From 7 to 5, then 3 and now 2. Thus has progressed Audi’s Q range of SUVs. Here we have the latter; the company’s newest product, it’s a rival to vehicles like the Seat Ateca and BMW X1.

Smaller means cheaper, and cheaper means younger buyers. That’s who Audi is after with the Q2, whose styling has a touch of gently stated machismo that should appeal on all the various levels that inevitably have the word ‘urban’ in them.

We’ve got the 1.4 TFSI Sport here. The turbocharged petrol engine has 148bhp, and behind it is the six-speed manual gearbox that comes as standard – but somewhat unexpectedly, it struggles to get the car moving as briskly as you’d like to feel it should. The official figure is 8.4 seconds, but the point is that at low speeds around town it labours to drag itself up on the cam when what you want is instant snap and zap. That’s without a full load of people or luggage weighing it down, too.

That’s a shame because, as befits a small, spunky number with youth in its sights, the Q2 has been set up for agility. With the VW Group’s celebrated MQB platform refusing steadfastly to flex and the suspension keeping the body’s weight under control with assured competence, you can chuck it around in corners without it rolling itself into a confounded funk.

Yes, it’s high off the ground, and yes you feel it. But over the piece, the Q2’s handling has enough of the hatchback to it to pass muster. And this is achieved with only the most occasional of jolts or lurches as our nation’s magnificent roads try to upset it.

Inside, the most obvious of things is to say ‘it’s an Audi.’ But it is. Its styling and execution do a sound job of work, though perhaps it’s not quite as premium as some of its maker’s other offerings in this price bracket.

It’s certainly spacious, though. For what really is quite a trim little car, it has the inner dimensions of a good, big hatch, providing comfortable accommodation for four adults (so long as they’re not 80% of a basketball team) and dishing up 405 litres of boot space – more than the significantly larger A3 hatchback.

So it does everything it’s meant to do, and jolly well. The same can be said of Audi’s more traditional cars, though. If you just like it because it’s an SUV, though, well, why not?

The Seat Ateca, that’s why not. Our A2 would cost £28,655 as tested, and it would be getting perilously close to £30k if you wanted basics like dual-zone climate and rear park assist on top. Guess which other recently launched VW Group SUV has them as standard.

So… If you just like it because it’s an SUV, and you think driving an Audi will impress your friends, well, why not? The A2 hardly puts a foot wrong – but at the price, we know what we’d do.

Audi Q2 1.4 TFSI Sport

On sale Now; Price £23,930; Engine 4 cyls, 1395cc, turbo, petrol; Power 148bhp; Torque 184lb ft; Gearbox Six-speed manual; Kerb weight 1265kg; Top speed 131mph; 0-62mph8.5sec; Economy 54.3mpg (combined); CO2/tax band 124g/km, 21%