JJ I actually picked one of these up myself a month ago which is a SE 75 TDI with 60K miles. Got Tom on the forums to remap it to 100. Did a full tank to tank run and got 63mpg which isn't bad considering its the larger tank. Probably would get high 60's if I just did half a tank at a time. Love the way the seats come out and turn into a van, very handy.
I've had that engine in my 2005 polo it was by far the slowest car I've owned so booked it in for a remap straightaway. Obviously was never going to be fast but made it ok to drive
I've had my 1.4TDI for ten years. Bought at 11 years old and 125,000 miles. Now has about 282,800 miles on the odometer. Still returning 55-60mpg without trying. Has has only service items plus the Oil Pump and Balance Shaft Chain and Tensioners; the Clutch was changed at the same time; mileage then was 230,000 miles. Good luck getting your car sorted; they do get under the skin. Audi A2 Owners Club is your best friend. Excellent forum and great back up. 😎👍
As an American, i remember reading about these in British mags, and thinking how weird but incredible they were. I was always more of a 3-Door A3 quattro manual kind of guy, but we never got that. Largest market my butt. We couldn't even get the game colours as Europe even when our MKV Golf (Rabbit here in NA) was built in the same plant in Wolfsburg. That always irked me. I love dark greens.
European cars don't sell well enough in the US to justify offering the full range I guess. At least you get German cars most other European countries don't even bother importing to the US.
I've had mine for four years now. 75hp TDI and it's so much fun to drive. So good that i bought another as a project car. Cheap as chips to run, generally.
Hi JJ. Not a bad little car for the money, notwithstanding the cosmetic wear and tear and the 'Benjamin Button' fuel gauge. I think they still look pretty modern...not pretty (as you say) but certainly not too dated. That view out of the rear window must bring back memories of your Civic! I look forward to seeing how this little cutie shapes up.
I like cars that hardly anybody else has. And it's a good value runabout. IMO, petrol is the way to go, although personally I'd prefer the 1.6. Both petrols are ULEZ compliant, too. Nice little late summer/autumn project to give it a bit of a tidy. Congrats!
Me too! It's always a factor when I'm picking a car. The 1.6 certainly seems like a good one, given it's apparently just as economical yet much more powerful. Cheers!
According to the website: How Many Left, you’re now a member of The Audi A2 Sport club with a mere 166 owners in the UK (and, if the trend continues, only 150 next year!) 🚙
I’ve had my 2005 A2 SE 1.4TDi since 2019 and it’s been nothing but excellent. Fuel economy is nothing less than impressive, regularly achieving 70-80mpg on a run. I reviewed it on Gem Spotting TH-cam channel years ago… very impressed and hard to replace!!
Sadly not a 3 cylinder 1.4 diesel. My uncle got one around 2010, brilliant car until someone damage a panel. The mileage it’s amazing and you can find on youtube people adding the 6th gear for even better mpg.
Great review of the Asian mum's favourite. Always battered but always cool. I gave up looking for a diesel some time ago, but I still dream. I would prefer a Mk 2 Jazz EX. Slightly pips the Audi on the engineering fizz quotient. That dash and those seats. Looking forward to your A2 improvements. What a find.
Hey mate, wow congrats on the new car! I have never heard of an Audi A2, so clearly we did not get them in Australia. I like it ! The idea of aluminium for construction appeals to me. What a great run-about car! Not comparing to the A2, but I have my Mum's M1 2000 Daihatsu Sirion that I drive regularly. It's a 1.0L Automatic with Aircon, so I can relate to the "performance" challenges 100%. That said though, most roads are not a race-track, so what difference does it make. The economy and practicality are spot on and parking is a breeze in any situation. Go JJ !!! Love your work :)
Cheers mate! I do have a soft spot for little cars like these, always enjoy how easy it is to park or nip around the city in tight spaces. 1.0 automatic must be a real challenge, especially on a hot day with that Aircon blasting away 😄
@@JJonCars HAHAHA yeah it is, but I gotta say it doesn't bother me at all. I flick the aircon off for a steep hill, but other than that, she's a peppy little car with all the electric bells and whistles and ice-cold air. No complaints from me, will never sell her. Hey man, I'd love to see a Jag XJ video... currently looking at a 2004 XJ6 3.0L petrol in mint cond. Now that's a sweet model right there, before Jag went to Tata. The interior is exquisite - not quite up to the Rolls, but more of a semi-daily in comfort. She put out 230(ish) BHP same as the 3.0L CLK Cabrio. Lightweight tho - also constructed with a bucket load of high-strength aluminium. Cheers mate!
@@markhooper1352 I would love to film with an XJ - as soon a some kind soul offers one up, it will be right on the channel :) And also - relevant to Rufus the A2 with it's aluminium body 😆
I've had lots of these and my current one is a 219,000 mile TDi with Passat MYP six speed box. Getting less than 70mpg on a run takes effort. I've rebushed the wiper arm, uprated the door straps and fitted heating to the seats. Beautifully built, huge fun because of the light weight, vastly practical with dual boot floor and folding / removable seats. £30 tax and Polo running gear keep costs right down. Btw, my 219k barely gets me into the A2 OC high miles club, many over 300 and one around 450, although these tend towards the diesels. Good choice! A rare characteristic car that will only appreciate.
Ooh, brilliant. You have a very desirable A2 with the diesel, 6 speed and heated seats :) It's good to know they can do moon miles - hopefully that means mine is only just run in 😄 Cheers!
