Eleven A2s, and the grant fits fewer of them than Audi says

In September Audi gave one price for the A2 e-tron, and we argued with that one. Now it has given eleven. Four trims — Technik, Sport, S line and Edition 1 — spread across the four power levels, from £32,200 for the 170 PS Technik to £50,880 for the 326 PS Edition 1. The order books are open now and the first cars reach customers early in 2027.

Start with the grant, because Audi's release gets it slightly wrong. It says the 170 PS and 190 PS cars, on the 52 and 61 kWh batteries, qualify for the £1,500 Band 2 Electric Car Grant. Four of those six clearly do: the Technik and Sport on each battery are all under the grant's £37,000 price cap, so the 170 PS Technik comes to £30,700 and the 190 PS Sport to £35,000. The two S lines are over it. The 170 PS S line is listed at £37,400, £400 too much, and the 190 PS S line at £39,100. Audi's sentence covers them and the cap does not, so we show both without the grant until somebody confirms otherwise. If you want an S line, ask the dealer before you count the £1,500.

The Technik has a smaller catch. Vehicle-to-Home is standard on every UK trim, which answers September's question of whether Britain was included at all. Vehicle-to-Load is not. On the Technik the car is only "prepared" for it, to be unlocked later as a function on demand, at a price Audi has not given. The 230 volt socket in the boot comes with the Sport, which costs £2,600 more and also adds Digital Key, keyless entry, an eight-speaker sound system and rear emergency braking. So the entry car can, on paper, run your house but can't run a kettle when you take it out of the showroom. Running the house still needs the DC wallbox that, as we said in September, you can hardly buy in Britain.

The ranges have come down a little since September. The UK figures are 261, 310, 397 and 386 miles, against 262, 320, 401 and 391 in the original pack, so the 401-mile headline has gone. The 190 PS is quoted at 4.79 miles per kWh, down from the 4.85 Audi gave in September for a version with an optional efficiency package. That package does not appear in the UK specification. The A2 is still the most efficient car Audi makes, just by a little less.

The car to look at is in the middle of the list: the 190 PS Sport. It costs £35,000 after the grant, goes 310 miles and has the boot socket. A Volkswagen ID.3 Life on a 58 kWh battery is £33,995 after the same grant and goes 306 miles. A Skoda Elroq SE L 60 is £33,970 with no grant and goes 274. For about £1,000 more than the Volkswagen you get four more miles, a better cabin and the badge. Of everything in the range, this is the strongest argument the A2 has.

The long-range car makes a weaker one. Only the 231 PS reaches 397 miles, and it starts as a Sport at £41,450, with no grant because it is well over the cap and Audi does not claim one. An ID.3 Life 79 kWh is £36,995, goes 390 miles and does take the grant, which brings it to £35,495. That is £5,955 for seven miles. A Kia EV3 Air with the 81.4 kWh battery is £35,995 and goes 375.

Edition 1 is only offered with the two 84 kWh cars, at £48,350 and £50,880. It adds 20-inch wheels, Matrix LED headlights, 360 degree cameras with park assist plus, electric memory seats, and damper control with progressive steering. On an S line you only get the damper control with the 326 PS. At the top, the small Audi costs about what the bigger one does: the 326 PS S line, at £46,500, is £240 more than a Q4 e-tron Sport, and the 326 PS Edition 1 is £80 less than a Q4 Sport with 286 PS.

So the A2 that makes sense is the one without the biggest battery and without the long name: 61 kWh, Sport trim, under the cap. Above that, you are paying Q4 money for a car built to be the cheaper Audi.