the whole headliner (see my guide at A2OC) but recovering is challenging DIY job.
2. Some A2 models (sports I think) had nets at the back of the front seats. Some had lumbar and heated seats were an option.
3) The rear floor is lower than the front, thus more comfortable for tall rear passengers
4) Many A2s have false floor in the boot, under which can be stored a space saver spare.
5) I've seen pictures of A2s after an accident and the space frame provides a lot of protection.
6) did once calculate the cost of an A2 with all the options. The petrol was basically twice the price (about £25k) to the basic model (c£13k). Diesel £13k to £26k.
Most options can be retro fitted except open sky (though one 1.2L owner in Europe did it!) and 4 to 5 seater and v.v.
7) Besides WOM in the north there is B&F near Heathrow that has worked on many A2s with good reviews.
Looks like you intend keeping your A2 🙂 I hope you have a great ownership going forward. Thank you for mentioning A2OC and WOM.
I hope you'll get to review a Honda CRX one day. If the A2 is to your liking, I think you'll like the CRX as well. I owned one and loved it.
It's a shame the buttons wear so much. The same thing happened in my 2004 A4.
Affraid Jaguar XJ beats it to the alloy construction.
Has 'back seat JJ' been promoted to demonstrations of visibility issues now? 😁
So 'if the car is rockin don't bother knockin' doesn't mean what you would normally expect it to – you would probably have to be a contortionist to get any action in the A2!
If not for its reputation of being ugly as fuck, I would be driving one myself.
Never got the A2 in Australia but I think it's cool. Not really a fan of Audi but the concept is really interesting.