@@robertgudd7196I’ll answer on behalf of my fellow A2OC forum member Rusty - yes, you can swap in any six speed gearbox from a VAG 1.6 CAYC engined car (gearbox codes PTW, NTG, MYP & PTW) pretty easily on the diesels (not the petrols). My tuned TDi90 has the latter. It gives it near contemporary levels of refinement on fast roads.
I've got one! 2001 1.4 base model with some nice options; electronic climate control, twist & jive satellite cloth interior and pine green pearl paint, just under 62k miles. Mines making an unpleasant clunky rattle too, but I'm so happy to have one. Definitely a step up from the polo. I'd like another A2 already though (awful, I know) in the spec yours is JJ, just because the darker interior is much more useable (you notice dirt less) and the silver paint with 6 spoke 16" wheels is the iconic A2 look. Interesting you said yours is a sport, as it doesn't have the sport seats, 17" wheels from the RS4 of the time, 3 spoke steering wheel or spherical gear knob - maybe one of the previous owners swapped those bits over with their SE in the past? But even without the stiffer sport suspension I'm amazed how little the car rolls in corners even with 4 people aboard!
Your car sounds lovely. I like the base alloys - are they the 'pepperpot' ones? And that type of green is probably my favourite colour on a car. I'd say I'd swap you for my alloys but you wouldn't want these ones, they're not the nicest condition 😂 I'm not sure if there were a couple of versions of the Sport model, as I know the one you mean, it does look good with the 17s and the 3 spoke. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍👍
I don't think the base ones are pepperpots, as I understand they came on the A3, and the A2 & Lupo 3L got a variation of that style but made of magnesium (annoying they don't fit regular A2s because they're 4 stud wheels and all A2s but the 3L have 5 stud hubs). The base wheels are amazingly light though - I think something like 4kg without a tire? Using the boot jack is novel as well, as it's an ordinary Polo jack but with an odd little peg on the end, that goes into holes in the chassis behind some plastic bungs on the sills, horizontally. I expected it to be much less stable than it was when I used it, but as soon as I work out where to use a trolley jack on it I'll certainly be defaulting to that. I believe you're right, there were some sport models sold with varying specs, but the car you have appears to be an SE in every visual way. You'd have to back to back a car known to be a sport and an SE and then your own to find out for sure if the suspension is stiffer (I would imagine most of the stiffness comes from the lack of side wall on the sport alloys, but I would say the standard suspension is stiffer than expected) - not that an SE is a worse car than a sport, quite the opposite in my opinion! Also something to note, the 1.6 engines are technically better, but the 1.4 is more flexible on fuel and doesn't clog up with direct injection soot, and doesn't have the 'death pipe' issue (I confess I'm not 100% clear on what that issue is, I lost interest in the 1.6s when I found out how much money my insurance company wanted for me to drive one). I would agree a tdi 90 is a well suited engine to the car but only in efficiency, not character; I do think the 1.4 is the most appropriate engine for one of these cars, though exactly why would take far too long to explain, and be far too uninteresting), but in terms of bang for buck a normal project tdi 75 is probably the best value car on the market, even 20+ years later, which is only increased with a remap and a JDD Polo Bluemotion gearbox
A writer friend owned one as her little town car and I remember she loved it but someone shunted it and it was written off. I associate this car with her and so have always been fond of it. I still have a 20 year old A4 Avant with similar miles and it’s going strong but a bit tatty in places.
I had an A2 3L, loved it to bits. Installed OEM leather seats with heating and drove it over 150.000km in 3 years. also went through 2 gearboxes, but thats an 3L problem. If not for diesel laws in my country, i would still be driving it today.
Yeah - to be honest I thought they were terrible looking when they came out! But I would have been a kid/teenager and not interested in cars that shape 😄 So I agree, much more appreciative of them now.
Good buy , i had 2 of these i just sold 1 after trying to sell it my self on gumtree & Facebook. For months, i had nothing but dealers and times wasters offering scrap prices, &no shows. so i took it to we buy any car. They gave me £320 148,000 1.4 16v same as yours 1 months m.o.t Very cheap to run and worth holding on to. I still have a 1.4 16v petrol se 105,000 miles. I have had it 2 years and spent £2000+ try to make it right. Be careful all them cheap parts start to add up. And if you can do the work yourself, that's even better. Also, expect alot of people calling your car ugly Good luck mate.
The one Bridgestone Turanza tyre is a good choice as it is a premium tyre with famously low rolling resistance. I think I'd buy 3 others, maybe all 4 if that one has a ridiculously old date on it
Hiya JJ. You might remember that I also have a CLK. Well, believe it or not, before I bought the CLK I spent ages looking for one of these! Beware though, they aren't all aluminium. The A2 forum is brilliant.
Did you end up with one? I think it's a good combination of cars, there's a chap near me with a 200 Kompressor convertible and an A2 TDI. Yes I'm sure those bits that are steel will enjoy rusting away!
Good little cars, but I’m not sure they caught on that well back in their day. It’s certainly something different and £950 is a good price for it with 12 months MOT. Good vid JJ, thanks again
The A2 was in my shortlist when I got my first car 25 years ago. In the end I opted for the more powerful Mercedes A190 (the second batch fitted with ESP to keep it on the road).
@@JJonCars The 50hp more did the trick. And the minimalist dashboard. And the removable backseats. It was an amazing car and I don’t understand why nobody is converting those to EV. Also, incredible internal space compared to the measly 3.57 meters length.
My 2001 tdi75 rattles along at 70+ mpg, £35 tax, £190-odd insurance, £250 remap and about £400 a year in bits and labour to maintain. I bought it for £1k to save the legs on my family 5-series and I think it paid for itself in about 8 months. Everyone lets you out and other A2 drivers will always wave. Take the back seats out for superleggera minivan mode. The perfect car for pottering around the countryside.
Definitely an interesting project car JJ . The tdi would have been ridiculously economical but a bit noisy ( i had the same engine in my Fabia) Those sticky switches would really put me off, i hope there is a way to rectify it. That spray on rubberised finish was one of those' it seemed like a good idea at the time'😊
I'd heard that the TDI is noisy, this car got a lot of stick when new for that, so I guess the journalists didn't have a petrol one haha. I've got some stickers off ebay that go on top of the switches... it looks better than it did at least 😂
Hi JJ, I have a diesel A2 TDI 90bhp which has been off the road for a year due to a clutch problem. It is quite a high mileage example but the engine runs like a dream and being the sport model it has discs all round so it has superb handling and road holding. I have been holding on to it because I didn't want to see it scrapped and I haven't had the time (or knowledge !) to get it sorted. You might be just the right person to take on as a sister project to your petrol version ! It is on a '54 plate. Your thoughts ?
Hello. Well, thank you for your offer, but I can't take on another car at the moment, this A2 will be enough for now! I hope you manage to find the right owner for it :)
Your knocking noise could be the bonnet, there is a plastic rectangular insert at the back corners on the scuttle panel see if the insert is lose or pack it out with thin cardboard. I think they are still available from Audi
I've calculated it once, and I was getting 51 UK mpg after a long journey. It has a misfire issue and I think it needs a thermostat so that's not too bad. There are 4, but I believe it was an option for curtain airbags too if you specced them when buying the car new
Is it all aluminum? I thought plastic and steel body with aluminum frame. Had a very delayed throttle on two new cars we bought. The 1.6 broke down twice with engine managment issues
A video of you sprucing it up might be good. And yes, like someone else said a road trip vid would be interesting, I wonder if you'd risk driving to somewhere like South of France in it?
That’s a pretty quirky but fun little car. Do you mind me asking what type of insurance you have to cover multiple cars ? I’m searching myself but can’t seem to find anything suitable.
Cheers! It's somewhat specific to what I do as a TH-camr so quite a few ££ and probably not suited to what you need - so I can't really be too much help there sorry.
The brief of the car said it should 'Transport four people from Stuttgart to Milan on a single tank of petrol'. It would be good to see if you can get from the UK to Germany, on a single tank of fuel.
Also JJ, you do have at least one 'cup holder' in your CLK. I never use cup holders for cups, but I did once use it to safely transport a baby plant down to Portland. It looked quite good too!
I do? Well, there's the two in the rear armrest. But nothing up front except that pop out cubby thing that I can just about fit a takeaway flat white in 😄 I might get a little cactus or something for mine then 😆
@@JJonCars That sounds like the one, passenger side of the dash. I used to say that I'd never have a car with cup holders. The CLK is the only one I have with them, and, as I said, I've used it for a cup. In 47yrs of motoring I've never felt the need for one.
The handle requires imagination. If your wife is a knitter, she would know. It is a perfect wool stache while knitting and being driven. We did that in Fiat Panda MK3 and worked perfectly👌
Back around the 2000s you used to get lots of Mini MPV shaped cars, the A class, A2, jazz, various citroens, Kia Venga, Hyundai equivalent, Daihatsu/perodua models, Suzuki models, Nissan Cube, Note, Yaris Verso, Renault Modus.....pretty much all of them are gone except the Jazz and.... it seems the BMW 2 series MPV😂
Yes this is true! Very practical but mostly deeply uncool and not so desirable. I guess people want style over substance now. Saw a Yaris Verso the other day and had to do a double take, weird car!
I actually was thinking of this car as my first car a few years ago… but now I am driving the first generation Aclass because my dad gave it to me I have a love hate relationship with it
Which country is that out of interest? I'm going to guess Ireland or the Netherlands (they seem to come up as high taxers quite often). The i3 is like the newer successor to the A2, even if from a different brand.
@@JJonCarsTax for a petrol A2 is about €30 a month here in NL, for a diesel about €90. These are relatively cheap to tax as it is based on weight and A2’s are very lightweight. There are not a lot of diesel cars weighing under 1000kg. Maybe an older Clio or smtg. Forget about driving a diesel A2 in the larger cities as they are only euro 3 emission rated.
@@HJ-vs7lfDon’t know, there are still loads of cars here seeing how much traffic there is. And people drive like idiots so fuel must be very cheap too 😅
@@fritsified5952 I don't know is 7 dollars a gallon cheap? More than half the people drive company lease cars, with fuel paid by employer. Not saying road tax is too high, it's unfair. Someone who drives his PHEV or small ICE for 50k km a year pays less than I do for my v8 that drives 2-3k a year. While the 'Eco' car is supposed to be better for the environment, in reality it does more damage.
The W169 A class was an engineering marvel that did a way better job of bringing luxury to such a small footprint. The A2 is better in some ways but aluminium construction was a waste of effort
The public seemed to agree as the A Class sold a lot more. But the W169 was only competitor to the A2 for short while at the end of the A2s life, so it might make more sense to compare it to the previous A Class, which I think the A2 would fare much better against. Agreed that it was waste of effort - the money doesn't lie!
@@JJonCars yes that's very true and the W168 was awful. Having a short and a long wheelbase version was a terrible waste of money and effort not to mention having to retrofit them all with ESP 💰💰
4 different tyre brands means its been run on a very tight budget, not to mention its unsafe. Also I believe an MOT failure (atleast here in the Netherlands): can't have different tires on the same axle. Wonder what else you're gonna find wrong with this car.
Even with that mileage ( which if true isn't much for the age) 7 owners is a bad sign.. Aluminum doesn't rust but it does react to acids and other metals so be careful how you use the car . Hopefully it works out for you...
wow and yet mine in far better condition, with all interior plastics still actually black, with a new timing belt, new toyo tires and powdr coated wheels.. with heated seats... on Auto trader for £400 more and been there for 4 months... either people want to buy one like yours and spend £1000 extra and still wont have heated seats... oh and panoramic roof, oh and my roof lining is also in place. btw does it say "sport" on the log book? Just they are not the 17" sport alloys
@@JJonCars Interesting! The car is a 'him', have you always classed your cars so? Personally, my car has always been a 'her' - don't ask me why, it's been many years since I started driving! 🤔
aint no quality there mate the thing is falling apart by its self , typical vw poor quality hahaha but i guess they're cool ngl and for a grand and a yr mot it fine
I think the body shape is quite timeless, the car's looks won't age.
Timelessly ass tf
It will always look grandma-car indeed
True it'll always look ugly
JJ I actually picked one of these up myself a month ago which is a SE 75 TDI with 60K miles. Got Tom on the forums to remap it to 100. Did a full tank to tank run and got 63mpg which isn't bad considering its the larger tank. Probably would get high 60's if I just did half a tank at a time. Love the way the seats come out and turn into a van, very handy.
Brilliant :) that's some great MPG, and 100hp in that lightweight body, I bet it's fun.
I'm looking forward to using some of its practicality
I've had that engine in my 2005 polo it was by far the slowest car I've owned so booked it in for a remap straightaway. Obviously was never going to be fast but made it ok to drive
@@Birmingham_racing it's nippy now considering it's weight
Congrats on your purchase! Looking forward to seeing more vids on it!
I really love the A2. I’ve often thought about adding one to my garage so I’m fascinated to see how you get on with it. 👌
I've had my 1.4TDI for ten years. Bought at 11 years old and 125,000 miles.
Now has about 282,800 miles on the odometer.
Still returning 55-60mpg without trying.
Has has only service items plus the Oil Pump and Balance Shaft Chain and Tensioners; the Clutch was changed at the same time; mileage then was 230,000 miles.
Good luck getting your car sorted; they do get under the skin. Audi A2 Owners Club is your best friend. Excellent forum and great back up. 😎👍
Wow! That's decent mileage. I'm on the forum, already very impressed with it. Cheers :)
As an American, i remember reading about these in British mags, and thinking how weird but incredible they were. I was always more of a 3-Door A3 quattro manual kind of guy, but we never got that. Largest market my butt. We couldn't even get the game colours as Europe even when our MKV Golf (Rabbit here in NA) was built in the same plant in Wolfsburg. That always irked me. I love dark greens.
With you on the dark green 👍
European cars don't sell well enough in the US to justify offering the full range I guess. At least you get German cars most other European countries don't even bother importing to the US.
The aluminum space frame construction is the same as the A8 of the time. From an engineering standpoint, a great car and worth preserving.
I've had mine for four years now. 75hp TDI and it's so much fun to drive. So good that i bought another as a project car. Cheap as chips to run, generally.
Hi JJ. Not a bad little car for the money, notwithstanding the cosmetic wear and tear and the 'Benjamin Button' fuel gauge.
I think they still look pretty modern...not pretty (as you say) but certainly not too dated.
That view out of the rear window must bring back memories of your Civic!
I look forward to seeing how this little cutie shapes up.
Benjamin Button fuel gauge, I might steal that 😂 Definitely memories of Civic in that rear view!
@@JJonCars Steal away, I'd be flattered 😊
Roofus for the win!!
I like cars that hardly anybody else has. And it's a good value runabout. IMO, petrol is the way to go, although personally I'd prefer the 1.6. Both petrols are ULEZ compliant, too. Nice little late summer/autumn project to give it a bit of a tidy. Congrats!
Me too! It's always a factor when I'm picking a car. The 1.6 certainly seems like a good one, given it's apparently just as economical yet much more powerful. Cheers!
Still agreat looking motor and the way the bonnet comes off
According to the website: How Many Left, you’re now a member of The Audi A2 Sport club with a mere 166 owners in the UK (and, if the trend continues, only 150 next year!) 🚙
I’ve had my 2005 A2 SE 1.4TDi since 2019 and it’s been nothing but excellent. Fuel economy is nothing less than impressive, regularly achieving 70-80mpg on a run. I reviewed it on Gem Spotting TH-cam channel years ago… very impressed and hard to replace!!
Its actually not a bad looking car, its unusual but in a nice way tbf. Definitely going to be interesting to see this on the channel
Sadly not a 3 cylinder 1.4 diesel. My uncle got one around 2010, brilliant car until someone damage a panel. The mileage it’s amazing and you can find on youtube people adding the 6th gear for even better mpg.
Yeah, I would like the diesel for sure. The better suited engine in many ways
Great review of the Asian mum's favourite. Always battered but always cool. I gave up looking for a diesel some time ago, but I still dream. I would prefer a Mk 2 Jazz EX. Slightly pips the Audi on the engineering fizz quotient. That dash and those seats. Looking forward to your A2 improvements. What a find.
Yeah the Jazz is a great car (better than the A2 no doubt), but there are too many of them for me to want one 😄 I like something unusual. Cheers :)
Hey mate, wow congrats on the new car! I have never heard of an Audi A2, so clearly we did not get them in Australia. I like it ! The idea of aluminium for construction appeals to me. What a great run-about car! Not comparing to the A2, but I have my Mum's M1 2000 Daihatsu Sirion that I drive regularly. It's a 1.0L Automatic with Aircon, so I can relate to the "performance" challenges 100%. That said though, most roads are not a race-track, so what difference does it make. The economy and practicality are spot on and parking is a breeze in any situation. Go JJ !!! Love your work :)
Cheers mate! I do have a soft spot for little cars like these, always enjoy how easy it is to park or nip around the city in tight spaces.
1.0 automatic must be a real challenge, especially on a hot day with that Aircon blasting away 😄
@@JJonCars HAHAHA yeah it is, but I gotta say it doesn't bother me at all. I flick the aircon off for a steep hill, but other than that, she's a peppy little car with all the electric bells and whistles and ice-cold air. No complaints from me, will never sell her. Hey man, I'd love to see a Jag XJ video... currently looking at a 2004 XJ6 3.0L petrol in mint cond. Now that's a sweet model right there, before Jag went to Tata. The interior is exquisite - not quite up to the Rolls, but more of a semi-daily in comfort. She put out 230(ish) BHP same as the 3.0L CLK Cabrio. Lightweight tho - also constructed with a bucket load of high-strength aluminium. Cheers mate!
@@markhooper1352 I would love to film with an XJ - as soon a some kind soul offers one up, it will be right on the channel :)
And also - relevant to Rufus the A2 with it's aluminium body 😆
Apparently there are 4 Audi A2s in Australia
Google Audi A2 For Sale In Sydney: The Little Beauty
I've had lots of these and my current one is a 219,000 mile TDi with Passat MYP six speed box. Getting less than 70mpg on a run takes effort.
I've rebushed the wiper arm, uprated the door straps and fitted heating to the seats.
Beautifully built, huge fun because of the light weight, vastly practical with dual boot floor and folding / removable seats. £30 tax and Polo running gear keep costs right down.
Btw, my 219k barely gets me into the A2 OC high miles club, many over 300 and one around 450, although these tend towards the diesels.
Good choice! A rare characteristic car that will only appreciate.
Ooh, brilliant. You have a very desirable A2 with the diesel, 6 speed and heated seats :) It's good to know they can do moon miles - hopefully that means mine is only just run in 😄 Cheers!
How come yours has that box? Was it swapped in?
@@robertgudd7196I’ll answer on behalf of my fellow A2OC forum member Rusty - yes, you can swap in any six speed gearbox from a VAG 1.6 CAYC engined car (gearbox codes PTW, NTG, MYP & PTW) pretty easily on the diesels (not the petrols). My tuned TDi90 has the latter. It gives it near contemporary levels of refinement on fast roads.
I've got one! 2001 1.4 base model with some nice options; electronic climate control, twist & jive satellite cloth interior and pine green pearl paint, just under 62k miles. Mines making an unpleasant clunky rattle too, but I'm so happy to have one. Definitely a step up from the polo. I'd like another A2 already though (awful, I know) in the spec yours is JJ, just because the darker interior is much more useable (you notice dirt less) and the silver paint with 6 spoke 16" wheels is the iconic A2 look. Interesting you said yours is a sport, as it doesn't have the sport seats, 17" wheels from the RS4 of the time, 3 spoke steering wheel or spherical gear knob - maybe one of the previous owners swapped those bits over with their SE in the past? But even without the stiffer sport suspension I'm amazed how little the car rolls in corners even with 4 people aboard!
Your car sounds lovely. I like the base alloys - are they the 'pepperpot' ones? And that type of green is probably my favourite colour on a car. I'd say I'd swap you for my alloys but you wouldn't want these ones, they're not the nicest condition 😂
I'm not sure if there were a couple of versions of the Sport model, as I know the one you mean, it does look good with the 17s and the 3 spoke. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍👍
I don't think the base ones are pepperpots, as I understand they came on the A3, and the A2 & Lupo 3L got a variation of that style but made of magnesium (annoying they don't fit regular A2s because they're 4 stud wheels and all A2s but the 3L have 5 stud hubs). The base wheels are amazingly light though - I think something like 4kg without a tire? Using the boot jack is novel as well, as it's an ordinary Polo jack but with an odd little peg on the end, that goes into holes in the chassis behind some plastic bungs on the sills, horizontally. I expected it to be much less stable than it was when I used it, but as soon as I work out where to use a trolley jack on it I'll certainly be defaulting to that. I believe you're right, there were some sport models sold with varying specs, but the car you have appears to be an SE in every visual way. You'd have to back to back a car known to be a sport and an SE and then your own to find out for sure if the suspension is stiffer (I would imagine most of the stiffness comes from the lack of side wall on the sport alloys, but I would say the standard suspension is stiffer than expected) - not that an SE is a worse car than a sport, quite the opposite in my opinion! Also something to note, the 1.6 engines are technically better, but the 1.4 is more flexible on fuel and doesn't clog up with direct injection soot, and doesn't have the 'death pipe' issue (I confess I'm not 100% clear on what that issue is, I lost interest in the 1.6s when I found out how much money my insurance company wanted for me to drive one). I would agree a tdi 90 is a well suited engine to the car but only in efficiency, not character; I do think the 1.4 is the most appropriate engine for one of these cars, though exactly why would take far too long to explain, and be far too uninteresting), but in terms of bang for buck a normal project tdi 75 is probably the best value car on the market, even 20+ years later, which is only increased with a remap and a JDD Polo Bluemotion gearbox
Excellent inspired choice. Much more interesting than the equivalent fiesta or corsa. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thank you!
A writer friend owned one as her little town car and I remember she loved it but someone shunted it and it was written off. I associate this car with her and so have always been fond of it. I still have a 20 year old A4 Avant with similar miles and it’s going strong but a bit tatty in places.
It was a good era for Audi! They get written off easily which is a shame
Great video and cool car! I have always liked these
The 3-pot TDI is amazing in the A2. It’s a fun car to drive. Two people can easily lift up the bare shell of an A2, tried it once.
I had an A2 3L, loved it to bits. Installed OEM leather seats with heating and drove it over 150.000km in 3 years. also went through 2 gearboxes, but thats an 3L problem. If not for diesel laws in my country, i would still be driving it today.
cool, shame we didn't get the 3L in the UK
1:50 That's residue left over from the crime scene tape. Those alloys are SE spec, but an SE had front fogs, nice car you have there.
Haha! I thought they were 'Sport' alloys. Cheers!
Not a spot steering wheel either , you sure it’s a sport?
@@Chase.H.Qleccy lumbar support on big bolstered seats also appear to be missing.
I really like these it's one of those cars that when new they just looked strange but I think the coolness and appreciation has grown over time.
Yeah - to be honest I thought they were terrible looking when they came out! But I would have been a kid/teenager and not interested in cars that shape 😄 So I agree, much more appreciative of them now.
Not all music has lots of bass ! A really good interesting car , I love it .
Good buy , i had 2 of these i just sold 1 after trying to sell it my self on gumtree & Facebook. For months, i had nothing but dealers and times wasters offering scrap prices, &no shows.
so i took it to we buy any car. They gave me £320 148,000 1.4 16v same as yours 1 months m.o.t
Very cheap to run and worth holding on to. I still have a 1.4 16v petrol se 105,000 miles.
I have had it 2 years and spent £2000+ try to make it right.
Be careful all them cheap parts start to add up. And if you can do the work yourself, that's even better.
Also, expect alot of people calling your car ugly
Good luck mate.
Thank you. Hopefully it will be alright. Is your SE all OK now? I will try and do what I can myself!
The one Bridgestone Turanza tyre is a good choice as it is a premium tyre with famously low rolling resistance. I think I'd buy 3 others, maybe all 4 if that one has a ridiculously old date on it
Yeah, I think I'd get 4 if I were to replace. Which I do plan on at some point!
I've just bought a 1.4 Petrol Sport A2 for 1k. Needed a new wiper arm and the Headlining has come away in the back but it's great
Oh snap!
It seems like the headlining is doing that on every single A2 lol
I've got one, watch the oil levels and how much it uses. Mine knacked piston rings.
Looks like this car has been well cared for... You scored a bargain :)
Hiya JJ. You might remember that I also have a CLK. Well, believe it or not, before I bought the CLK I spent ages looking for one of these! Beware though, they aren't all aluminium. The A2 forum is brilliant.
Did you end up with one? I think it's a good combination of cars, there's a chap near me with a 200 Kompressor convertible and an A2 TDI.
Yes I'm sure those bits that are steel will enjoy rusting away!
Fascinating project car and very interesting introduction to the Audi A2.
Thanks :)
Cool choice! Congratulations.
Good little cars, but I’m not sure they caught on that well back in their day.
It’s certainly something different and £950 is a good price for it with 12 months MOT.
Good vid JJ, thanks again
yeh, fuel was only about 75p per litre in 2003, which probably didn't help the cause of the efficient but quite expensive to buy when new A2
The A2 was in my shortlist when I got my first car 25 years ago. In the end I opted for the more powerful Mercedes A190 (the second batch fitted with ESP to keep it on the road).
You and most other people it seems! A Class was much more popular :)
@@JJonCars The 50hp more did the trick. And the minimalist dashboard. And the removable backseats. It was an amazing car and I don’t understand why nobody is converting those to EV. Also, incredible internal space compared to the measly 3.57 meters length.
These arrived at the wrong tome - awesome car and functionality - people didn't get it. I'd buy one in a heart beat.
Had my TDI for 23 years, it's cheap to run, dont rust and still fits in around town. Make sure your get the cam belt done
My 2001 tdi75 rattles along at 70+ mpg, £35 tax, £190-odd insurance, £250 remap and about £400 a year in bits and labour to maintain. I bought it for £1k to save the legs on my family 5-series and I think it paid for itself in about 8 months. Everyone lets you out and other A2 drivers will always wave. Take the back seats out for superleggera minivan mode. The perfect car for pottering around the countryside.
I had a 2003 1.4 manual it the A2 was perfect. Every MOT it sailed through and was solid..
Great - It's nice to hear comments like this, rather than 'I had to spend a fortune to sort mine out' 😂
Definitely an interesting project car JJ . The tdi would have been ridiculously economical but a bit noisy ( i had the same engine in my Fabia) Those sticky switches would really put me off, i hope there is a way to rectify it. That spray on rubberised finish was one of those' it seemed like a good idea at the time'😊
I'd heard that the TDI is noisy, this car got a lot of stick when new for that, so I guess the journalists didn't have a petrol one haha.
I've got some stickers off ebay that go on top of the switches... it looks better than it did at least 😂
What a great car. Timeless design, which still looks modern today
Cheers Ed :)
@@JJonCars I've swapped the Evoque for an A220d, if you ever fancy a drive of that... :)
Hi JJ, I have a diesel A2 TDI 90bhp which has been off the road for a year due to a clutch problem. It is quite a high mileage example but the engine runs like a dream and being the sport model it has discs all round so it has superb handling and road holding. I have been holding on to it because I didn't want to see it scrapped and I haven't had the time (or knowledge !) to get it sorted. You might be just the right person to take on as a sister project to your petrol version ! It is on a '54 plate. Your thoughts ?
Hello. Well, thank you for your offer, but I can't take on another car at the moment, this A2 will be enough for now! I hope you manage to find the right owner for it :)
Your knocking noise could be the bonnet, there is a plastic rectangular insert at the back corners on the scuttle panel see if the insert is lose or pack it out with thin cardboard. I think they are still available from Audi
Ah interesting. In this case it's definitely suspension, as it's now sorted (all to come in a future vid). But thanks for that, one to keep in mind.
I like the shape of it, it looks very sleak and unique, also does it have cruise control?
This one doesn't. I think it may have been an option
The passenger grab bar reminds me of an early low spec xantia.
Curious about the mpg a couple more months on?
And how many airbags are in your A2?
I've calculated it once, and I was getting 51 UK mpg after a long journey. It has a misfire issue and I think it needs a thermostat so that's not too bad.
There are 4, but I believe it was an option for curtain airbags too if you specced them when buying the car new
That's not bad really @@JJonCars
The grab rail does make you wonder about safety.
@@beautgrainger147 definitely don't want to hit ones face on it in an accident 😄
Great choice. No rust !
The German Honda Jazz
I've bought the A2 1.4 TDi se same colour 190k miles £310 no MOT but passed with £100 of fixes
Bargain!!
I test drove one of these last year when I saw one for cheap but I didn’t like the gearbox at all but that could have been the age and mileage on it.
Is it all aluminum? I thought plastic and steel body with aluminum frame. Had a very delayed throttle on two new cars we bought. The 1.6 broke down twice with engine managment issues
Aluminium body and frame. Yeah I hear the 1.6 is more problematic
A video of you sprucing it up might be good.
And yes, like someone else said a road trip vid would be interesting, I wonder if you'd risk driving to somewhere like South of France in it?
Both good ideas. Will have to see how much I feel I can rely on it!
@JJonCars visit to an audi specialist maybe?
😂😂😂 The 1st thing I noticed was the #plate and I read it as Roofus.. no need to spend any money there. Congratulations on your new metal baby. 🎉🎉🎉
Haha glad it's not just me 😂 Thanks!
That’s a pretty quirky but fun little car. Do you mind me asking what type of insurance you have to cover multiple cars ? I’m searching myself but can’t seem to find anything suitable.
Cheers!
It's somewhat specific to what I do as a TH-camr so quite a few ££ and probably not suited to what you need - so I can't really be too much help there sorry.
Fab car.. such an interesting thing to own!!
Thanks Jack! 😊
The brief of the car said it should 'Transport four people from Stuttgart to Milan on a single tank of petrol'. It would be good to see if you can get from the UK to Germany, on a single tank of fuel.
That's a great idea, thanks :)
It would be great if you did a restoration series for this car
Also JJ, you do have at least one 'cup holder' in your CLK. I never use cup holders for cups, but I did once use it to safely transport a baby plant down to Portland. It looked quite good too!
I do? Well, there's the two in the rear armrest. But nothing up front except that pop out cubby thing that I can just about fit a takeaway flat white in 😄
I might get a little cactus or something for mine then 😆
@@JJonCars That sounds like the one, passenger side of the dash. I used to say that I'd never have a car with cup holders. The CLK is the only one I have with them, and, as I said, I've used it for a cup. In 47yrs of motoring I've never felt the need for one.
The handle requires imagination. If your wife is a knitter, she would know. It is a perfect wool stache while knitting and being driven. We did that in Fiat Panda MK3 and worked perfectly👌
😂
Definitely a Roofus, looks like a Roofus even without the number plate to me.
Haha, yeah it's well suited 😂
Back around the 2000s you used to get lots of Mini MPV shaped cars, the A class, A2, jazz, various citroens, Kia Venga, Hyundai equivalent, Daihatsu/perodua models, Suzuki models, Nissan Cube, Note, Yaris Verso, Renault Modus.....pretty much all of them are gone except the Jazz and.... it seems the BMW 2 series MPV😂
Yes this is true! Very practical but mostly deeply uncool and not so desirable. I guess people want style over substance now. Saw a Yaris Verso the other day and had to do a double take, weird car!
I actually was thinking of this car as my first car a few years ago… but now I am driving the first generation Aclass because my dad gave it to me
I have a love hate relationship with it
Interesting! You ended up with its rival, that outsold the A2 many times over. I can imagine you do, it's unusual now at least :)
RoofUS is good name, enjoy 😊 I had the 1,6 one.
Nice, I need to have a go in a 1.6. Apparently they're just as economical as mine despite more power
I would go for 90hp diesel, if I will buy another. Petrol engines can be quite full of issues. Mine had some.
This and the i3 are top 10 coolest family cars since 2000. Unfortunately diesel has a really high tax rate in my country or I'd get one.
Which country is that out of interest? I'm going to guess Ireland or the Netherlands (they seem to come up as high taxers quite often). The i3 is like the newer successor to the A2, even if from a different brand.
@@JJonCars Netherlands indeed. Tax on cars is ridiculous and very unfair here.
@@JJonCarsTax for a petrol A2 is about €30 a month here in NL, for a diesel about €90. These are relatively cheap to tax as it is based on weight and A2’s are very lightweight. There are not a lot of diesel cars weighing under 1000kg. Maybe an older Clio or smtg. Forget about driving a diesel A2 in the larger cities as they are only euro 3 emission rated.
@@HJ-vs7lfDon’t know, there are still loads of cars here seeing how much traffic there is. And people drive like idiots so fuel must be very cheap too 😅
@@fritsified5952 I don't know is 7 dollars a gallon cheap? More than half the people drive company lease cars, with fuel paid by employer. Not saying road tax is too high, it's unfair. Someone who drives his PHEV or small ICE for 50k km a year pays less than I do for my v8 that drives 2-3k a year. While the 'Eco' car is supposed to be better for the environment, in reality it does more damage.
The W169 A class was an engineering marvel that did a way better job of bringing luxury to such a small footprint. The A2 is better in some ways but aluminium construction was a waste of effort
The public seemed to agree as the A Class sold a lot more. But the W169 was only competitor to the A2 for short while at the end of the A2s life, so it might make more sense to compare it to the previous A Class, which I think the A2 would fare much better against. Agreed that it was waste of effort - the money doesn't lie!
@@JJonCars yes that's very true and the W168 was awful. Having a short and a long wheelbase version was a terrible waste of money and effort not to mention having to retrofit them all with ESP 💰💰
I’m sure Temu sell stickers that cover the worn out buttons. Nice car
I've ordered some off ebay, will see if they're any good 😄
4 different tyre brands means its been run on a very tight budget, not to mention its unsafe. Also I believe an MOT failure (atleast here in the Netherlands): can't have different tires on the same axle.
Wonder what else you're gonna find wrong with this car.
Yeah, I will likely replace those tyres. I am considering some all season.
Would probably be great for an ev conversion in the future. With the aluminium and all.
Definitely!
100% call him Rufus!!
"not cheaply made" but fading plastic lights say no no
yeap, awful VW dread
Well... to be fair to VW there, most 21 year old cars suffer the same issue
what is that knocking noise?
Even with that mileage ( which if true isn't much for the age) 7 owners is a bad sign..
Aluminum doesn't rust but it does react to acids and other metals so be careful how you use the car .
Hopefully it works out for you...
Thanks for your concern 🤞🤞🤞
Looks great. What a bargain too.
Perfect car to put Nissan leaf motors, small batter and 0.9litre diesel generator
Oh man I would love to see an electric conversion of an A2.
I'd like to see a Lupo 3L steering wheel and an Audi TT alloy wheels 😅
Ooh yeah, pimp it up OEM+ style :)
Why no hinges on the bonnet?
That's how it was designed. There's a service flat at the front to top up oil and water. Then to do anything else, you take the bonnet off.
I love the A2
Do an EV conversion
wow and yet mine in far better condition, with all interior plastics still actually black, with a new timing belt, new toyo tires and powdr coated wheels.. with heated seats... on Auto trader for £400 more and been there for 4 months... either people want to buy one like yours and spend £1000 extra and still wont have heated seats... oh and panoramic roof, oh and my roof lining is also in place.
btw does it say "sport" on the log book? Just they are not the 17" sport alloys
I should have bought yours 😂 It does say sport on the logbook yes, even though it doesn't have the big wheels.
Maybe strip it out completely, get some money back and improve the MPG?
Interesting idea 🤔🙂 I could at least take the rear seats out, as they're designed for that
@@JJonCars I'd run that past BSJJ first! 😉
Sumitomo is actually Falken.
Interesting! So that's two Falkens then 😆
Nowadays designers dont even try
Roofus or Doofus, we'll see! You've bought what looks like the cheapest A2 in the UK, I hope that you enjoy making the old girl more respectable!
Yes, hopefully won't be having to call him Doofus 😂 Cheers Fred
@@JJonCars Interesting! The car is a 'him', have you always classed your cars so? Personally, my car has always been a 'her' - don't ask me why, it's been many years since I started driving! 🤔
@@fredonline if I gender cars, they are a her - but when you call a car Rufus, well, that's a blokes name 😄
Drag coefficient isn't that great for a car designed for it
I suspect there's only so much you can do with this practical shape of car
Yes only 0.25 😮. Thats amazing! 0.28 otherwise v good too
diesel costs £35 per year to tax
Oh God, the 1.4 MPI. Putrid
Vorsprung durch technik!
Alumulamu
Bargain of a car
Please buy fiat multipla
Haha, interesting one. Maybe one day 😄
so much engineering just to male this ugly mess 😂
Lol the styling is divisive for sure
aint no quality there mate the thing is falling apart by its self , typical vw poor quality hahaha but i guess they're cool ngl and for a grand and a yr mot it fine
Haha! Well it is 21 years old now, which is pretty ancient in car years. VW/Audi aren't perfect for sure